Exam 13: Religion

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

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

Anthropologists typically conduct fieldwork as participants, living and coexisting with those they study. Why is it that anthropologists believe religion, as a set of beliefs about how the world ought to be, can also be successfully studied in this manner?

Which of the following individuals believed that ideas can be just as powerful as economics in shaping society?

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

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?

Some followers of the Voodoo religion in Louisiana use figurines. They pin a person's picture or name to the figure, which represents that person's spirit, in order to bless them. How would an anthropologist most likely categorize this practice?

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?

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:

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?

The diversity of local religious expressions complicates anthropologists' efforts to develop:

What did German political philosopher Karl Marx mean when he called religion "the opiate of the masses"? According to Marx, what purpose or purposes does religion serve in society? How is religion related to the economic reality and class struggle found within a society? Do you agree with Marx's arguments and ideas regarding the purpose of religion in society? Why or why not?

According to Talal Asad, how did the cross, the Torah, and the cow gain their symbolic power?

French sociologist Emile Durkheim developed the notion of a fundamental dichotomy between which of the following sets of ideas that has been used by anthropologists in examining religion?

Which of the following locations is experiencing a significant increase in encounters between people of various religious faiths?

Most of us routinely trim our fingernails. The cuttings are tossed into the wastebasket and we don't usually give it much thought. Believers of ________ would take special precautions with their fingernail clippings, which could be used to cast a spell on them.

German political philosopher Karl Marx called which of the following "the opiate of the masses"?

Paul Stoller's participation in sorcery and magic in Niger afforded him a window into what aspect off anthropological research?

The anthropologist's task when examining religion is to try to capture the vivid inner life, sense of moral order, dynamic public expressions, and interactions with other systems of meaning and power. Based on your own experiences, how does religion inform an individual's inner life, sense of moral order, dynamic public expressions, and interactions with other systems of meaning and power? How does religion inform these aspects on a cultural or social level? What is the underlying purpose of religion within a cultural group or society? What do anthropologists have to offer to the exploration and understanding of world religions?