RELIG274 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Eurocentrism, Early Modern Europe, James George Frazer

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELIG274
• Professor: Glen Fairen

Document Summary

Common sense reminds us of the diametric relationship between witchcraft, science, and religion; our understandings maintain that although these subjects may have similarities, they are not fundamentally the same. The differences between these categories is usually defined, not by content but, by a certain criterion that is employed for each subject and the individual employing such criteria. The discourse of witchcraft, religion, and science has changed over time. Though the content has not changed, the way we address them has. (we talk about them differently) Consider, religion is not easily defined or identified. The idea is that religion tends to have a certain presence for people, whether that is academically valid or not. To russell witchcraft is not particularly an old english practice or concept for something that is rooted in europe. He uses examples from ancient greece to 19th century africa to support this statement.