Religion and World View

1
Chapter 14

• Religion and World View

2
Chapter Outline

• Defining Religion
• Theories of Religion
• Supernatural Explanations of Misfortune
• Varieties of Religious Organization
• Revitalization Movements

3
 Components of Religion

1. Beliefs about nature and character of
   supernatural powers.
2. Oral or written stories (myths) about the actions
   and deeds of supernatural powers and cultural
   heroes.
3. Rituals intended to include or direct these
   powers for the benefit of the group.

4
Beliefs

• Animism
• Belief in spiritual beings.
• Myths
• Oral or written stories about the actions and
  deeds of supernatural powers and cultural heroes.
• Ritual
• The organized performance of behaviors intended
  to influence supernatural powers.

5
Theories of Religion

• Intellectual
• Humans want explanations for the world around
  them.
• Psychological
• Religion helps people cope with times of
  difficulty.
• Sociological
• Religion has a useful effect on human societies.

6
Theories of Religion

• Intellectual/cognitive theory
• The notion that religious beliefs provide
  explanations for puzzling things and events.
• Psychological theory of religion
• The emotional or affective satisfactions that
  people derive from religion.

7
Theories of Religion

• Sociological theory
• The effects of religion on maintaining the
  institutions of society as a whole by instilling
  common values, creating solidarity, controlling
  behavior, and so forth.

8
Supernatural Explanations of Misfortune

• Belief that common misfortunes are caused by
  spiritual powers.
• Belief that misfortunes are caused by the action
  of some evil human who is using supernatural
  powers against the affected person.

9
 Sorcery

• Based on two kinds of logical principles.
• imitative principle - the premise that like
  produces like (voodoo doll).
• contagious principle - assumption that power
  comes from contact.

10
 Views of Witchcraft

• Navajo - associate witches with the worst
  imaginable sins (incest, bestiality, necrophilia,
  cannibalism).
• Nyakyusa of Tanzania - motivated by lust for
  food, witches suck dry the udders of cattle and
  devour internal organs of humans while they sleep.

11
Views of Witchcraft

• Azande of southern Sudan - witches possess a
  substance that leaves their bodies at night and
  eats the flesh and internal organs of their
  victims.
• Ibibio of Nigeria - witches remove the spiritual
  essence of their enemies and place it in an
  animal who dies when the witch slaughters and
  eats the animal.

12
Interpretationsof Witchcraft and Sorcery

• Cognitive
• Explains unfortunate events.
• Witches serve as scapegoats.
• Sociological
• Reinforces cultural norms that help people live
  harmoniously.
• Provides an outlet for repressed aggression.

13
Types of Religious Organizations

• Individualistic Cults - emphasize direct,
  personal interactions between people and the
  supernatural.
• Shamanistic Cults - some individuals are believed
  to have contact with the supernatural that
  ordinary people lack.

14
Types of Religious Organizations

• Communal Cults - members gather periodically for
  rituals that are believed to benefit the group as
  a whole.
• Ecclesiastical Cults - religion is carried out by
  specialized officials who perform rituals that
  that benefit the society as a whole.

15
 Vision Quest

• An active search or quest to acquire a vision.

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Shaman

• A person with a culturally defined special
  relationship to supernatural powers, which he
  frequently uses to cure sickness.

17
Ancestral Cults

• Beliefs and rituals surrounding the interactions
  between the living and their departed relatives. 

18
Totemism

• The cultural belief that human groups have a
  special mystical relationship with natural
  objects, such as animals, plants, and sometimes,
  nonliving things.

19
Priests

• A kind of religious specialist, often full-time
  who officiates at rituals.

20
Revitalization Movements

• Organized movements that help people cope with
  rapid changes.
• Originate with a prophet who has a revelation
  that includes
• Statement about what is wrong with the world.
• Vision of a new world and a prescription for how
  to bring it about.

21
Cargo Cults

• Melanesian revitalization movements in which
  prophets claimed to know secret rituals that
  would bring wealth (cargo).

22
Quick Quiz
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1. The belief in spiritual beings is called

1. animism
2. mana
3. sorcery
4. all of the above

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Answer a

• The belief in spiritual beings is called animism.

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2. The organized performance of behaviors
intended to influence spiritual powers is called

1. animism
2. mana
3. ritual
4. myths

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Answer c

• The organized performance of behavior intended to
  influence spiritual powers is called ritual.

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3. The use of psychic power alone to cause harm
to others is called

1. sorcery
2. divination
3. witchcraft
4. voodoo

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Answer c

• The use of psychic power alone to cause harm to
  others is called witchcraft.