Chapter 14, Supernatural Beliefs

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Chapter 14, Supernatural Beliefs

• Key Terms

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• cargo cults Revitalization movements in
  Melanesia intended to bring new life and purpose
  into a society.
• communal cults Societies where groups of
  ordinary people conduct religious ceremonies for
  the well-being of the total community.

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• contagious magic A form of magic based on the
  premise that things, once in contact with a
  person (such as a lock of hair), continue to
  influence that person after separation.
• covens Local groups of witches found in major
  cities in the United States, which are presided
  over by high priestesses.

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• cult Used in the early anthropological
  literature, in a nonjudgmental way, to refer to a
  religious group with its own set of beliefs,
  practices, and rituals. In popular discourse,
  however, it is a pejorative term referring to an
  antisocial group of religious extremists whose
  goal is mass suicide.
• ecclesiastical cults Highly complex religious
  systems consisting of full-time priests.

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• imitative magic A form of magic based on the
  idea that the procedure performed resembles the
  desired result, such as that sticking a dolllike
  image with pins will harm the person the doll
  represents.
• individualistic cults The least complex form of
  religious organization in which each person is
  his or her own religious specialist.

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• liberation theology A form of Catholicism found
  widely through South and Central America in which
  priests and nuns became actively involved in
  programs for social justice for the poor.
• magic A system of supernatural beliefs that
  involves the manipulation of supernatural forces
  for the purpose of intervening in a wide range of
  human activities and natural events.

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• Mahdist movements A term used to describe
  revitalization movements in the Muslim world.
• millenarian movements Social movements by a
  repressed group of people, which foresees better
  times at a specific time in the future.

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• myths Stories that transmit culturally
  meaningful messages about the universe, the
  natural and supernatural worlds, and a persons
  place within them.
• nativistic movements A religious force for
  social change found among Native Americans.

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• religion A set of beliefs in supernatural forces
  that functions to provide meaning, peace of mind,
  and a sense of control over unexplainable
  phenomena.
• religious nationalism A phenomenon that is
  occurring in many parts of the world today in
  which traditional religious principles are merged
  with the workings of government.

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• revitalization movements Religious movements
  designed to bring about a new way of life within
  a society.
• rites of passage Any ceremony celebrating the
  transition of a person from one social status to
  another.

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• rites of solidarity Any ceremony performed for
  the sake of enhancing the level of social
  integration among a group of people.
• Satanists Individuals belonging to a group of
  people who worship Satan.

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• separatist Christian churches Small-scale
  churches that break away from the dominant church
  to gain greater political, economic, social, and
  religious autonomy.
• shamanistic cults Forms of religion in which
  part-time religious specialists called shamans
  intervene with the deities on behalf of the
  clients.

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• shaman A part-time religious specialist who is
  thought to have supernatural powers by virtue of
  birth, training, or inspiration.
• sorcery The performance of certain magical rites
  for the purpose of harming other people.

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• vision quest A ritual found among a number of
  Plains Indian cultures where through visions
  people establish special relationships with
  spirits who provide them with knowledge, power,
  and protection.
• wicca A modern-day movement of witches and
  pagans.

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• witchcraft An inborn, involuntary, and often
  unconscious capacity to cause harm to other
  people.