antropology and religion

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Anthropology and religion

Rituals in religion

A ritual , to be considered a ritual, must fit into four categories. These four categories are that itmust be a repetitive social practice, it must be set off from the routines of day to day life, it mustfollow a ritual schema, and it must be encoded in myth. Ritual often has its roots in myth andreligion, tying itself to ancient practices between the divine and humans. However, a ritual doesnot have to be religious in nature; graduation ceremonies and birthday parties are rituals as well.

Religion is a type of worldview, a picture of reality created by members of a society, and exists inmany forms as this society desires. As time passes and cultures change, religions evolve andchange as well. Some popular present day religionsinclude Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, , Judaism and Islam.

An example for rituals, is the fact that American Christians pray before meal with all members of the family , standing up . In the Sierra Madre Occidentals, where the Huichol Indians live, there is

a sacred place called Wirikuta. The Huichol Indians make a pilgrimage to this sacred land tocollect the peyote cactus. The sacred peyote cactus, which can induce hallucinogenic visions, iseaten by the Huichol as a way to connect their three key symbols of life. These symbols aremaize, deer and peyote.

An example of an old ritual that is encoded in myth and religious symbolism can be found in thecatacombs of Sicily where dead bodies are kept. Most of these bodies have been embalmed or mummified and dressed in the attire that suited their profession, many of them being nobles,professionals, and merchants. The oldest body dates from 1599, while the freshest have beendated to the 19th century. The truth of the reasons for mummifying of some of Sicily’s mostimportant people is still surrounded by myth. Found on the outer limits of the city, the Capuchincatacombs hold the remains of over 8000 souls, their disembodied shells propped up against thewalls or resting in open caskets. Down in the cold, dry basement of the monastery, the relentlessmarch of decomposition it takes time. It’s a gruesome display. Though some bodies have beenreduced to skulls and bones, the majority of corpses are still rotting, and their half-decomposedhusks are good material of nightmares.

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Another example of Ritual can be seen in the Sinhalese Buddhists of Sri Lanka. To cure peopleof illness the Sinhalese perform an elaborate exorcism ritual that involves all night dancing,singing, and role playing. The ceremony traditionally lasts from Midnight until 6 AM. At Midnight,actors appear to portray the afflicting demons. As time passes, these figures are turned intocomedic figures of ridicule. At 3 AM actors dressed as Sinhalese gods appear and reassert their dominance. The final performance, done around 6 AM, the absurdity of the demons if confirmedand the ritual ends.



Origins of religion

James Frazer claims that human belief progressed through three stages: primitive magic, whichwas displaced by religion, which in turn was replaced by science. Anthropologists havesuggested that religion was created because magic couldn’t give satisfying answers to the 'bigquestions'. Initially, the term religion was used to describe a belief in the supernatural. Thedefinition of religion has been disputed among anthropologists because some would define the'supernatural' as something that does not exist, and some define it as something that is simply'beyond sensed'. Recently, evolutionary biologist and psychologists have begun to look at religionin terms of it being a natural evolution of human culture over time. Much like the idea of culture

itself, they believe that religion was replicated, adapted and evolved from generation togeneration in much the same way that human genes do.



From anthropological standpoint, religion serves many functions in society. First, it is believed

that religion serves to explain the physical world. In this sense, religion offers to answer questionslike: “How was the Universe created? How were the Earth and Sun created? How did plants andanimals come to be?” Because people need this answers in absence of science . Religion canhelp humans to figure out who they are or what they want in life , because giving them answerscan help them stop worrying about these big problems and concentrate to day to day life. So ,

religion can reduce uncertainty and that’s a good thing. But humans in general are not sure thatreligion is a positive or a negative thing , and anthropologist try to figure out. While Dante wroteabout the virtues of religion , Nietzsche wrote about the power of religion to limit human thinking .

According to Clifford James Geertz , an American anthropologist, religion attempts to offer a

structure of meaning to life. He believed that religion purpose is to be a model of how life shouldbe. Overall, it is important to note from an anthropological point of view, religion does not serve asingular purpose, in fact serves many purposes in society.. Most importantly religions add to anddefine cultures. Therefore, by studying a culture’s religion, the culture itself can be better understood, because religion is influenced by environment, and environment also influencepeople and their thinking.

To conclude , I strongly believe that religion is a very important part of anthropological knowledge

,and giving it the right importance can help improving skills in research and knowledge of humanbeings.

antropology and religion

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