Anthropology World Religions

Front 1

The definition of Culture

Back 1

The complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.
Based on the use of symbols.

Front 2

The disciplines of Anthropology

Back 2

Physical Anth: human biology and evolution.
Archaeology: Study of ancient civilizations through their remains.
Linguistics:The study of language.
Cultural Anthropology: The study of contemporary human societies.

Front 3

What are the six dimensions of religion as stated by Ninian Smart?

Back 3

-Institution (The organization and leadership)
-Narrative (myths, creation stories, worldview)
-Ritual (rites of passage etc)
-Social (rel. binds people tog)
-Ethical ( customs, mores)
-Experiential (involving experiences of a sacred reality that is beyond ordinary experience)

Front 4

What do functionalists say about religion?

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Functionalists believe that religion has a function and a role in society.
Fulfills: provides explanations, helps people face death and misfortune by providing meaning and hope. Rituals and belief bring people together. Provides a moral code.

Front 5

What did Emile Durkheim have to say about religion?

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Saw society as problematic. Believed the key to keeping people in line lied in collective conscious. This system of belief contained natural selfishness of people and promotes social cooperation. These are represented by symbols that are reattached to meaning through ritual.

Front 6

What did Malinowski have to say about religion?

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Looked at religion as a feature of society with the purpose of meeting basic human needs. Ex: saw magic as a logical sustem that people turn to in times of uncertainty or emotional stress. Functions to provide control and certainty

Front 7

Define mythology?

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Religious narratives or stories that provide the basis for religious beliefs and practices. Tell of origins, creation, history, prescribe rules and moral practices. Can be written down or orally communicated

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What is the function and purpose of mythology is society?

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Gives answers about the nature of life, existence, and death.

Front 9

What are the different types of myths and how do they differ?

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-Origin myths: who are we? why are we here? what is our relationship to the world?
-Flood myths: myth is which a large flood happens (noah's ark)
-Trickster myths: myth in which an individual does a selfish deed which turn out to benifit all of mankind.
Hero myths:aka monomyth: seperation, training, returns to complete task

Front 10

What is an example of an origin myth?

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The navajo creation story.
God created the world in seven days.

Front 11

What did Levi-Strauss have to say about mythology?

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he focused on the underlying structure of the myth. (Structural Analysis) Pointed out that humans tend to think and catergorize the world in terms of binary opposites, such as black and white. Division of the world can be seen cross-culturally in myths. Focuses on the structure, not content, of religious narratives.

Front 12

Relationship between religion as a moral system?

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Religion is not separated out from other dimensions of life but is fully integrated into the fabric of beliefs and behavior. Religion provides a moral code, including supernatural punishments for those who break the rules.

Front 13

Understand the terms “animism” and “animatism”.

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animism:the belief in spirit beings (gods, souls, ghosts, beings, etc)
animatism: The belief in an impersonal supernatural power.

Front 14

sacred geography

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sacred: denotes an attitude wherein the subject is entitled to reverence and respect. Sacred geography includes areas of land that are considered sacred ex: The spaces from dreamtime.

Front 15

Be able to discuss the relationship between mythology and ritual.

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mythology gives us meaning to the rituals that we perform. The rituals sort of reattach meaning to this ideas with effervescent.

Front 16

Explain the role of ritual in a society. Be able to say what Turner has to say about this.

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Turner says that ritualism gives a sense of communitas and belonging through liminality due to a sense of equality.

Front 17

Be able to explain “rites of passage rituals” (especially initiation rites).

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1.Separation: individual is removed from his or her former status.
2.Transition (or liminal): several activities take place that bring about the change in status.
3.Incorporation: The individual reenters society through a new social standing.

Front 18

What did Joseph Campbell say about mythology?

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Hero with a thousand faces author. "a hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.

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Relationship between religion and world-view?

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worldview: the way in which society perceives and interprets their reality.
Religion is a cultural lens that skews our perspective of reality.

Front 20

Aboriginal Totems

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a system that assigns different plant and animal species to specific social groups and postulates a relationship between the group and the species formed during the period of creation.

Front 21

liminalit

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The state of ambiguous marginality that characterizes the transition phase of a rite of passage.