Cultural Anthropology Chapter 13: Religion

Religion
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Terms in this set (19)
Religion
A set of beliefs based on a unique vision of how the world ought to be, often revealed through insights into a supernatural power and lived out in a community
Martyr
A person who sacrifices his or her own life for the sake of their religion
Saint
An individual who is considered exceptionally close to God and is exalted after death
Sacred
Anything that is considered holy
Profane
Anything that is considered not holy
Ritual
An act of series of acts regularly repeated over years of generations that embody the beliefs of a group of people and create a sense of continuity and belonging
Rite of Passage
A category of ritual that enacts a change of status from one life stage to another, either for an individual or for a group
Liminality
One stage in a rite of passage during which a ritual participant experiences a period of outsiderhood, set apart from normal society that is key to achieving a new perspective on the past, future, and current community
Communitas
A sense of camaraderie, a common vision of what constitutes a good life and a commitment to take social action to move toward achieving this vision that is shapes by the common experience of rites of passage
Pilgrimage
A religious journey to a sacred place as a sign of devotion and in search of transformation and enlightenment
ShamansA part time religious practitioner with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beingsMagicThe use of spells, incantations, words, and actions in an attempt to compel supernatural forces to act in certain ways, whether for good or for evilImitative MagicA ritual performance that achieves efficacy by imitating the desired magical resultsContagious MagicRitual words or performances that achieve efficacy as certain materials that come into contact with one person carry a magical connection that allows power to be transferred from person to personSymbolAnything that signifies something elseAuthorizing ProcessThe complex historical and social developments through which symbols are given power and meaningWhat are the stages of a rite of passage and when do such rites usually occur?Step 1 is Separation (from the old self), step 2 is Liminality (the transition in-between self/threshold), and finally step 3 is the Reincorporation (integration into the new self).In E.E. Evans-Pritchard's study of witchcraft in the 1930s in what is now South Sudan, what does he believe are the functions of witchcraft for the society?Instead of their witchcraft involving rituals, spells or medicines, it involves a psychic power that may be used consciously or unconsciously by a witch—a woman or a man—to cause misfortunes or death. Instead these ideas for the Azande society formed consistent, comprehensive, and rational systems of though within their daily lives and social structures. Magic explained things that did not make sense otherwise, it provided an alternative theory of causation that supplemented the theory of natural causation, and helped explain what could not be explained by scientific study of nature.How does religion operate in your life or for other people with whom you have associated? Is it a force for social cohesion and community? Is it a force of social control and conformity? Is it a lens through which you interpret events in your life and in the world?.