symbol and power - geertz, religion as a cultural system

Question 1

view of contemporary anthropology

Answer 1

• Thinks that contemporary anthropological study of religion = stagnant
  o It does not add anything new to the ‘conceptual capital of its ancestors’ (87)
• Mary Douglas goes in different angle. Looks at history of study
• Geertz adopts a wider context. Cultural dimensions of religious analysis. Symbolic aspect of life

Question 2

how do we define symbols

Answer 2

• how to define symbols?
  o Generically, they are ‘extrinsic sources of information’ (92)
  ♣ ‘outside the boundaries of the individual organisation’
  ♣ they provide form to ‘processes external to themselves’ (92)
• ‘religious symbols formulate a basic congruence between a particular style of life and a specific… metaphysic’ (90)

Question 3

culture as linked to symbol

Answer 3

• Culture = linked to symbol
  o ‘it denotes an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about attitudes toward life’ (89)
  o cultural patterns are ‘models’.
  ♣ ‘they are sets of symbols whose relations to one another ‘model’ relations amongst entities’ (93)
  ♣ difference between models for functions vs. models of linguistic etc. progresses

Question 4

proposed paradigm

Answer 4

• Proposes paradigm: religious symbols put together ethos and world view. Link small scale matters of style to large scale order
  o Symbols ‘both express the world’s climate and shape it’ (95)
  ♣ Shape it by giving worshipper set of skills/beliefs etc. which affect quality of experiences

Question 5

definition of religion

Answer 5

• Definition of religion = ‘system of symbols’. (90)
  o Emphasis on existence and order of actuality
  o Links broad to specific
  o Long-lasting effect
  o Religious idea deemed factual

Question 6

moods vs. motivations

Answer 6

• moods vs. motivations
  o motivations = persisting. Significant inclination to act in a certain way. Not feelings but liabilities to perform certain acts/feel certain feelings.
  ♣ Made meaningful re. ends
  o Moods = variant. Induced by sacred symbols. Secular – do not go anywhere, fleeting.
  ♣ Made meaningful re. feeling

Question 7

order and authority in symbol

Answer 7

• Difference between speaking of religion in a secular sense e.g. he plays golf religiously and speaking about it in a sacred sense
  o When sacred, RE symbols provoke ideas about order and transcendent truths
• We depend on symbols for a sense of order
• Religion requires acceptance of authority

Question 8

perspective with symbol

Answer 8

• Religious perspective differs from aesthetic/scientific persp. as it ‘moves beyond the realities of everyday life to wider ones’ (112)
  o Defining character = faith in realities
  o RE questions realities in the search for wider truths
  o RE adds authority to systems of symbols

Question 9

what is a ritual

Answer 9

o Manifestation of religious conceptions (moods/motivations)
o Where the general conceptions of the order of existence are materialised
o Allow for an insight into culture
o Can examine spiritual consciousness of believers

Question 10

ranged Barong combat in bali

Answer 10

♣ Two sacred symbols for Balinese Hindus, dances performed in consecration
♣ Rangda both evokes and depicts fear
♣ Barong ‘not only induces laughter, her incarnates the Balinese version of the comic spirit’
♣ Both symbols of and for – ritual = battle between the two spirits
♣ The ritual interweaves the ‘malignant and the comic’ (119)

Question 11

how can we approach religious value

Answer 11

• ‘religious concepts spread beyond their specifically metaphysical contexts to provide a framework of general ideas in terms of which a wide range of experience… can be given meaningful form’ (123)

Question 12

religious beliefs as shaping socio-psychological frameworks

Answer 12

• RE beliefs do not only interpret but shape socio-psychological frameworks.
  o E.g. doctrine of original sin – use it to interpret Nazi regime as product of the Fall. But also shapes socio-psychological approaches to life.
  o The extent to which religions accomplish this is a focus for sociological/anthropological research. Varies according to culture/context etc.

Question 13

2 stages to anthropological study of religion

Answer 13

1. ‘analysis of the system of meanings embodied in the symbols which make up the religion’
2. ‘the relating of these systems to social-structural and psychological processes’ (125)