ANTH 202 Lecture 7: ANTH 202 Class 7 Guest Lecture (Anthropology of Religion)
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
ANTH 202 - Anthropology of Religion – Guest Lecturer
Definitions allow us to quantify things.
In the case of religion, they help us to understand how religion interacts with society –
Comparative studies, finding a common ground
Definitions of Religion throughout history:
o EMILE DURKHEIM – French Social Scientist, Precursor to the functionalists
“unified system of beliefs & practices related to sacred things – set apart and forbidden – uniting
into one single moral community named Church”
- Sacred is set apart
- Sacred/Profane binary
- Centre of religion is society itself
o CLIFFORD GEERTZ – US Anthropologist, Symbolic Anthropology
“System of symbols to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in
men through a conception of a general order of existence, and clothing these conceptions with
such an aura of factuality that moods & motivations are uniquely realistic”
o TALAL ASAD – Reading
“There cannot be a universal definition of religion¸ not only because its constituent elements
and relationships are historically specific, but also because that def is itself the historical product
of discursive processes”
Thinking through categories, ideas, knowledge – where it all comes from
Why is studying religion important?
We cannot study a culture and understanding how people live without knowing how they
conceive things and interpret life.
o MAX WEBER – German social scientist, one of the founders of sociology
Document Summary
Anth 202 - anthropology of religion guest lecturer. In the case of religion, they help us to understand how religion interacts with society . Definitions of religion throughout history: emile durkheim french social scientist, precursor to the functionalists. Unified system of beliefs & practices related to sacred things set apart and forbidden uniting into one single moral community named church . Centre of religion is society itself: clifford geertz us anthropologist, symbolic anthropology. There cannot be a universal definition of religion not only because its constituent elements and relationships are historically specific, but also because that def is itself the historical product of discursive processes . Thinking through categories, ideas, knowledge where it all comes from. We cannot study a culture and understanding how people live without knowing how they conceive things and interpret life: max weber german social scientist, one of the founders of sociology. Charisma = rooted in one person, based on interpersonal relationships.
