Anthropology of Religion

Catalog description

This course examines religion from an anthropological perspective through attention to healing systems, divinity, spirituality, the sacred, religious movements, religious leadership, ritual, magic, witchcraft, ancestor veneration and pilgrimage. The course considers the place of religion in everyday life, the study of religion in social science theory, moral and ethical reasoning, symbolism, ideology, idealism, materialism, individual and collective empowerment, and articulations between religion and other aspects of culture. The course considers a variety of religious systems around the world.