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Anthropology and the Study of Religion

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Anthropology and the Study of Religion M01_WINK3033_01_SE_C01.QXD 9/16/08 3:26 PM Page 5 CHAPTER 1 Anthropology and the Study of Religion CHAPTER OUTLINE Introduction: The Anthropological Study of Religion Western Perspectives on Religion The Development of Anthropological Approaches to Religion The Four-Field Approach of Anthropology Conclusions: The Biocultural Approach to the Study of Religion CHAPTER OBJECTIVES • Describe the development of several Western approaches to studying religion, and show how these ultimately led to the anthropological perspective. • Introduce the four-field approach of contemporary American anthropology, and demonstrate how each of these fields can contribute to an understanding of religiosity. • Introduce several core evolutionary principles, and consider how these can help us to comprehend the emergence of religiosity. • Describe the biocultural approach to the study of religiosity, and demonstrate how using both humanistic and scientific approaches can enable us to more accurately assess the manifestations of religiosity and the role these manifestations play in human life. A YOUNG MAN TROUBLED BY DISTURBING DREAMS is led a large circle of empty space around him. The monk out of the village by an old man, who carries a rattle, a then takes a box of matches and lights one as he con- drum, and a blanket. They walk for two days and climb tinues his chanting. As the horrified onlookers watch, to the top of the “spirit” mountain. After spending a he bursts into flames. night drumming and chanting over the youth, the old *** man prepares to leave, taking with him all food and water. As he departs, he tells the youth, “When the spir- The small room is filled with worshippers moving to its come for you, you will die. When you come back to the music played by the band in the front. Suddenly, a life, then you may come back and live with us again.” man lifts the lid off a box that has been sitting on the floor and removes a rattlesnake from within. Others *** come over and take snakes from the box as well. Some A monk sits calmly in the street amid the crowds of drink strychnine. Confident that the Holy Ghost will people and slowly pours a can of gasoline over his keep them safe, the worshippers hold the snakes in the head, chanting in a low voice. The crowd parts, leaving air and shout “Hallelujah!” 5 M01_WINK3033_01_SE_C01.QXD 9/16/08 3:26 PM Page 6 Introduction: The Anthropological a suitable approach for understanding them with the rigor and the objective attitudes of science. But it should Study of Religion also consider the perspectives and experiences of the insider—the believer—and it should do so with respect. Although we may have difficulty understanding the The one field that offers this comprehensive and behaviors just described, it is not difficult to see them as yet respectful approach to religion is anthropology. expressions of religion. While all cultures have religion, Anthropology uses the ideas and methods of the life sci- the behaviors these religions justify are astonishingly ences, behavioral sciences, and social sciences, thereby diverse and seem to challenge the notion that there could combining the scientific with the humanistic perspec- be any elements common to every religion. Religion has tives. Anthropology is scientific because it focuses on effects on many aspects of our lives, including the per- the recording and analysis of observable phenomena sonal, the social, the political, the economic, and even and the development of theories to explain these phe- the artistic and the culinary. Religions can motivate peo- nomena. It is humanistic because it takes seriously the ple to undertake long fasts and to hold feasts, to engage importance of the things that people experience and in orgies, and to abstain from ever having sex. Some reli- report, and attempts to understand their cultures through gions encourage their believers to risk their lives travel- the information they provide about their beliefs and ing to other countries to preach their religion to nonbe- experiences. This broad approach has enabled anthro- lievers. Religions can induce people to lead better lives, pology to enhance our awareness of the diversity of cul- and they can also inspire their followers to disobey laws, tures and to see more clearly the nature of the features deny medical care to their own children, and even com- that all humans share, including religion. Chapter 1 mit suicide and murder. Religions influence healing prac- 6 tices, define families, and shape political policies. They have provided the rationales for war and have given Anthropology and the Biocultural Approach birth to international peace movements. Some of the The word “anthropology” is derived from two roots: greatest art and literature in history have been motivated ánthr¯opos (the Greek term for “human”) and logos by religion, and some of the most terrible deeds that (the Greek term for “word,” now used to refer to a humans have ever done have been justified by religion. field of study). As its very name indicates, The effects of religion are so extensive that some schol- anthropology is the scholarly discipline that studies ars regard religion as the very foundation of culture. humans. In a very real sense, anything about humans How is religion able to exert such a wide range of can be studied from an anthropological perspective. influences on peoples and cultures? Perhaps the easiest Many anthropologists travel to other countries to learn and most obvious answer is that religion deals with about such aspects of cultural life as family structures, essential issues such as right and wrong, life and death. political organizations, economic systems, the settling But right and wrong mean different things in different of disputes, and—not surprisingly—religions. Others places, and although we all must die, not all religions carry out excavations to uncover information about teach their followers to fear or fret about this fact. ancient societies. Some study languages to understand We will never understand religion if we regard it as how this important human capacity shapes the way we simply a belief system about spirits or issues of ultimate perceive the world. And some even observe other ani- meaning, as just a mechanism of social control, or as a mals to determine which features we share with these means to allay fear. Religions do indeed serve these pur- animals and which are found only in our species. Of poses, but they also do much more. Religions structure course, each of these topics may also be studied by our perceptions of the Universe, linking the present to researchers from other disciplines. What sets anthro- both the past and the future. Religions inform us about pology apart is that it brings together all of these differ- unseen beings and powers that are responsible for the ent lines of evidence to provide an all-encompassing phenomena we perceive in the everyday world, and pos- perspective for understanding the human condition. tulate unseen aspects of our own nature that motivate In practice, most anthropologists focus on just one our behaviors. To even begin to understand these com- or a few aspects of what it means to be human. But plex aspects of religion, we need a comprehensive frame- they also integrate other perspectives into their work. work that views all manifestations of religion as expres- They may make use of cultural, archaeological, lin- sions of deeper, more fundamental characteristics of the guistic, or biological data, and they also draw upon species we call Homo sapiens. Such a framework should insights from other disciplines. Because they strive to provide a broad and integrative context that accounts for take all relevant data into consideration, anthropolo- all types of religious beliefs and behaviors and provides gists tend to work from an interdisciplinary, holistic, M01_WINK3033_01_SE_C01.QXD 9/16/08 3:26 PM Page 7 and integrative perspective. As we shall see, this broad have extraordinary experiences use to understand their approach is very useful for considering one of experiences and also tells its members why only some of humankind’s most unique traits: religiosity, our capac- them have such experiences. Because culture teaches us ity for religious thought and spiritual experience. what to “naturally” believe in, our capacity for religios- This religious capacity is central to what it means to ity is molded by the same forces that shape the many be human. Religion represents one of the central divides other aspects of our thoughts and behaviors. between Homo sapiens and every other species of ani- The integrative and holistic perspective provided mal alive today. The universality of religious beliefs in by the biocultural approach also directs us to consider our species—but not in others—indicates that they how biology and culture interact with and influence arose after our ancestors had already taken their first one another. As a consequence, the biocultural steps down that unique path that has taken us ever fur- approach provides us with a framework that enables ther from the paths taken by other animals. Our beliefs, us to consider such questions as why only some people in other words, are products of something unique about have certain religious experiences, which people are human biology: our ability to develop culture. But if we more prone to having such experiences, what func- trace our path back far enough, we can see that at least tions religion plays in human life, how religions some of the behaviors associated with religion are pres- change, and when and why new religions emerge. The ent in other species, indicating that those behaviors biocultural approach moves religiosity from an often arose before our ancestors parted ways with their ances- marginal position—in which religion is seen as oppos- tors.
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