Chapter 13
What are the differences between animism and animatism?
1. Animism is the belief that spirit beings can inhabit natural objects. These objects can often be understood to be that spirit (e.g., the Hawaiian goddess Pele is physically embodied within the volcano Kilauea). 2. Animatism is the belief that supernatural forces reside in everyday things. These forces are not understood as physical beings and are impersonal.
4. How do religious systems provide explanations for life's events?
1. Humans desire to understand why we do certain things, and religious traditions provide reasons. 2.These can include taboos (e.g., food restrictions) or specific practices that must be conducted in certain times/places 3.Religious systems often use the concept of predetermination to explain bad or negative events.
2. How do religious systems create community?
1.Ceremonies or rituals that are shared or practiced in public can make individuals feel support from the group. 2.Rites of passage can be examples of community recognition of the transcendence from one life stage to another. They simultaneously play a religious and a social role.
What is the connection between religion and art?
1.Pictographs and petroglyphs of geometric designs that are interpreted as having religious significance (e.g., Lascaux caves) 2.The depiction of animals in advance of a hunt to ensure success (imitative magic).
What are the differences between a priest and a shaman?
1.Priests are full-time religious practitioners who are often found in societies with a social hierarchy that can support individuals to become religious specialists. These are often agricultural societies. 2.Shamans are part-time religious practitioners who are often identified through a life experience. These are most often found in egalitarian societies, such as foragers.
5. What are the differences between a supernatural being and a supernatural force?
1.Supernatural beings are personified or embodied gods, demons, spirits, or ghosts (i.e., there is a specific being that can be referred to). 2.Supernatural forces are disembodied powers that exist in the world. They do not have specific bodies or identities, but can still be manipulated or controlled.
What evidence do we have for the earliest religious systems?
1.The earliest evidence for religion is linked to burial sites. 2.The idea of a burial is the earliest marker of culture and community. 3.The choice to bury or the preparing of the body of a deceased community member is radically different from simply leaving them and moving away. 4.Burials may have represented a belief that what happens to a person's body after death is important, which signifies a belief in some form of afterlife.
What is the connection between religion and body art?
1.The physical manipulation of a body can demonstrate physical devotion. 2.The marking of the body can be used to harness healing forces and magic. 2.1Ötzi the Ice Man had numerous tattoos that were likely for healing purposes. 3.Body art can also be used as a social practice.
How do religious systems renew faith?
1.The regular repetition of rituals can elevate the mood of participants. 1.1 The generally use positive practices such as song, clapping, or dance. 2.Participation in dangerous activities can also be used to renew faith. 2.1 The survival of dangerous activities can be an example of the acceptance of the participant by a supernatural force or being.
What is the connection between religion and medicine?
1.The use of traditional herbs and plants in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to balance a patient's life force. 2.The performance of sandpainting ceremonies by the Diné healers to cure diseases.
2. What is a myth? a. A story that explains events and is outside of recorded history. b. A story that names deities and is enacted by a shaman. c. A story that instills a set of moral values and is regularly recited from a spiritual text. d. A story that is a rite of passage and is sung by a community.
Answer: a Feedback: A myth is a story that explains events, such as the creation of the world, and is outside of the recorded histories.
10. What is a supernatural being? a. A personified god, demon, spirit, or ghost. b. A disembodied power that exists in the world. c. A physical feature that is embodied with power. d. A religious practitioner.
Answer: a Feedback: A supernatural being is a personified, god, demon, spirit, or ghost.
3. The purpose of stories that illustrate the consequences of social transgressions is to a. instill moral values. b. honor the ancestors. c. define social insiders and outsiders. d. empower the religious leaders.
Answer: a Feedback: Stories that outline moral behavior and the consequences of transgressions are used to instill a set of moral values.
5. Syncretism refers to a. the synthesis of religious belief systems. b. the replacement of a religious belief system. c. the revitalization of a former belief system. d. the rejection of a formal belief system.
Answer: a Feedback: Syncretism refers to the incorporation of aspects of one belief system into another.
7. Why is it believed that Ötzi the Ice Man's tattoos were a form of healing magic? a. They were located on parts of his body that had various ailments. b. Their complexity showed a level of care and concern that is usually only present in medical situations. c. Another person had to have placed them on his body for him. d. They most often depicted a snake, which is an almost universal symbol of a healer.
Answer: a Feedback: The location of the tattoos on parts of his body that were afflicted with ailments suggested that they were a form of healing magic. The fact that they were applied by another person could suggest that the other person was a healer, but does not in itself suggest the tattoos' purposes.
1. An emic perspective is a. a perspective from someone outside a group. b. a perspective from someone inside a group. c. a perspective that compares two groups. d. a perspective that removes the divide between two or more groups.
Answer: b Feedback: An emic perspective is one from inside a group and is often contrasted to an etic, or outsider's, perspective.
8. What is medical anthropology? a. The study of how medical techniques have changed over time. b. The study of people's ideas about illness and healing. c. The study of how the human body responds to healing and treatment. d. The study of medicines and healing techniques used by non-humans.
Answer: b Feedback: Medical anthropology is the subset of anthropology that examines people's ideas about illness, healing, and the body, using a holistic view.
6. The term magic refers to a. the regular repetition of rites that are believed to influence the real world. b. the use of deceptive practices/actions to hold power over a group of people. c. the use of powers to contact/control supernatural forces/beings. d. the amount of influence a religious practitioner has on their own community.
Answer: c Feedback: Magic refers to the use of powers to contact and control supernatural forces or beings.
4. A priest is to a shaman as a a. city is to a county. b. dog is to a wolf. c. professor is to a teaching assistant. d. standing army is to army reserves
Answer: d Feedback: A priest is a full-time religious practitioner, whereas a shaman is a part-time religious practitioner.
9. What is a religious revitalization movement? a. A group that advocates for a secular society. b. A group that is starting to create a new religious movement. c. A group that combines aspects of a new religion with their existing religion. d. A group that appeals to their old gods for help and deliverance.
Answer: d Feedback: Religious revitalization movements develop when people appeal to their old gods for help and deliverance in the face of major religious conversions.
moxibustion
a healing practice used in traditional chinese medicine in which a burning stick of herbs is placed near acupuncture points on the body
shamans
a part-time religious practitioner
monotheism
a religious belief system worshiping a single god or goddess
Ghost Dance
a religious revitalization movement, started among the northern paiute, that used a five-day circle dance to seek help from the supernatural realm
pantheon
a set of gods and goddesses in a religious belief system
ritual
a symbolic practice that is ordered and regularly repeated
syncretism
a synthesis of religious belief systems
Traditional Chinese Medicine
a system of healing used in China that focuses on strengthening the body's systems and improving the flow of qi
Which of the following would be considered a rite of passage? a. Attending a high school graduation. b. Participating in a frosh week party. c. Giving a presentation at a local historical society. d. Partaking in a weekly church event.
a. Attending a high school graduation.
According to Harris (1985), why do food taboos exist? a. To encourage people to use cultural practices that are adapted to their local environment. b. To create luxury foods that only elite members can consume. c. To allow religious leaders to exercise additional controls over group members. d. To allow people to easily distinguish group insiders from outsiders.
a. To encourage people to use cultural practices that are adapted to their local environment.
A supernatural force is a. a disembodied power that exists in the world. b. an unknown creature or monster that brings bad luck. c. a myth created to explain the origin stories around the world. d. the effect a deity has on an individual.
a. a disembodied power that exists in the world.
A ritual is a. a symbolic practice that is ordered and repeated. b. an event that occurs when someone transitions from one stage to another. c. a story that explains the creation of the world. d. a social event that redistributes wealth among a group.
a. a symbolic practice that is ordered and repeated.
The belief that supernatural forces reside in everyday things is called a. animatism. b. animism. c. shamanism. d. spiritualism.
a. animatism.
A religious practice not to consume pork and chicken in the same meal would be an example of a a. food taboo. b. rite of passage. c. moral value. d. subsistence strategy.
a. food taboo.
If an ethnography is written from an etic perspective you would expect that the author a. is studying their own group of people. b. is studying a different group of people. c. is writing a relativistic narrative. d. is writing a scientific study.
a. is studying their own group of people. or c. is writing a relativistic narrative. not sure
The term supernatural refers to a. things that are outside of a scientific understanding. b. things that are unnatural. c. sacred stories that explain events.. d. things that are considered untrue.
a. things that are outside of a scientific understanding.
emic
an insider's view; the perspective of the subjects
Which of the following would be an example of an etic perspective? a. A line cook being trained by the senior chef. b. A fan watching his favorite baseball team play. c. A student comparing test answers against the class results. d. A firefighter arguing with a police officer.
b. A fan watching his favorite baseball team play.
What is the purpose of spiritual beliefs? a. To create an organized religion with as many followers as possible. b. To explain aspects of life for which there are no logical answers. c. To increase one's status in society. d. To be able to share a collective ideology with others
b. To explain aspects of life for which there are no logical answers.
The Ghost Dance is an example of a. ancestor worship. b. a revitalization movement. c. animatism. d. traditionalism.
b. a revitalization movement.
The belief that the soul continues to exist among the living after death is referred to as a. monotheism. b. ancestral spirits. c. polytheism. d. animism.
b. ancestral spirits.
What are the four components of a religious belief system? a. The use of prayer, an organized priesthood, a centralized belief structure, and a taxation system. b. A creation story, cautionary tales, a defined morality, and a belief in the afterlife. c. An interest in the supernatural, the use of ritual, being guided by myths, and being symbolic. d. A sacred text, supernatural rituals, one major deity, and followers/believers.
c. An interest in the supernatural, the use of ritual, being guided by myths, and being symbolic.
A religion that believed that the god of the sky was in constant conflict with the goddess of the sun would be an example of a. animism. b. a monotheistic religion. c. a polytheistic religion. d. ancestral worship.
c. a polytheistic religion. (not sure)
A ritual that marks a transition in a social or biological role is called a. a potlatch. b. a myth. c. a rite of passage. d. an oral tradition.
c. a rite of passage.
If a community gave regular offerings to dead family members they would most likely practice a. monotheism. b. polytheism. c. ancestral veneration. d. animism.
c. ancestral veneration.
The use of moxibustion in healing is an example of a. a supernatural ritual. b. syncretism. c. ethnomedicine. d. animatism.
c. ethnomedicine.
The adaptation of new practices into an existing religious system is referred to as a. colonialism. b. spiritual resistance. c. syncretism. d. traditionalism.
c. syncretism.
How does religion instill moral values? a. By exerting social control on political leaders to enact laws that reflect religious values. b. By educating individuals in the nuances of moralistic relativity. c. Through the empowerment of religious leaders who dictate what actions are appropriate. d. Through stories that outline moral behavior and the consequences of transgression.
d. Through stories that outline moral behavior and the consequences of transgression.
A pantheon is a. a mountain believed to be inhabited by a supernatural force. b. a building where monotheism is practiced. c. the focal point of ancestral worship. d. a group of gods and goddesses in a religion.
d. a group of gods and goddesses in a religion.
polytheistic religion
describes a religious belief system in which multiple gods and goddesses are worshipped
supernatural
describes those aspect of life that are outside of a scientific understanding and that we cannot measure or test; religious
deities
god and godesses
etic
outsider perspective
four components of belief system
share interest in the supernatural use ritual are guided by myths are symbolic
animism
the belief that spiritual beings inhabit natural objects
animatism
the belief that spiritual forces inhabit natural objects
ancestral spirits
the essence of one's family ancestors who have remained in contact with the mortal world
ethnomedicine
traditional, non=Western medicine
ancestor veneration
worship of one's ancestors
