Religion and Anthropology: A Critical IntroductionThis important textbook provides a critical introduction to the social anthropology of religion, focusing on more recent classical ethnographies. Comprehensive, free of scholastic jargon, engaging, and comparative in approach, it covers all the major religious traditions that have been studied concretely by anthropologists - Shamanism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and its relation to African and Melanesian religions and contemporary Neopaganism. Eschewing a thematic approach and treating religion as a social institution and not simply as an ideology or symbolic system, the book follows the dual heritage of social anthropology in combining an interpretative understanding and sociological analysis. The book will appeal to all students of anthropology, whether established scholars or initiates to the discipline, as well as to students of the social sciences and religious studies, and for all those interested in comparative religion. |
Contents
Shamanism | 14 |
12 What is Shamanism? | 16 |
13 Shamanism and Altered States of Consciousness | 19 |
14 SpiritPossession Shamanism | 22 |
15 Siberian and Inner Asian Shamanism | 25 |
16 Inuit Shamanism | 29 |
17 NeoShamanism | 34 |
18 Comparative Studies | 37 |
53 The World of Kongo Belief | 153 |
54 Prophetic Movements in Lower Zaire | 159 |
55 Religious Change in Zambia | 164 |
56 Religious Movements in Zambia | 168 |
57 Tshidi Barolong Cosmology | 177 |
58 Zionist Churches in South Africa | 182 |
AfricanAmerican Religions | 188 |
62 Vodou in Haiti | 191 |
19 The Interpretation Shamanism | 40 |
Buddhism and SpiritCults | 44 |
22 The Buddhist Dharma | 47 |
23 Buddhism and Nat Cults in Burma | 54 |
24 Buddhism and SpiritCults in Thailand | 58 |
25 Religious Change in Sri Lanka | 63 |
26 Buddhism and Folk Religion in Tibet | 68 |
27 Buddhism and the State | 74 |
Islam and Popular Religion | 77 |
32 The Islamic Tradition | 79 |
33 Zar Cults in Northern Somalia | 82 |
34 Zar Cults in the Sudan | 88 |
35 The Saints and Scholars of Islam | 96 |
A Sufi Brotherhood in Morocco | 102 |
37 Religion and Politics in Morocco | 104 |
Hinduism and New Religious Movements | 112 |
42 Sanskritic Hinduism | 115 |
43 Popular Hinduism | 122 |
44 Cult of the Goddess | 130 |
45 Bhakti Cults | 134 |
46 Gurus and Hindu Nationalism | 140 |
Christianity and Religion in Africa | 146 |
52 Prologue on African Religion | 148 |
63 Vodou Rituals | 199 |
64 Religions of Jamaica | 206 |
65 The Rastafari Movement | 212 |
66 Rastafari Beliefs and Practices | 217 |
67 Religions of Brazil | 222 |
Religions of Melanesia | 232 |
72 Kwaio Religion | 234 |
73 Religion and Ecology | 241 |
74 Millenarian Movements in Melanesia | 249 |
75 Road Belong Cargo | 255 |
76 The Interpretation of Millenarian Movements | 260 |
Neopaganism and the New Age Movement | 269 |
82 The Contemporary Neopagan Revival | 271 |
83 The Roots of Neopagan Witchcraft | 276 |
84 Pagan Pathways | 282 |
85 The Western Mystery Tradition | 292 |
86 Contemporary Ritual Magic | 296 |
87 New Age Spirituality | 302 |
Conclusions | 308 |
References | 315 |
| 343 | |
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Common terms and phrases
African ancestral spirits anthropology approach associated beliefs Binsbergen Brahman Buddhism Candomblé cargo cults century Chevannes Christian Church colonial Comaroff concept contemporary context cultural deities described devoted discussion distinction divine Druidry ecstatic emphasis esotericism essentially ethnographic expressed focus focussed Gellner goddess groups Hare Krishna healing hermeneutics Hindu Hindu nationalism Hinduism human implies important India interpreted Inuit involved Islam Jamaica Keesing Kimbangu Kongo Kwaio Lewis London Lumpa Church MacGaffey malevolent Metraux monks mystical Neopaganism occult Oxford Pagan particularly person political possession postmodern priests prophet Rappaport Rastafari Rastafari movement relation relationship religion religious movements religious traditions Revivalism rites ritual magic role sacred saints salvation scholars seen shamanism shrine Simon Kimbangu social society soul specific spirit-cults spirit-possession Spiro stress Sufi suggests symbolic syncretic temple tended term trance tribal Tshidi University Press village Vodou Western Western Mystery tradition Wicca witchcraft witches women Worsley writes Zambia
Popular passages
Page 7 - Sociology (in the sense in which this highly ambiguous word is used here) is a science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects.
Page 1 - Religion, then, can be defined as a system of beliefs and practices by means of which a group of people struggles with these ultimate problems of human life.
References to this book
De buitenkant van de religie: een menswetenschappelijke rondleiding Guido Dierickx Limited preview - 2007 |