Anthropological Study Of Religion

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century, the anthropological approaches of religion have been explored and recognized through theories and ideas of many anthropologists. To anthropologists, not only is religion been known as a “unified cultural system” (Beyer, Clarke, 2009, p. 24), but it is an intense collection of beliefs, cultural systems and world views. In addition, anthropological approaches of religion are studied by social scientists, such as sociologists, psychologists, political scientists and economists. In the nineteenth century, anthropological study of religion has been known from the works of Edward Burnett Tylor, Fredrich Max Muller, and James G. Fraser while Clifford J. Geertz and other anthropologists’ theories are

According to Frazer, magic has foreshadowed religion and represent a point of view that evolves around the principle that nature can be controlled by supernatural entities. Based on his theories of magic, he believed that magic comes in two forms: imitative magic, which is based on the the concept of “like influences like” (Beyer, Clarke, 2009, p. 30) and contagious magic, which is based on the hunch that when two objects come in contact, both would continue to influence each other. In addition, Frazer concludes that religion: appears whenever magical spells and enchantments do not work to get the desired results and shapes the evolution of science. Around the twentieth century, many anthropologists have conveyed first-hand observation research through people, which have changed the aspect of anthropology of religion. Most of the anthropological studies of religion evolve around the theories of Clifford J Geertz, whose beliefs of cultural systems has become a central focus on all definitions of religion in the twentieth

24). He was best known for his examination of the meaning of religious symbols and his study of religion as a “complex, literate societies” (Beyer, Clarke, 2009, p. 31). Geertz believed that religious symbols are a representation of the way things are modeled and serve as a guide for directing human activities and justifying the “ideas, values and lifestyles of society” (Beyer, Clarke, 2009, p. 31). In addition, Geertz interpret religion as “a system which acts to initiate a powerful and long-lasting moods and motivation in men” (Beyer, Clarke, 2009, p. 31) by expressing order and a realistic idea around moods and motivations. Geertz believes that the study of religion occurs in two stages: the first stage looks at the system of meanings incorporated within the religious symbols while the second stage relies on the systems to “social structures and psychological processes” (Beyer, Clarke, 2009, p. 31). Although Geertz theories and ideas were given much importance, there were a few critical effect on the anthropological study of religion: religion as a practical discipline, separation between the psychological and sociological approaches of culture and religion and the impacts of religious ideas to the