 |  Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, 6/e Arthur Lehmann,
California State University -- Chico
Pamela Moro,
Willamette University
James Myers,
California State University -- Chico
The Changing Spiritual Landscape
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Cultural Change
-old and new anthropological approaches
-significant social, political, and economic changes
Religious Change Within a Larger context
-in many ways for many reasons
-contradictory pull of changes
-comprehending 'modernity'
Revitalization Movements
-A.F.C. Wallace
-dramatic example of change
-Wallace's categories
-in the non-Western world
-not restricted to religious and traditional groups
-Edward Sapir's insights
Terminology
-churches, cults, and sects
Trends
-enormous growth in U.S.
-the dissatisfied looking for an alternative
Appeal of Religious Movements
-the lure of love, acceptance, security, and improved personal status
-Glock's five types of deprivation
-staying power of established religions
Articles Included
Article: The Revival of Monastic Life in Drepung Monastery by Melvyn. C. Goldstein
Religion in Tibet
-traditional role in cultural life
-Tibetan Buddhism: "mass monasticism"
-source of pride and prestige
Monasteries
-semi-autonomous units
-political leverage
-economic influence and land ownership
-integral to Tibetan Buddhism
-varied widely in form and size
-Drepung monastery
Drepung in Traditional Tibetan Society: Overview
-epitome of "mass monasticism" in Tibet
-organized and structured into an alliance of "colleges"
-monkhood: "scholar monks" and tramang or tragyü
-necessary economic activities
-rules and individual responsibility
-in full swing when incorporated by Mao Zedong
Incorporation into the People's Republic of China
-1st phase (1951-1959): gradualist policy aimed at monastic hierarchy
-2nd phase (1959-1966): a move towards destruction
--subsequent changes in the rebellious Drepung monastery
--"work teams" and the DMC, and massive scaling back
-3rd phase (1966-1978): government suspension of religion
--most devastating period
-4th phase (1978-present): a slow liberalizing shift
--reemergence of "individual" religion
--parameters and policy set for a "new" Drepung monastery
--adapting a traditional practice to a new socio-political context
--a slow revival and a shift in focus: from quantity to quality
Drepung and Political Dissidence
-an entwined situation
-the "Tibet Question": internationally and in Tibet
-cultural versus political autonomy
-new political offensives: the Dalai Lama himself
-demonstrations, riots, and a volatile political atmosphere
-a re-emerging hard-line policy and effects upon monastic life
-heightened sense of national identity and political purpose
-the monastic position on the Dalai Lama
Conclusion
-centrality of monasticism encourages revivalism
-individual religious freedom is not enough
-current era of "religiopolitical confrontation"
-an uneasy quiet: frustration and depression among monks
-the mixed outcome of the revival
Epilogue
-potential fears materialized: summer 1996
-"patriotism education" and a "get tough" policy
-new "conditions"
-changes in the administration and economics at Drepung
-absolute intolerance of political dissidence
-uncertain monastic future and the unresolved Tibet Question
Article: Revitalization Movements by Anthony F.C. Wallace
Culture Change
-stability and steady-state fluctuations
-violent and abrupt fluctuations in the cultural Gestalt
-"revitalization movements"
Severe Disorganization of a Sociocultural System
-potential sources and factors
-inability to culturally "satisfy" needs for well-being and self-respect
-the disillusioned mazeway
-the Seneca of New York: an example
-syncretic cultural reforms and revitalization
Revitalization Movements
-occurrence in human history
-processual structure of overlapping functional stages
Steady State
-moving equilibrium
The Period of Increased Individual Stress
-sociocultural system pushed out of whack
The Period Of Cultural Distortion
-institutionalized efforts at deviance
The Period of Revitalization
-Formulation of a Code
--"goal culture"
--mazeway resynthesis
-Communication
--converts for cultural salvation
-Organization
--prophet, disciples, and mass followers
--Gerlach's insights into modern movements
-Adaptation
--constant reworking of the code
-Cultural Transformation
--decline in quasi-pathological signs of distress
--disappearance of cultural distortion
--ability to maintain boundaries
-Routinization
--shift in function: innovation to maintenance
New Steady State
-normal steady-state fluctuations continue
-mythic record of the movement
Psychological Mechanisms and Cultural Transformation
-mazeway resynthesis
-hysterical conversion
-essential for a rapid shift in Gestalt
-small tribal and stable complex societies
Revitalization Movements
-frequency and social pressure
-variation within a diversity of contexts
-tendencies within major culture areas
Article: The Ghost Dance Religion by Alice Beck Kehoe
New Year's Day 1892
-James Mooney's search
-Wovoka, "Jack Wilson"
-the massacre at Wounded Knee
-the formal interview
-Jack and Mary's way of life
Jack Wilson's Story
-childhood
-Euro-American influences
-a young respected weather doctor
-total eclipse and divine revelation
-gospel of peace and right living
Jack Wilson the Prophet
-letter to the president
-sincerity and conviction
-Indians and Mormons on pilgrimage
-a messiah in Nevada
Wovoka's Gospel
-what the delegates found
-the ceremonial dance
-bringing the message home: tokens of holy power
-when "the sun died": the revelatory experience
-Arapaho relation of the gospel
-"a clean, honest life"
- the circle dance: an ingathering in harmony
-prophecy of renewal
A Complete Religion
-transcendental origin and a continuing purpose
-universally applicable
-proscribed personal behavior and a means for unification
-satisfying the senses: the dance itself
-hope, consolation, assistance, and honor
-the historical and cultural context
The Spread of the Message
-to the west, south, and east: groups from California to Oklahoma
-the role of independent converts
-persistence and incorporation into traditional religious life
-reinforcing versus supplanting
-legacy of the Ghost Dance
The "Ghost Dance"
-envisioned a resurrection and renewal
-other names
-a lifetime of service: Jack Wilson
-hope and disappointment
-enduring message for a "good life"
Article: Cargo Cults by Peter M. Worsley
A Prophecy Fulfilled
-arrival of the Whites
-anticipation of the "Great Pigs"
Clash of Cultures in Southwest Pacific
-bizarre episode not an isolated incident
-culture and technology of Melanesia
-ill prepared for the shock of contact
-disturbing European ideas and artifacts
-"cargo" and the white man's magic
Cargo Cults
-people of Melanesia only the latest
-cataclysm, the dead ancestors, and a blissful paradise
-response to emotional stress and strain
-sometimes extremely well organized and persistent
--"Black King" prophesies
-the arrival of troops during WW II
-the incident with the Japanese
The History Behind the Response
-the story of Mansren
--religious parallels
-added significance of the myths in the late 19th century
-missionary education
-the role of magic
-enthusiasm and disenchantment
-native interpretation of the situation: the "secret"
-"backward" economic context
-rapidly shifting government occupations
A Seemingly Bizarre Display
-the outsider perspective
-madness, mania, and irrationality
-logical and rational attempts to make sense of chaos
-hope in an amalgam
-disappointment and staying power
-other examples
-bringing together scattered groups
-decreased importance with secular political organization
Article: Urban Rastas in Kingston, Jamaica by William F. Lewis
Nigel
-the solitary life of a "Soul Rebel"
-communication and mutual consciousness
-avoiding pollution
-Rastafarian conversion
-principles and ital
-normative practices and philosophical reflections
The Upper Room
-women excluded
-a meeting of the brethren
-conduct
-reflections: affairs of the world, health, and the meaning of sexuality
David and Lion
-their home on the pier
-between two worlds
-lifestyle
Reasoning
-the white visitor
-a group session with the brethren
-drawing from the Bible
-critique and reflection
--Jamaican people, ganja, churches, reggae, Zion
--"I-n-I"
Article: Adoring the Father: Religion and Charisma in an American Polygamous Community by William Jankowiak and Emilie Allen
Religious Meaning
-shifting with a fluid context
-official creed and psychocultural factors
-"father adoration" in Fundamentalist Mormonism
--four intertwined components
--a remembered experience of adulthood
Angel Park: The Religious Community
-a sectarian polygamous community
-a limited-economy town
-commonalities with mainstream culture
-government approach to
-a male-centered, theologically governed intentional community
Mormon Theology: Christianity and Honoring Thy Father
-Christian doctrines shaped by the frontier experience
-the religious canon
-the non-negotiable core tenets
--elevation of the spiritual essence and being of men
--individual celestial rank
--the coming of the Celestial Kingdom
Honoring of Fathers and Competing with Fathers
-social standing
-creating a polygamous family system
-religious specialists and high priests
-hagiographic accounts and remembrances
-"the love of the father": public expressions of "father adoration"
Familism: Competing with Father's Reputation
-inter-family competitive clannishness
-familial ranking
The Charismatic Father: Imaging the Polygamous Family
-theological axioms and the social dynamics of polygamous family life
-the all-powerful father
-matrifocality is undermined
-intense emotional involvement and co-wives
-charismatic leaders
-visions and dreams: spiritual connection
-from man to symbol
Love, Ambivalence, Hostility
-internal dynamics and charismatic awe
-adoration tempered by experience
-relationships with the father and intensity of idealism
-the father as a key metaphor
-two competing images
-absolute adoration, guarded adoration and, rejection
-the role of mothers and wives
Conclusion
-father adoration in Fundamentalist Mormonism
-interplay of theology and psycho-social dynamics of the polygamous family unit
-bifurcation and transformation of the father
-familism and a closed-corporate theological community
-the centrality of the ideal family unit
Article: Religious Dimensions of the UFO Abductee Experience by John Whitmore
UFO Abductions
-a rising phenomenon
-ufology researchers
-hypnosis and theories dominating the field
-primary accounts
-religious overtones
-a revised look at the abductee experience
The Abduction Phenomenon
-considering the merits of hypnosis
--suggestibility
--a psychological view: Philip Klaas
--Jungian insights into the dream-like character
-phantasmagoric texture
Patterns in the Abduction Experience
-initially convincing correlation of details
-experiences and similarities with perception of the Other
--perception of light
--mystic journey
--floating upwards
--spiritual examination
--sexual examination
Religious and Shamanistic Parallels
-ecstatic visionary experience
-pulled into the world of the Other
-isolation, ordeal, and revelation
-having been "chosen"
-overt sexual imagery
-personification of Otherness
A Closer Look at the Messages
-reveals a wealth of religious details
-moral injunction
-apocalyptic message
-theme of being "chosen"
-revealing identity and purpose of the Other
-projection of themes onto a new framework
-many parallels with Christianity
Abductee Psychological Profiles
-indicate type of intense religious experience
-abduction considered broadly as a religious concept
-tradition of beliefs in non-human sentient beings
-scholarly interpretation is difficult
-the religious tone of the abductee perspective
--Betty Andreasson and Whitley Strieber
Religious Undercurrents in Ufologists' Interpretations
-similarities with accounts of "little people"
-the diminutive non-human with supernatural powers in history
-confrontation with the Other as religious experience
-"theologies of abduction"
-fantastic interpretive schemes: extraterrestrial biologists, etc.
-conspiracy theory: government involvement
Conclusive Analysis and Methodological Underpinnings
-difficult but suggestive of religious themes
-Jungian categories
-encounters with the Other
-essentially religious sacred/ profane distinctions
-emerging from the subconscious: an incorporation of themes
-a gold mine for scholars of religious studies
-deserving of serious investigation
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2005 McGraw-Hill Higher Education