Anthropology 326
Fall 2008
MWF 11-11:50/BCA 243
Jonathan Andelson
1205 Park St., #202, x3139
andelson@grinnell.edu
ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION
Religion is found in every culture known to anthropology. Religion is probably
as old as humankind, and it has figured prominently in most societies throughout
history. During the last 150 years, many scholars have claimed that religion was
losing its hold on human life and would be replaced by other pervasive belief
systems, by science, rationality, political ideology, or economics. These predictions
have not come to pass, and today we see religion(s) continuing to play a large role in
many societies. Why is religion so widespread and persistent? What does it do for
people, both individually and collectively? Does it play the same or similar roles in
all societies and all types of societies? Are some religions more helpful or useful to
people than others? These are some of the questions we will address during this
course.
The origins of anthropology as a discipline were strongly connected to the study
of religion, and most eminent anthropologists have devoted at least some attention to
the subject during their careers. Anthropological studies of religion have
considerably broadened the West’s understanding of the elements of religion through
studies of indigenous or tribal religions, adding mana, tabu, totem, shaman, trickster,
altered states of consciousness, spirit possession, and divination (among others) to
the list while also shedding new light on such familiar topics as ritual, prayer,
priests, and myth. An anthropological perspective on religion is thus vital in any
effort to examine the diversity and commonalities of this universal feature of human
society.
However, the anthropological study of religion involves special difficulties as
well. The anthropological lens is empiricist, skeptical, comparative, and relativistic.
While this does not seem to interfere with anthropological attempts to study kinship
or political systems, it could be a problem in studying religion. Even studying
Christianity (by a Euro-American anthropologist) could be problematic, let alone
studying non-Western or indigenous religion. Does what we think we “know” about
religion from experience in our own culture necessarily apply to other religions?
Western anthropologists’ understanding of religion has inevitably been influenced
by Christian notions of belief, faith, soul, church, atheism, and so on, which may not
correspond to concepts in other religions. For that matter, is the word “religion”
even applicable cross-culturally?
This course is based on two premises: (1) that religion can profitably be studied
cross-culturally, and (2) that while the truthfulness of the non-empirical propositions
of various religions cannot be ascertained through anthropological study, the
meaningfulness of those beliefs to those who hold them, and the contribution that a
belief system makes to a total way of life, can. Also, in keeping with the idea that
“anthropology contributes to an understanding of the self by the detour of
understanding others,” this course may contribute to your personal view of religion.
In accordance with its numbering, the course presupposes familiarity with
anthropological theory. Those needing to review the basics are referred to Jerry
Moore’s Visions of Culture or any other recent history of anthropological theory.
TEXTS (all are sold through the bookstore, and most are on reserve in Burling)
Robert L. Winzeler, Anthropology and Religion (2008)
David Hicks (ed.), Ritual and Belief: Readings in the Anthropology of Religion (2e, 2002)
Daniel L. Pals, Eight Theories of Religion (2e, 2006)
Mathias Guenther, Tricksters and Trancers: Bushman Religion and Society (1999)
Selected readings on course e-reserve and JSTOR
Selected films.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
8/29
9/17
10/--
Two one-paragraph statements about religion (not graded)
5-6 page paper on foundational theories of comparative religion (20%)
Four 2-page journal entries on symbol/cosmos, myth, ritual, and religious
specialists (5% each = 20%)
11/10 8 page collaborative paper (25%)
12/17 12 page research paper (30%)
Attendance and class participation (5%)
ASSIGNMENTS
date
topic and readings
I. Introduction: Anthropology and the Study of Religion
8/29
A. Pals, Introduction
DUE IN CLASS: two one-paragraph statements: (1) what does
religion/spirituality mean to you? (2) what general empirical question
about comparative religion do you hope to have answered in this course?
9/1
B. Winzeler, Chapters 1 & 2
II. Comparative Religion Before Ethnography
9/3
A. Early Accounts of Tribal Religions
Descriptions by de Lery, Ellis, and Boller (e-reserve)
B. Foundational Theories of Comparative Religion
9/5
1. Pals, Chapter 1 (Tylor and Frazer)
Hicks 1-1 (Tylor), 3-1 (Frazer)
9/8
2. Pals, Chapter 2 (Freud)
Hicks 1-2 (Freud); Freud, “Obsessive acts…” (e-reserve)
9/10
3. Pals, Chapter 3 (Durkheim)
Hicks 1-3 (Durkheim)
9/12
4
9/15
5. Pals, Chapter 5 (Weber)
Hicks 11-1 (Weber)
9/17
Pals, Chapter 4 (Marx)
DUE: Present and defend an original, non-obvious thesis on an aspect of the
foundational theories of religion we have studied. Based on what you find in
our primary and secondary sources, analyze or interpret some feature of the
late 19th/early 20th century discourse about comparative religion. Assume
readers of your essay are familiar with the assigned source material.
Therefore, do not bother to summarize the views of any of the authors and
paraphrase rather than quote from your sources. Provide page references to
ideas you cite, either from the primary sources or from Pals. If you wish, you
may collaborate with other students and submit a jointly authored essay. 5-6
pages, due by 5:00 p.m.
III. Modern Anthropological Interpretations of Religion Based On Ethnography
A. Synthetic Sketch of A Local or Indigenous Religion
9/19
Robert Lowie, “Crow Religion” (e-reserve)
B. Symbol and Cosmos
1. Winzeler, Chapter 5; entry on “Cosmology” from Encyclopedia of
Cultural Anthropology (handout)
9/22
2. Symbols: Hicks 9-2 (Wolf), 3-2 (Evans-Pritchard)
9/24
3. Symbol Systems in Action: Hicks 4-2 (Turner), 2-4 (Douglas)
FILM: “Kypseli” (out of class)
9/26
4. Cosmology: Hicks 2-3 (Griaule)
Clifford Geertz, “Ethos, World View, and the Analysis of Sacred
Symbols” (e-reserve)
DUE: 2 page “e-journal” of your thoughts on symbol and cosmos.
C. Myths and Tales
9/29
1. Winzeler, Chapter 6; sections 1-15 of the Winnebago trickster cycle,
from Paul Radin, The Trickster (e-reserve)
10/1
2. Functionalist interpretations
Hicks 2-1 (Malinowski)
John Middleton, “Some Social Aspects of Lugbara Myth” (JSTOR)
10/3
3. Structuralist interpretations
Claude Levi-Strauss, “The Structural Study of Myth” (e-reserve)
10/6
4. Comparativist interpretations
Mircea Eliade, “The Moon and Its Mystique” (e-reserve)
Rodney Needham, “Evasive Fantasies” (e-reserve)
FILM: “The Message of the Myth” (out of class)
DUE: 2 page “e-journal” of your thoughts on myth.
D. Ritual
10/8
1. Winzeler, Chapter 7
Black Elk, “Inipi: The Rite of Purification” (e-reserve)
10/10
2. Functionalist interpretations
Hicks 6-2 (B. Conklin)
C. Geertz, “Ritual and Social Change: A Javanese Example” (JSOR)
10/13
3. Processualist interpretations
Hicks 4-3 (van Gennep), 4-4 (Hicks)
Victor Turner, “Liminality and Communitas” (e-reserve)
FILM: “To Find Our Life: the Peyote Hunt of the Huichol” (out of clas
10/15
4. Communication interpretations
Hicks 4-1 (Leach)
Roy Rappaport, “Enactments of Meaning” (e-reserve)
10/17
5. Comparative perspectives
Hicks 4-5 (Evans-Pritchard), 3-4 (Steadman et al.), 8-3 (Metcalf)
DUE: 2 page “e-journal” of your thoughts on religious ritual.
10/18-10-26
!!! FALL RECESS !!!
E. Religious Specialists
10/27
1. Hicks 5-3 (Harner), 6-4 (Powers)
FILM: “Magical Death” (out of class)
10/29
2. Hicks 5-2 (M. Wolf), 5-4 (Levi-Strauss)
10/31
3. Hicks 5-1 (Turner)
Andelson, Routinization of Behavior in a Charismatic Leader (JSTOR
DUE: 2 page „e-journal“ of your thoughts on religious specialists.
F. Three Modern Theorists of Comparative Religion
11/3
1. Pals, Chapter 6 (Eliade) and first half of Chapter 7 (Evans-Pritchard)
11/5
2. Pals, second half of Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 (Geertz)
G. Paper
11/7
1. No class, no assignment; work on jointly authored papers
11/10
2. DUE: Collaborative paper on the nature and role of religion across
cultures, with special attention to small scale or indigenous religions.
Work in groups consisting of two, three, or four classmates to produce an
8 page paper analyzing significant similarities and differences among
religions: what are they, and what is their consequence for human life
(individually and collectively)? Use case material, the chapters in Pals’s
book, and class discussion as well as any other sources of information at
your disposal. Give in-text citations of all sources using AAA style (see
Department of Anthropology website for information), and provide a
bibliography.
11/12 &
11/14
H. Special Topics (each class member does ONE)
1. The Beginnings of Religion
Winzeler, Chapter 3
Alexander Marshack, “Upper Paleolithic Notation and Symbol” (JSTOR)
Eugene G. d’Aquili & Andrew B. Newberg, “The Neuropsychological
Basis of Religions, or Why God Won’t Go Away” (e-reserve)
Daniel C. Dennett, “Religion, the Early Days,” Ch 5 of Breaking the
Spell (e-reseerve)
FILM: “The First Storytellers”
2. Religion and the Natural Environment
Winzeler, Chapter 4
Hicks 10-1 (Reichel-Dolmatoff), 10-2 (Rappaport)
Lynn White, Jr., “Religious Roots of Ecologic Crisis” (JSTOR)
FILM: “The Land and the Sacred”
3. Witchcraft and Sorcery
Winzeler, Chapter 8
Hicks 7-2 (Evans-Pritchard), 7-3 (Boyer), 7-5 (Favret-Saada)
FILM: “Yo soy hechicero” (I am a sorcerer)
4. Religion and Gender
Hicks 9-1 (Sanday), 9-3 (Nanda), 9-4 (Andreski)
Janice Boddy, “Spirits and Selves in Northern Sudan: The Cultural
Therapeutics of Possession and Trance” (1988) (JSTOR)
FILM: review “Kypseli” if desired
H. Religion in Culture Contact
11/17
1. Winzeler, Chapter 10; Hicks 11-2 (Wallace)
11/19
2. Hicks, 11-3 (Worsley), 11-4 (Kehoe)
IV. Case Study: the Religious System of the Bushmen of Southern Africa
11/21
A. Guenther, Tricksters and Trancers, Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2
11/24
B. Guenther, Chapters 3 & 4
11/26
C. Guenther, Chapters 5 & 6
11/27 – 11/30 THANKSGIVING RECESS
12/1
D. Guenther, Chapters 7 & 8
12/3
E. Guenther, Chapter 9 and Conclusions
V. Anthropological Perspectives on Religion in a Global Context
12/5
A. Winzeler, Chapter 11; Hicks 12-1 (Hall)
12/8
B. Hicks 12-2 (Barker), 12-3 (Orion), 12-4 (Chavannes)
12/10
C. Conclusions: Pals, Conclusion
12/12
Catch-up Day if needed
12/17 DUE: Research paper on a topic of your choice in comparative religion. Please
have your topic approved by the instructor. Your paper should highlight original
analysis/interpretation with the aid of theory. You may incorporate course
material into your paper, but you should also go beyond course material to use
other primary or secondary sources, including the electronic-HRAF (available online through Burling Library) and interviews with Grinnell College students or
community members. Cite sources in AAA style. 10-12 pages, due by 5:00 p.m.