chapter 13 - Religion & Spirituality Flashcards
The collective body of ideas that members of a culture generally share concerning the ultimate shape and substance of their relality
worldview
An organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural, along with associates ceremonial practices by which people try to interpret and/or influence aspects of the universe otherwise beyond their control.
religion
Concern with the sacred, as distinguished from material matters. In contrast to religion, spirituality is often individual rather than collective and does not require a distinctive format or traditional organization.
spirituality
a sacred narrative that explains the fundamentals of human existence-where we and everything in our world came from, why we are here, and where we are going.
myth
Belief in only one supremely powerful divinity as creator and mater of the universe.
monotheism
Belief in several gods and/or goddesses, as contrasted with monotheism-belief in one god or goddess.
polytheism
All the gods or goddesses of a people.
pantheon
The belief that nature is enlivened or energized by distinct personalized spirit beings separable from bodies.
animism
The belief that nature is enlivened or energized by an impersonal spiritual power or supernatural energy, which may make itself manifest in any special place, thing, living creature.
animatism
A full-time religious specialist formally recognized for his or her role in guiding the religious practices of others and for contacting and influencing supernatural powers.
priest or priestess
A principle of leadership in which divine authority is passed down from a spiritual founding figure, such as a prophet or saint,to a chain of successors.
spiritual lineage
A person who enters into an altered state of consciousness-at will-to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help others.
shaman
A culturally prescribed symbolic act or procedure designed to guide members of a community in an orderly way through personal and collective transitions.
ritual
Culturally prescribed avoidance involving ritual prohibitions, which, if not observed, lead to supernatural punishment.
taboo
A symbolic act carried out by an individual or group to establish or restore purity when someone has violated a taboo or is otherwise unclean.
rite of purification
A ritual that marks an important stage in an individual’s life cycle, such as birth, marriage and death. It features three phases: separation, transitions and incorporation.
rite of passage
A ritual that takes place during a crisis in the life of the group and serves to bind individuals together.
rite of intensification
Specific formulas and actions used to compel supernatural powers to act in certain ways for good or evil purposes
magic
Magic based on the principle that like produces like; sometimes called sympathetic magic.
imitative magic
Magic based on the principle that things or persons once in contact can influence each other after the contact is broken.
contagious magic
Magic rituals intended to cause misfortune or inflict harm.
witchcraft
A magical procedure or spiritual ritual designed to find out about what is not knowable by ordinary means, such as foretelling the future by interpreting omens.
divination
A devotion in motion. Traveling, often on foot, to a sacred or holy site to reach for enlightenment, prove devotion, and/or experience a miracle.
pilgrimage
Ideologically inspired violation of a sacred site intended to inflict harm, if only symbolically, on people judged to have impure, false, or even evil beliefs and ritual practices.
desecration
A movement for radical cultural reform in response to widespread social disruption and collective feelings of great stress and despair.
revitalization movement
The creative blending of indigenous and foreign beliefs and practices into new cultural forms.
syncretism
A process of cultural change in which a population tends toward a nonreligious worldview, ignoring or rejecting institutionalized spiritual beliefs and rituals.
secularization
Generally speaking, religion deals with an organized system of __________ and practices of a society. But ______ is concerned about the sacred and about the extraordinary world, much more on a(n)___________ level, so people may not be part of a religious organization. Both play a role in ______________.
beliefs, spirituality, individual, shaping reality.
Revitalization movements are attempted for radical cultural_________ in response to widespread social disruption. The typical sequence in the development of a revitalization movement begins with the imposition of a source of anxiety, such as economic disaster or domination by a more powerful group, causing increasing individual _________ and despair. The society is them ripe for the introduction and success or a dynamic cult, which will succeed or fail based on its compatibility with reality.
reform, stress
From the anthropological perspective, religion is an attempt to deal with serious problems that normal solutions cannot solve by calling on ________ beings and powers for assistance.
ancestral
Although the practices and belief systems vary widely across cultures, some form of ____________ has been found in all known cultures, because it serves similar functions in all societies. For example, it helps reinforce group norms as part of a culture’s system of social _________; it provides much of the _________ that explains the universe and the people’s role in it; and through its ___________. it helps educate the young.
religion, control, worldview, rituals
In many cultures, religious duties are performed by _________. They can intercede with the spirit world through ___________ and _________.
shamans, trances, mental wanderings.
Anthropologists are interested in __________ and __________ because they reflect cultural norms of proper behavior and spiritual cleansing.
taboos, purification rites.
If you are Catholic, you want to go to Rome and visit St.Peter’s; if you are Muslim, you want to go to Mecca; if you are Jewish, you want to pray at the Temple Wall in Jerusalem; and if you are Buddhist or Hindu, you are off to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Anthropologists call this devotion in motion, but participants call it a _______________.
pilgrimage
According to the “barrel model” or culture, religion
a) is part of superstructure.
The current anthropological definition of religion cross-culturally says that it is
d) a set of beliefs and behaviors concerning the spiritual sphere or the supernatural.
Islamic fundamentalism in Iran and Christian fundamentalism in the United States demonstrate that
d) religion is still a powerful and dynamic force in those societies.
An example of a rite of passage is
a) a wedding
Magic
b) is practiced in many contemporary situations of uncertainty.
Belief in _________ is found in societies in which women make a major contribution to the economy and are relatively equal to men in power and authority.
d) goddesses
The major difference between animism and animatism has to do with whether the supernatural entity is
a) a personal being or and impersonal power.
Ceremonies that help the group cope together with a crisis, such as an epidemic, are rites of
c) intensification
A __________ is a full-time religious specialist who occupies an office with a certain rank and function.
b) priest
Many magical incantations require the use of hair or fingernail clippings of the intended victim. This is an example of:
b) contagious magic
A belief in ____ enables people to explain why things go wrong by blaming certain individuals who are said to have internal psychic ability to cause harm to other.
a) witchcraft
A rabbit’s foot in Western culture, or Luke Skywalker telling Han Solo, “May the force be with you.” may be used as examples of ___________, the supernatural force associated with animatism.
c) mana
Religion, magic, and witch craft are all similar in which ways?
d) They all provide explanations of events and are mechanisms of social control.
Which of the following is NOT a role played by religion?
a) It takes the place of science in framing the people’s worldview.
b) It creates a sense of uneasiness and discord.
c) It reduces group anxiety during times of crisis.
d) It contributes to maintaining social control.
b) It creates a sense of uneasiness and discord.
Comparison of religious activity in most Western societies with that in most food-foraging societies show that:
d) food foragers are more likely to include religious activity in their daily routines.
Supernatural beings who are rather remote from humans, yet who often have human-like qualities, and control the universe while taking an interest in human activities are called:
a) gods and goddesses
A large number of Christian sects in ___________ have been the result of revitalization movements.
b) United States
Societies in which women play an important role in the economy are likely to have____________.
c) priestesses
The Great Buddha figures at Bamiyan and the Catholic shrines in sixteenth century England are examples of sacred sites that were subjected to_______________.
b) desecration
The shaman’s most common task is to:
d) identify the source of sickness and to heal it.
