Exam 15: Religion

The forces of globalization are affecting religion and religious practices. Provide three examples that illustrate how globalization is affecting religion and religious practices, and explain how. Conversely, are the religions and practices in your three examples affecting globalization, and if so, how? How do your three examples also reveal the relationship between religion and other social systems of power? How will future forces likely affect the religion and practices of your three examples? How will future forces likely affect the general status of world religions and practices? Do you think religion will be less or more prominent in people's daily lives in the future? Why do you think this will be the case?

In order to examine the role of religion in community life in Niger, West Africa, anthropologist Paul Stoller apprenticed with which of the following religious specialists?

Your college experience leads eventually to your graduation, a ritual process that ushers you into the "real world" where you are expected to find a job and be a productive member of the larger society. In the model of ritual that Victor Turner describes, what does this entirety of your experience, including the graduation ceremony itself, help to promote?

When Max Weber envisioned an evolution of rationalization in religion, what did he suggest it might result in at the end?

In the view of Talal Asad, religion has been defined by Western anthropology. What does "religion" then become?

Seo-yun is a mudang in South Korea. In her community, she acts as an intermediary between spirits or gods and the human world through rituals, songs, and ancestor worship. Which term best describes Seo-yun?

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz suggests that religion is essentially a system of ideas. What was this system of ideas surrounded by?

The text describes the Muslim saint shrine of Husain Tekri and how people of many different faiths come to the shrine for healing rituals. The people traveling to the shrine are:

What term is used to identify Victor Turner's final stage of a rite of passage that involves the return of the individual to the everyday life of the community?

French ethnographer and folklorist Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957) was the first to theorize a category of ritual called "rites of passage." What are rites of passage, and what is an example of a rite of passage in your own cultural experience? How are rites of passage related to rituals and religion? Are there rites of passage in cultural groups that are not tied to religion? Provide an example. How do rites of passage affect the individual, and how do they affect the cultural group as a whole?

An anthropologist studying football in the United States might find that taboos, sacred objects, and ________ are in almost constant use.

What did anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard, who worked among the Azande people, consider to be an integral part of their religious system?

A megachurch refers to a large, often evangelical or Protestant church that employs business practices, showmanship, rock music, and spectacle to attract congregations. Many megachurches televise their sermons, reaching audiences too far away to attend in person. These churches reveal how technology and marketing, as well as the larger force of ________ , are changing religion today.

What is a central argument that anthropologist Talal Asad presents about religion?

The text describes the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Swaziland, which has one of the highest rates of infection in the world. Aside from religious services, what does the presence of the church in Swaziland provide?

What is one of the primary reasons that the study of religion in anthropology is difficult?

What did anthropologist George Gmelch note about baseball as an activity?

Anthropologist Marvin Harris (1927-2001) developed the theory of cultural materialism, which is built on Karl Marx's analysis of the way in which the material conditions of a society shape its other components. What is the basic premise of Harris's theory of cultural materialism, and how does it relate to religion? How can Harris's theory be applied to explain why cows are sacred in India? What is an example of a religious practice that people engage in within the United States that could be explained using the theory of cultural materialism? Do you think Harris's theory is useful in examining religion and religious practices? Why or why not?

Which of the following is an individual considered exceptionally close to God, who is then exalted after death?

The state of Chiapas in Mexico and the work of Charlene Floyd illustrate the relationship and tension between religion and power. What were the circumstances that led to the Zapatista uprising? Was it successful in its goals? Why was the Catholic Church indicted as a coconspirator in this rebellion? How does this particular example illustrate the connection between religion and other social systems of power?