ANTH 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Emic And Etic, Rites, Cave Painting
3 May 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Anthropologists may not agree on a single definition of religion because beliefs vary widely around the world, as do the experiences and practices of religion. Religion: a set of beliefs and behaviours that pertain to supernatural forces or beings, which transcend the observable world. There are four components of religious belief systems: 1) they share an interest in the supernatural, 2) use ritual, 3) are guided by myths, 4) and are symbolic. Supernatural, in this circumstance, simply refers to those things outside of scientific understanding that we cannot measure or test. Ritual: a symbolic practice that is ordered and regularly repeated. Myths: sacred stories that explain events, such as the beginning of the world or the creation of the first people. They are given the title myth not because they are untrue, but because they are outside of recorded history. Anthropologists studying religion require both an etic and an emic perspective.
