{"product_id":"anthropology-and-religion-9780759121898","title":"Anthropology and Religion","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing from ethnographic examples found throughout the world, this revised and updated text offers an introduction to what anthropologists know or think about religion, how they have studied it, and how they have interpreted or explained it since the late nineteenth century. Robert Winzeler's balanced consideration of classic topics, basic concepts, and new developments in the anthropological study of religion moves beyond cultural anthropology and ethnography to gather information from physical anthropology, prehistory, and archaeology. Written as a sophisticated but accessible treatment of the issues, Anthropology and Religion is a key text for upper-division courses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is an excellent review of the vast body of research anthropologists have done on religion around the world and through the history of our species. Winzeler discusses and critiques the underlying assumptions and theoretical orientations as well as the empirical findings of a number of anthropologists. The book is clear that these are not just matters of long ago and far away but pertain to the contemporary world of today's news. This is an excellent book for courses on the anthropology of religion as well as for people who want to know what anthropologists have to say on the topic. In many years of teaching courses on the anthropology of religion, I have found no book to match it for comprehensive coverage. -- E. Paul Durrenberger, Pennsylvania State University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface  Part 1: Anthropology and Religion Words and Things  Is Religion a Human Universal?  The Meaning of Religion  The Anthropology of Religion  Types of Anthropological Studies of Religion  Types of Religion  Religions versus Religion   Part 2: Religion Here and There: Western Notions in Comparative Perspective  Religion Is Primarily a Matter of Belief or Faith Religion and Identity: One at a Time  Religion Is a Separate Realm of Life  Religion Is Associated with a Special Building  Religion Concerns Transcendental Rather Than Practical Matters  Religion Is the Basis of Morality  Part 3: Religion, Evolution, and Prehistory  The Bio-evolution of Religion  When Did Religion Develop?  The Origin of Religion: How It Began  The Nature of Early Religion  Has Religion Evolved?   Part 4: Religion, Adaptation, and the Environment Ecological Functionalism  Religion as a Regulator of Ecological Processes  Cultural Materialist Explanations of Seemingly Maladaptive Ritual Practices (or, Solving the Riddles of Culture)  Religion and Environmentalism  The Problem of Reaching Conclusions about Religion and Adaptation   Part 5: Natural Symbols  Are There Natural Symbols?  The Natural Environment as Symbolism  Animals  Colors  Lateral Symbolism: Left- and Right-Handedness  Percussion Sounds  The Head and Its Parts  Natural Symbols and Natural Religion   Part 6: Myth and Ritual, Old and New  What More Exactly Is Myth?  Theories, Approaches, and Explanations of Myth  The Protagonists of Myth  Myth and Gender  Contemporary Urban Myths  Contemporary Rumor Myths   Part 7: Ritual and Belief The Nature of Ritual Religious Ritual  Some Common Forms of Religious Ritual  Some Common Types of Ritual  The Structure of Ritual according to Arnold van Gennep  Journeys and Boundaries  Rites of Passage  Mortuary Rituals  Bad Death  Funerals as Rites of Passage   Part 8: Witchcraft and Sorcery: Past and Present, Far and Near  Traditional Witchcraft and Sorcery in Small-Scale Societies  Witchcraft in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe  Modern Witchcraft or Neo-paganism   Part 9: Spirit Possession, Spirit Mediumship, and Shamanism  Spirit Possession and Spirit Mediumship  Shamanism  Shamanism in the Modern World   Part 10: Religious Movements and the Origins of Religions Three Native American Movements  Cargo Cults in Melanesia  A Religious Movement in Borneo  Revitalization?   Part 11: Anthropology and the World Religions  The World Religions from an Anthropological Perspective  Anthropological Studies of the World Religions  The Conversion of Indigenous Peoples to and within the World Religions  Part 12: Anthropology and Religion on a Larger Canvas: Religious Change under Socialism and Capitalism  Religious Change in Socialist and Postsocialist Societies  Socialism and Shamanism in Siberia and Mongolia  Religion under Socialism in China  Religion, Social Complexity, and Socialism in Cuba  Vietnam and Laos as Socialist States  The Return of the Occult   Notes Glossary  References","brand":"AltaMira Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51037745906007,"sku":"9780759121898","price":99.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780759121898.jpg?v=1750937107","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/anthropology-and-religion-9780759121898","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}