1. The Structures of Religion
The Anthropology of Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion
The Structures
of Religion

2. “How does one recognize a religion
“How does one recognize a religion? Why does one say that certain behavior is religious? The answer lies in the fundamental pattern, or structure, which the layman and the ethnographer alike recognize when they look at a society and which, whenever it is found, is called ‘religious,’ despite the manifold diversity of its forms.”
Anthony F.C. Wallace Religion: An Anthropological View 1966, page 52

3. 13 categories of religious behavior
prayer
music
physiological exercises
exhortation
reciting the code
simulation
mana
taboo
feasts
sacrifice
congregation
inspiration
symbolism
… the “smallest religious things”
of a society

4. rituals
composed of varying numbers and sequences of the 13 categories of religious behavior
two basic types
calendrical
non-calendrical

5. calendrical rituals occur on a regular schedule
related to an event in some natural cycle
day and night
lunar phases
solar cycles
positions of planets
almost always communal
attend to regularly occurring needs of the group

6. non-calendrical rituals
usually performed on occasions of crisis
often follow a life cycle calendar
birth
circumcision
marriage
death
may or may not be communal

7. beliefs provide the justification for the rituals two components
cosmology
pantheon (list of supernatural beings)
myths (narratives which tell of events in the careers of supernatural beings)
substantive beliefs (about planes of existence and the relations of causes and effects)
values

8. rituals, together with the beliefs that substantiate them, form
cult institutions: “a set of rituals all having the same general goal, all explicitly rationalized by a set of similar or related beliefs, and all supported by the same social group.”

9. the “religion” of a society
consists of multiple cult institutions
not all of these cult institutions are equal in importance
each cult institution is more or less autonomous with regard to its
beliefs
rituals
history
cult institutions may influence one another

10. “American religion” the organized denominations of an area Christian
Jewish
Moslem
Hindu
Buddhist
Ba’hai
Sikh
etc.

11. “American religion” the “religio-political” cult non-denominational
theistic
used to rationalize and sanction political, military, and other secular institutions
expressed in
Pledge of Allegiance (“One nation, under God”)
currency (“In God We Trust”)
has its own rituals and beliefs

12. “American religion” “superstitions” good and bad luck
“what goes around comes around”
“justice will prevail”
“on a roll”
black cats, breaking mirrors, spilling salt, etc.

13. “American religion” children’s cult sanctioned by parents
believed only by children
Christmas (Santa Claus)
Easter (Easter Bunny)
Halloween

14. a society’s “religion”
NOT a
a summative notion
with one single unifying, coherent set of rituals and beliefs
which all members follow equally
but RATHER
a loosely related group of cult institutions
plus other, less well-organized special practices and beliefs

15. types of cult institutions
individualistic
shamanic
communal
ecclesiastical
Olympian
monotheistic

16. individualistic cult institutions
not performed by specialists
each person enters into his or her own relationship with supernatural entities
requires no intermediaries
examples:
vision quests
hunting magic
“luck”
“children’s cult

17. shamanic cult institutions
involve part-time practitioners
involves simplest expression of religious division of labor
examples:
shamans proper
diviners
medicine men
palm readers
astrologers

18. communal cult institutions
led by groups of laity
who only occasionally carry out their cult roles
are organized via a bureaucratic structure
are not full-time specialists in these duties
examples:
puberty rituals
ancestor ceremonies
political functions (U.S.)

19. ecclesiastical cult institutions
most complex type
feature a professional clergy who are organized in a manner similar to the military, political, and economic institutions of the society
clergy undergo a formal training
clergy are formally elected or appointed

20. ecclesiastical cult institutions
clergy are full-time religious specialists
clergy is exclusively responsible for performing certain rituals on behalf of individuals, groups, or the whole community
clergy may claim authority over laity

21. ecclesiastical cult institutions
Olympian
Polytheistic
a hierarchy of supernatural entities, each with a more or less independent character

22. ecclesiastical cult institutions
Monotheistic
all supernatural entities are
Either subordinate to,
or simply manifestations of
one Supreme Being

23. So…
Who’s your Daddy…
…or your Mama?