Anthropology 130-Chapter 1: The Anthropological Study of Religion. – Flashcards
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Define anthropology?
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The study of humankind.
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What are the 4 fields of anthropology?
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Physical, archeological, linguistic, and cultural.
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What are considered as the world's greatest religions?
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Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
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What is the anthropological approach?
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It is a theoretical orientation approach. An approach that compares human societies throughout the world.
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What are the 3 stages of religion evolution?
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1)Animism, 2)polytheism, 3)monotheism.
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Why isn't anthropology considered a science?
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Its not scientific because it is not testable. But that does not mean it NOT is right though.
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What are the 5 perspective approaches?
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Evolutionary, functional, Marxism, psychological and interpretive approaches.
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Define culture?
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Human beliefs and behaviors of society that are learned, transmitted from one generation to the next and shared by a group of people.
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Define multi-vocality?
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A symbol can have more than one meaning. People will give a symbol a lot of different meanings.
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Define holism.
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Anthropologist that study human societies as systematic sums of their parts, as integrated wholes. *Takes a great deal of time-time to observe human behavior and time to interview members of a society. *Sees human behavior as a complex set of interacting behaviors and ideas. *
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Give an example of holism.
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Many disciplines study marriage. The anthropologist believes that a true understanding of marriage requires an understanding of all aspects of the societies. Marriage is influenced by politics, laws, economics and ethics.
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Define physical anthropology.
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The study of human biology and evolution. *Interested in genetics. *Evolutionary theory. *The biology and behaviors of primates. *Study of fossil records.
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Define archeology anthropology.
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The study of people who are known only form their physical and cultural remains. *Gives us insight into the lives of now extinct societies. *Evidence of religious expression can be seen in the ruins of ancient temples and in the art and writings of people lived in societies that have faded into history.
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Define linguistic anthropology.
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Devoted to the study of languages.
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Define culture anthropology.
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The study of human societies. *Makes up the largest area of anthropological study. *Studies a people's social organization, economics, marriage, family life...etc. *Study of religion is is a subject within the general field of cultural anthropology.
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Define participant observation.
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Anthropologist who lives within the community and participate to a certain degree in the lives of the people under study, while at the same time making objective observations.
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What is the goal of an anthropologist?
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To study the broad range of human beliefs and behaviors, to discover what it means to be human.
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Define ethnography.
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Descriptive study of human societies. *People who study human societies and write ethnographers about them.
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Under which four-fields of anthropology does ethnographers fall into?
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Under cultural anthropology.
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Define foragers.
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People without any form of plant or animal domestication. They live in small, isolated groups that are found in areas that are difficult to farm in.
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Define horticulturalists.
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People who garden in the absence of fertilization, irrigation, and other advanced technology.
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Define pastoralist.
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People who are primarily livelihood comes from the herding of domesticated animals.
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Chapter 1 stories.
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*Ethnography of the fore and description of kuru illustrate the concept of holism. *Karen McCarth Brown and Vodou = Postmodernism. *Malinowski and the trobiand islands = function approach
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Define objective observation.
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One's own cultural background, education, training, and other factors will act as a filter or lens that colors.
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Give an example of an objective observation.
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A physician, using a medical model, searching for the cause of kuru through techniques learned in medical school that are based on a set postulates developed through the scientific method.
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Define etic perspective.
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The study of a society using concepts that were developed outside of the culture.
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Define an emic perspective.
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The attempt to see the world through the eyes of the people being studied.
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Define ethnocentrism.
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The tendency of using our own society as the basis for interpreting and judging other societies.
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Anthropologist believe that a true understanding of their peoples cannot develop through ethnocentric interpretations.
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Anthropologist attempts to remain neutral and to accept the ways of life of other communities as appropriate for those who live in these communities.
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Define cultural relativism.
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Anthropologist's attempt to describe and understand people's customs and ideas but do not judge them.
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What is the goal of cultural relativism?
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The goal is to study what people believe, not whether or not they believe is true.
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Give an example of cultural relativism.
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Funeral rituals differ from other rituals in one major respect: There is a dead body. An anthropologist shouldn't be saying which one is right but rather understand the people's believes in it.
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Define modernity.
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The means of understanding the world through science (Knowledge, truth, progress.)
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Define postmodernism.
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The movement that emphasized on the limitations of science.
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What is the first step of an anthropologist?
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To first approach and try to understand the culture's beliefs and behaviors in context, to learn what meaning the world has through their eyes.
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Define culture.
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The complex whole, which includes: knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society. *Culture includes customs that people acquire by growing up in a particular society. *Culture is learned with time. *Cultures give meanings to life.
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Who was the first person to use the term culture in its anthropological sense?
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The British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor.
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Define religion.
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It is nearly impossible to define religion. For one cannot come up with a diffination that is too narrow or too vague to satisfy all religions.
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Define operant definition.
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To define a term in such a way that they are observable and measurable and there-fore can be studied.
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Define supernaturals.
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Above the natural. *Defy basic rules of nature
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Define sacred.
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Denotes an attitude wherein the subject is entitled to reverence and respect.
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Define essentialist.
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Looks at what s the essential nature of the religion.
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Define Evolutionary approach.
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Centered on the questions of when and how religion began.
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What are critics saying about the evolutionary approach?
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Many of the ideas in this school of though are ethnocentric.
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Define Marxist approach.
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Named after Karl Marx, who was critical of religion. *Marx did not criticize the logic of religion as others had done. *Felt religion reflected so society. So any criticism on religion would also be criticism on society. *Saw religion as a construction for those in power. *Marx felt that religion did not reflect the true consciousness of people but a false consciousness designed to divert people's attention from the miseries of their lives. *Misery from the exploitation of those in power. *Religion was seen as both compensation and way of getting people to go along with a capitalist culture that is not in their best interests.
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What are critics saying about the Marx's approach?
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There usually is no single, dominant ideology in a society; instead there different ideologies that correspond to different subcultures and different classes.
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Define functional approach.
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Asks the questions "What does religion do?" and "What role do religion play in a society?" *It contrasts the evolutionary and Marxist approach. Ex= Religion might enforce social cohesion by bringing members together for rituals and providing a foundation for shared beliefs.
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What are critics saying about the functional approach?
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They see functionalism as committing the error of reification (treating something abstract if it was concrete and alive)
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Define interpretive approach.
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*Associated with Clifford Geertz. *Concentrates on symbols and their meaning in religion. *Religion specially is described as a cluster of symbols that together make up a whole and proves a charter for a culture's ideas, values, and way of life. *Geertz felt that the study of religion needed to take place in two stages. First stage: An analysis of the systems of meaning that are embodied within religious symbols. Second stage: Relating these systems to social structures and psychological processes.
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What do critics say about the interpretive approach?
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That Geertz spent a great deal of time more on the first stage then the second stage.
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Define psycology approach.
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The study of religion that is concerned with the relationship between religion and the mind. "How does religion engage with the ideas of the mind?"
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How is malinwoski related to functionalism?
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He said that magic functions to proved control and certainty in an otherwise uncertain situation.
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How does one go about conducting a holistic study of a society? How would this be different form a study on a specific topic?
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We can examine human societies from an etic or an emic perspective. Do you think it is possible to really understand a society other than your own from an emic perspective?
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I personally do think that one can understand a society through an emic perspective. ??????
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How would you balance cultural relativism and human rights? Do you think that you could remain neutral in your judgment of all of the behaviors you might see in a small scale society?
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To balance both of these will take a great deal of time. To have a successful balance you have to look at every possible effect of the human right in hand and having in mind cultural relativism at the same time. B) I don't think I can stay neutral in my judgement in all behaviors. Some behaviors are just unacceptable and being a "small scale society" is not an excuse.
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What is the basic difference between a society and a culture? Can these two terms be used interchangeably?
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Cultures deals with a set of beliefs and practices that are done by group of people. While society is a term that is much more broader that deals with people are structured under the government. I don't think these terms can be used interchangeably. For they are very similar but yet different.
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Think back to a ritual that you have attended--a wedding ceremony,for example. Write three brief descriptions from each of the following viewpoints: analytic, functional, and essentialist.
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1)Analytic: ?? 2)Functional: From a christian point-of-view, a functionalist might ask "What role do marriage play in a Christian life?" and "What is the purpose of marriage anyways" 3)Essentialist: From a christian point-of-view an essentialist might say that the sole purpose of marriage is a long term relationship between a man and woman and the marriage has been ordained and instituted by God.
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One of the major debates in studies of human behavior is that between nature (biology) and nurture (culture). Do you think that there is any biological basis for the development of religion in human societies? Do you think that someday someone might discover a society that has no religious practices?
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A)? B)I think it is possible to find a society that has no religious practice. I am thinking of a society that is completely atheist. For atheists don't have any religious practice because they don't believe in gods.
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Some scholars have argued that religion is not definable in any real sense. Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote: "We sometimes demand definitions for the sake not of their content, but of their form. Our requirement is an architectural one; the definition a kind of ornamental coping that supports nothing." Discuss.
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I do agree with what Ludwig is saying. Yes the definition of religion is very difficult to grasp but yet people still demand one. They want know the requirements for that certain religion and how they can complete those requirements.
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Define analytic in religion.
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Focuses on the way religion manifests itself or is expressed in a culture.
