Religion

and
Society

This presentation discusses

the role of religion in a variety
of societies.
It focuses on the types of
religion and the situations in
which religions can change
rapidly.

Introduction
Religion

1.earliest evidence of what

probably was religious activity.
2. Wallace
belief and ritual concerned with
supernatural beings, powers, and
forces.
So defined, religion is a cultural
universal.

Animism
oAnimism is seen as the
most primitive form of
religion
oreligion defined as a belief in
souls that derives from the
first attempt to explain
dreams and like phenomena.

Animatism
o Animatism is the belief that all
animate and inanimate objects
are infused with a common life
force
o the assignment to inanimate
objects, forces, and plants of
personalities and wills, but not
souls.

Mana and Taboo

o Mana is defined as belief in
an imminent supernatural
domain or life-force,
potentially subject to human
manipulation.

o Melanesian mana

a sacred impersonal force

that is much like the
Western concept of luck.
***Examples in your own
life?

oPolynesian mana and the

related concept of taboo
related to the more
hierarchical nature of
Polynesian society.

Magic and Religion

o Magic refers to supernatural
techniques intended to
accomplish specific aims.
o Magic may be imitative (as with
voodoo dolls) or contagious
(accomplished through contact).
o ***Have you tried this?

Anxiety, Control,
Solace
Magic is an instrument of
control,
Religion serves to
provide stability when no
control or understanding
is possible.

Rituals
Rituals are formal, performed in
sacred contexts.
Rituals convey information about
the culture of the participants
and, hence, the participants
themselves.
Rituals are inherently social
participation in them
necessarily implies social
commitment.

Rites of Passage
Rites of passage which mark and
facilitate a person's movement from
one state to another
Rites of passage have three phases:
Separation the participant(s)
withdraws from the group and
begins moving from one place to
another.

Liminality the period

between states,
during which the
participant(s) has left
one place but has not
yet entered the next.

 Incorporation the
participant(s)
reenters society
with a new status
having completed
the rite.

Rites of Passage
Liminality is part of
every rite of passage
and involves the
temporary suspension
and even reversal of
everyday social
distinctions.

 Communitas refers to
collective liminality,
characterized by
enhanced feelings of
social solidarity and
minimized
distinctions.