Transcript 2008.11.21 Lecture Slides

Spirituality, Religion, and
the Supernatural
Part I
What Are Religion and
Spirituality?
Religion is an organized system of ideas
about spiritual reality, or the supernatural,
along with associated beliefs and
ceremonial practices.
 Spirituality, which also concerns the
supernatural, involves less formalized
spiritual beliefs and practices and is often
individual rather than collective.

What Functions Do Religion and
Spirituality Serve?

All religions serve a number of important
functions:
– They reduce anxiety by explaining the
unknown and offer comfort in times of crisis.
– They provide notions of right and wrong,
setting precedents for acceptable behavior.
– Through ritual, religion may be used to
enhance the learning of oral traditions.
Spirituality, Religion, and the
Supernatural:
From an anthropological point of view, spirituality
and religion are part of a cultural system’s
superstructure.
 In their studies of different religious and spiritual
beliefs and practices, anthropologists seek to
remain unbiased regarding any particular cultural
tradition
 Worldview: the collective body of ideas that
members of a culture generally share concerning
the ultimate shape and substance of their reality

Spirituality, Religion, and the
Supernatural:

Spiritual or religious beliefs and practices
– fulfill numerous social and psychological
needs
– gives meaning to individual and group life
– provide the path by which people transcend
their burdensome and mortal existence and
attain spiritual hope and relief
Spirituality, Religion, and the
Supernatural:

Religion and spirituality also serve as array
of social needs:
– reinforces group morns
– provides moral sanctions for individual
conduct
– furnishes the ideology of common purpose
and values that support the well-being of the
community
Spirituality, Religion, and the
Supernatural:
People often turn to religion or spirituality
in the hope of reaching a specific goal,
such as the healing of physical, emotional,
or social ills
 Anthropologists know of no group of
people anywhere on the face of the earth
who, at any time over the past 100,000
years, has been without some
manifestation of spirituality or religion

Spirituality, Religion, and the
Supernatural:

In the 19th century, the European intellectual
tradition gave rise to the idea that modern
science would ultimately replace religion by
showing people the irrationality of their
spiritual beliefs and practices.
– The expectation was that as valid scientific
explanations became available, people would
abandon their religious beliefs and rituals as
superstitious myths and false worship.
– To date, despite tremendous scientific
advancements, that has not occurred.
Spirituality, Religion, and the
Supernatural:
Although traditional, mainline Christian religions
have shown some decline, nondenominational
spirituality is on the rise.
 Also on the rise are fundamentalist religions,
which often take a strong antiscience position.
 Examples include Islamic fundamentalist in
countries such as Afghanistan, Algeria, and Iran;
Jewish fundamentalism in Israel and the United
States; and Hindu fundamentalism in India.

Spirituality, Religion, and the
Supernatural:
Among the fastest growing religious
communities in the world are the indigenous
churches of Africa
 Within the United States, non-Christian religions
are also growing.

– Islam (3 to 5 million followers – up from 527,000 in
1990)
– Buddhism (2 to 3 million – up from 401,000 in 1990)
– Hinduism (1.28 million – up from 227,000 in 1990)
Major Religions of the World
The Anthropological Approach to
Religion:
Anthropologist Anthony F. C. Wallace believes that
the major functions of religion are to reduce anxiety
and boost confidence, thereby helping people cope
with reality
 Religion: an organized system of ideas about the
spiritual sphere or the supernatural, along with
associated ceremonial practices by which people try
to interpret and/or influence aspects of the universe
otherwise beyond their control
 Spirituality: concern with the sacred, as
distinguished from material matters

The Anthropological Approach to
Religion:
Since no known culture, including those of
modern industrial societies, has achieved
complete certainty in controlling existing or
future conditions and circumstances, spirituality
and/or religion play a role in all known cultures.
 At one end of the spectrum are food-foraging
peoples

– Among food foragers religion is likely to be
inseparable from the rest of daily life

At the other end of the spectrum is Western
civilization
– Here religion is less a part of daily activities and is
restricted to more specific occasions
The Practice of Religion:
Beliefs and ceremonial practices of
religions vary considerably.
 Rituals that seem bizarre to an outsider
can be shown to serve the same basic
social and psychological functions as do
his or her own distinct rituals

Supernatural Beings and Prowess:
A hallmark of religion is belief in
supernatural beings and force
 Beginning with spiritual beings, we may
divide them into three categories:

– major deities (gods and goddesses)
– ancestral spirits
– other sorts of spirit beings
Gods and Goddesses:

Gods and goddesses are the great and more
remote beings.

They are usually seen as controlling the
universe.
Gods and Goddesses:

Polytheism: belief in several gods and/or
goddesses
– Such was the case with the gods and goddesses of
ancient Greece: Zeus was lord of the sky, Poseidon was
ruler of the sea, and Hades was lord of the underworld
and ruler of the dead

Pantheon: the several gods and goddesses of a
people.
– Since states typically have grown through conquest,
often their pantheons have expanded as local deities of
conquered peoples were incorporated into the official
state pantheon.
Gods and Goddesses:

Generally speaking, societies that subordinate
women to men define the supreme deity in
masculine terms.
– Male-privileging religions developed in traditional
societies with economies based upon the herding of
animals or intensive agriculture carried out or
controlled by men, who are domination figures to
their children.
– Goddesses, by contrast, are likely to be most
prominent in societies where women play a significant
role in the economy, where women enjoy relative
equality with men, and where men are less controlling
figures to their wives and children
Ancestral Spirits:
A belief in ancestral spirits is consistent with the
widespread notion that human beings are made
up of two closely intertwined parts: a physical
body and some mental component or spiritual
self.
 Found in many parts of the world, especially
among people having unilineal descent systems
with their associated ancestor orientation.
 Particularly appropriate in a society of descentbased groups with their associated ancestor
orientation.

– these beliefs provide a strong sense of continuity that
links the past, present, and future.
Sacred Places:
Some religious traditions consider certain
geographic places to be spiritually significant or
even sacred.
 Typically, such sites are rivers, lakes, waterfalls,
islands, forests, caves and mountains.
 They are often associated with:

–
–
–
–
origin myths
splendid abodes of the gods
dwelling places for the spirits of the dead
heights where prophets received their divine
directions
– retreats for prayer, meditation, and vision quests
Sacred Places:

Three sacred mountains are shared by the
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions.
– Mount Ararat where the ark of the ancient patriarch
Noah is said to have landed after the Great Flood.
– Mouth Horeb where the prophet Moses received the
stone tablets with the ten sacred rules of behavior
form his god.
– Mount Zion where Solomon, the Israelite kind, is
believed to have been divinely ordered to build the
Great Temple and where an important Muslim
mosque is located.
Sacred Places:

Symbolic of the supreme being, or
associated with various important deities
or ancestral spirits, sacred mountains may
feature in religious ceremonies or spiritual
rituals.
– In some religious traditions, these towering
geographic features
Sacred Places


Pilgrims at Mount Kailash
in Tibet. Rising 22,000
feet, this mountain has
been held sacred for
thousands of years by
Hindus, Buddhists, Jains,
and followers of Bön.
Year after year pilgrims
follow the ancient
tradition of circling the
mountain on foot, a holy
ritual they believe will
remove sin and bring
good fortune.
Animism

Animism: a belief that nature is animated
(enlivened or energized) by distinct
personalized spirit beings separable from
bodies.
– Spirits such as souls and ghosts are thought to
dwell in humans and animals but also in humanmade artifacts, plants, stones, mountains, wells,
and other natural features.

Generally speaking though, they are less
remote than gods and goddesses and are
more involved in people’s daily affairs.
Animism

Animism is typical of those who see
themselves as being a part of nature
rather than superior to it.
– This includes most food foragers
– In such societies, gods and goddesses are
relatively unimportant, but the woods are full
or spirits.
Animatism
Animatism: a belief that nature is
enlivened or energized by an impersonal
spiritual power or supernatural potency.
 Notably, animism and animatism are not
mutually exclusive.

– They are often found in the same culture.
Question

_______________ may be defined as
the beliefs and patterns of behavior by
which people try to control those aspects
of the universe that are otherwise
beyond their control.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Political organization
B. Government
C. Kinship
Common-interest associations
Religion
Answer: E

Religion may be defined as the beliefs
and patterns of behavior by which
people try to control those aspects of the
universe that are otherwise beyond their
control.
Question

A people’s collection of gods and
goddesses is called a _______________.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Mana
Shaman
Pantheon
Priest
Fetish
Answer: C

A people’s collection of gods and
goddesses is called a pantheon.
Question

The belief that nature is animated with
spirits is called _______________.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Animation
Anima
Animatism
Animism
Ennui
Answer: D

The belief that nature is animated with
spirits is called animism.
Question

Which of the following is an example of
animism?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
a lucky baseball bat
the goddess Athena in Greek mythology
the god Zeus
an ancestral spirit
the malevolent spirit inside your baseball who jumps
erratically through the air just as you think you're about to
hit a home run
Answer: E

The malevolent spirit inside your baseball
who jumps erratically through the air just
as you think you're about to hit a home
run is an example of animism.