The REALM of the
SUPERNATURAL: RELIGION
and MAGIC
• Anthropologists define religion as
any set of attitudes, beliefs and
practices pertaining to supernatural
power, whether that power is forces,
gods, spirits, ghosts or demons.
The supernatural is considered to be
those powers not believed to be
human or not subject to the laws of
nature or logic.
• For much of human history the
division between religion and other
aspects of culture were not strictly
made. For example, the realm of
illness and healing was widely
considered part of a culture’s
religion.
• Thus, illness was conceived as the
result of violations of spiritual beliefs
or societal norms.
• Such supernaturally caused illnesses
are commonly thought to have only
supernatural cures.
• Religious beliefs and practices are
found in all cultures and also seem to
have a deep history.
• From as long ago as 60,000 years we find
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evidence of spiritual beliefs such as:
(1) burial goods that seem to indicate a
concern for life after death
(2) clay female figures that may have been
created to insure fertility
(3) cave paintings of animal figures that
may have been drawn to aid in hunting
• Why is religious beliefs found in all
cultures?
• Most social scientists would say that
religious beliefs are a response to
certain universal human needs or
conditions.
• In particular these are:
• (1) the need for humans to
understand and explain the world
that we inhabit
• (2) reversion to childhood feelings; i.e.
that in the face of helplessness and
dependency humans revert to those same
feelings they had as helpless and
dependent children to rely on seemingly
more powerful parents and by abstraction
supernatural forces
• (3) the need to allay anxiety and
uncertainty
• (4) the need for belongingness or
sense of community
• To understand the origins of human
religious beliefs it is important to
understand the following terms:
• Animism is the belief in souls.
• Animatism is the belief in impersonal
supernatural forces, for example,
good luck as coming for certain
objects or numbers; bad luck coming
from certain others.
• Anthropomorphic is to attribute
human characteristics and
motivations to supernatural figures
or forces. The ancient Greek gods
and goddesses are an example. They
behaved as humans but with
supernatural powers and eternal life.
• A monotheistic religion is one built
upon the belief in a central god or
supernatural being.
• A polytheistic religion is one built on
many important gods none of whom
is supreme.
• Some kinds of supernatural forces and
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beings:
mana, (a term arising from cultures in
Polynesia) is a belief in a supernatural,
impersonal force whose presence brings
power and whose absence brings
powerlessness.
• taboo is a belief in the polluting or
harmful power of certain objects,
places, practices or people.
• Spirits who are somewhat vague
supernatural figures who may be
mischievous or helpful as in
guardian spirits but not as powerful
as gods
• ghosts are supernatural beings who
were once human; ancestor spirits
are the ghosts of dead relatives.
• Ways to interact with the
supernatural:
• prayer, the act of honoring the
supernatural often accompanied by
requests or thanks for requests
granted
• (2) altered states of consciousness
induced by drugs, alcohol, social
isolation, sensory deprivation or
repetitive sound or activity
• use of imitation such as voodoo
• divination, the use of a ritual to
determine answers to problems or
predict the future.
• sacrifice, to surrender something or
someone valued to appease the
supernatural or attract supernatural
goodwill.
• MAGIC is the belief that human
action can compel the supernatural
to act in some particular and
intended way. MAGIC seeks to
control and manipulate the
supernatural through human action.
• Some common kinds of practitioners
of magic thus defined are:
• (1) Shamans are usually part-time
spiritual practitioners, more often
male than female, who attempt to
heal the sick, bring good fortune,
guard against evil and ill fortune and
predict the future by seeking to
control supernatural forces.
• They are often respected and valued
members of their societies. They
often also have a deep knowledge of
plant cures or some kinds of
practical, empirically based healing
knowledge.
• (2) Sorcerers or witches, however,
are those generally thought to bring
harm to people in their society.
• (3) Mediums are part-time spiritual
practitioners who seek supernatural
intervention in healing or prophecy
while in a trance state.