Magic & Religion

Question 1

Magic and religion are formalized universals

Answer 1

formalized universals

Question 2

Lewis Henry Morgan

Answer 2

Religion has no place. Science is everything

Question 3

E.B. Tyler

Answer 3

Focused on religion.
Evolutionary Scheme

Question 4

Evolutionary schemes

Answer 4

Animism –> Animitism –> polytheism –> Monotheism

believed that people would naturally advance

Question 5

Animism

Answer 5

Everything in the environment has a spiritual environment that are cognitive to what humans do. You need to offer to them to use them

Question 6

Animitism

Answer 6

believe in a single (anthropomorphic) source of power that humans can tap into to change some kind of circumstance (environment, healing, warfare)

Question 7

Polytheism

Answer 7

having several gods and goddess that are

associated with natural phenomenons & different human idea
Normally appear in agriculture societies because spheres of influence becomes more convoluted

Question 8

Monotheism

Answer 8

one god.
Male or female (mostly male). Central creator that is responsible for everything.

Comes from pastoralist groups

Question 9

Religions normally stem from

Answer 9

environment and functions for each groups

Question 10

Bronislaw Malinowski

Answer 10

1. Primitive =Magic
2. Civilized= Religion (contemporary)
3. Future= Science.

Believed science would take over for Religion.

Question 11

Magic

Answer 11

animism, animitism & some polytheism

Supernatural used to manipulate the environment/reality. Illusion of control.

Question 12

Religion

Answer 12

Polytheism & Monotheism

more concerned with explanation of phenomena, especially creation, a human’s place in the world.

Question 13

Science

Answer 13

based on empirical observation

• Enables us to predict and explain phenomena
• Believed it would take over for religion
• Some scientific questions cannot be answered with science

Question 14

Ethnoscience

Answer 14

in “primitive” societies, still based on empirical observation and hypothesis testing (scientific method)

Question 15

Examples of enthoscience

Answer 15

medicinal plants, Navigation in the Pacific, wufanu

Question 16

medicinal plants

Answer 16

way too complex to be by chance and trial and error

Question 17

Lapita Culture

Answer 17

Navigation in the Pacific

Wufanu - hymns, songs, rhymes, narratives that are memorized from birth

White hair was a sign of supernatural being that had absolute control

Question 18

Lapita Culture other signs

Answer 18

sea marks

Sea swells - indicate land in direction
Sea birds - where they’re flying from or to indicates land where they nests

Question 19

Malinowski’s Hypothesis

Answer 19

when an action is important to society to an individual/society, but if it’s more risky (uncertain outcome) there is more ritual & magic associated with it.

Ritual and magic give them a sense of control over reality

Question 20

Malinowski’s trobriand islanders

Answer 20

Lagoon: Netting and fishing was safe so no ritual activities
Open Sea: very dangerous so a lot of rituals

Question 21

Urubu

Answer 21

Believe that the forest goes to sleep every night so they will play music every morning to wake the forest up so they can use resources

Africa

Question 22

Crow & Two Leggings

Answer 22

Two leggings - a young warrior that spent all his time to gather medicine to become a better warrior

Question 23

Huron warfare & satisfaction of soul desires

Answer 23

Need to satisfy soul desires as a community or else people will be sick and die

Question 24

Dr. Fritz

Answer 24

List of rituals

Question 25

Magic in Our Culture

Answer 25

Dr. Fritz & Psychotherapy Baseball Magic: George Gmelch.

Question 26

Fundamental Principles of Religion

Answer 26

1. Based on Faith 2. Reflection of the Human Life Cycle 3. Reflection of the Social Order (of the society) 4. Functions to Control Behavior

Question 27

Based on Faith

Answer 27

Functions To Help us through bad times, reconcile loss, failure & death.

Question 28

Reflection of the Human Life Cycle

Answer 28

Tend to Anthropomorphize beings (human body is only frame of reference) - project human qualities onto deities (like us but more powerful).

Question 29

Reoccuring themes about Reflection of the Human Life Cycle

Answer 29

Miracle (virgin) births - Huitzilopochtli (aztec sun god) Never get ideas of deities’ childhoods. But go through a series of trials as they’re older.

Question 30

Reflection of the Social Order (of the society)

Answer 30

Peggy Sanday, Protestantism vs Catholicism

Question 31

Peggy Sanday Hypothesis

Answer 31

when females contribute something large and unique then there’s normally female deities with secular power

Question 32

Eskimos: Reflection of the Social Order

Answer 32

goddess of the animals. Animals are all of their subsistence. Despite the men hunting, women are the only economic actors in the group because they create the clothing that are worn and traded. More focused on women.

Question 33

Pastoralists: Reflection of the Social Order

Answer 33

male and female have the same jobs. There’s less female powers

Question 34

Reflection of the Social Order Depends on

Answer 34

how people view the physical and social environment Benign - innercorentaiton. Secular and religious power to females Dangerous - androcentric power

Question 35

Protestantism vs Catholicism: Reflection of the Social Order

Answer 35

Nobles and serfs → middle merchant class. They had money to educate their children and access to scripture. Catholics guarded scripture vs Protestants who distributed bibles in their own language Growing dissatisfaction with the government/church. Had a lot of power/land and corruption

Question 36

Functions to Control Behavior

Answer 36

most traditional societies used religion to create social rules.

Question 37

Yabilh Chakular

Answer 37

Witch demigoddess, demon that is seen in poor/rural people in Guatemala. Concept of Limited Good. Punished human beings for hoarding wealth.

Question 38

Example of Functions to Control Behavior

Answer 38

Yabilh Chakular Witchcraft, evil eye Elephantiasis in India Spanish Inquisition (Witchcraft trials) The bible