Religion

Question 1

Collective effervescence

Answer 1

Refers to moments in societal life when the group of individuals that makes up a society comes together in order to perform a religious ritual. It reinforces their sense of belonging to a larger community. Eg the balinese cockfight, totemic rituals in aboriginal societies, watching football matches. Emile Durkheim’s concept.

Question 2

Emile Durkheim and religion

Answer 2

Studies religion to understand its social function. Looked at “The invisible hand” of the social and how it creates coherence amongst groups

Question 3

The Sacred

Answer 3

Something regarded as of very special importance, often connected to religion. May be put it apart in a special place, illegal to touch or see it, no one can make fun of it. In anthro language: taboo. Not questioned - absolute.

Question 4

Taboo

Answer 4

Prohibition to stop us from certain acts, thoughts, inclinations or behaviours. This prohibits us from investigating a weakness in the classification system - we do not speak of it. Once it is discovered or realised, it ceases to be a taboo.

Question 5

Examples of taboos and new taboos

Answer 5

blasphemy - the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God
but when you deny the existence of blasphemy, you create a new taboo or sacred (the freedom of speech)
thus there is a dynamic of taboos created the sacred, the sacred being challenged and replaced with a new taboo
homosexuality
it exists but not to be mentioned (in several places)
“a sin against nature” - sacrialize the heteronorm
recent research in the netherlands - change in attitude over time and now it is taboo to be homophobic - thus this is now sacred and is replaced with another taboo

Question 6

Clifford Geertz and religion

Answer 6

Studies religion to grasp the worldview and ethos of a particular group. Says that religion is an entry point to understand groups and their worldview. To deviate from Durkhiem, he said we need to find out what religion means (semiotic anthropology) and how it help them to make sense of the world and give direction to human existence.

Question 7

“religion as a cultural system”

Answer 7

Religion is
a system of symbols which acts to
establish powerful pervasive, and long lasting moods and motivations in men by
formulating conceptions of general order of existence and
clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that
the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic

Question 8

System of symbols

Answer 8

symbols are building blocks of human world making. symbol systems offer a model of reality: “this is what our world is like” and a model for reality: explain how our world must be made
example: university of amsterdam, roeterseiland campus
is a model of reality given the representations of values
is a model for reality given that it gives a place to share specific ideas to shape individuals and group

Question 9

Talal Asad

Answer 9

Critical of Geertz. Argues that the category of “religion” is Western-centric. It grounds itself in the religion of the book (written religion - christianity, islam, judaism, etc). “Inner belief” is at the heart of many religions - very ethnocentric.