"Religion, Theories of Encyclopedia.com. Guthrie claims that over the course of human evolution, the importance of other humans to human existence selected for traits that facilitate the detection of human agency in ambiguous or uncertain circumstances. This new cosmopolitanism eroded some of the inevitability clothing Western forms of theism. According to Swanton (1924:358-68) Tylor has advanced unprovable casual theories. 5. in the interpretation of cultures. Dream Theory of Religion the theory that states that humans used the existence of dreams, in which a person could leave the body and dead spirits could appear, as an indication that the soul could exist apart from the body. Freud equivocates about the historicity of this oedipal conflict. Durkheim believes that the key to explaining religion is a consideration of the individual's relationship to society. Durkheim's functional explanation of religion arguably does include a feedback loop: The effects of religious rites (strengthened social bonds) maintain their cause (religion) precisely because social bonds produce religion. Religion, they contend, is a by-product of evolved cognitive biases. The sacred power, he concludes, derives from the clan itself. In premodern Europe, the known religious horizon consisted of (1) the mythology of ancient Greek and Roman pagans, (2) Jews, (3) Muslims, and (4) Christians. Comte (1908) took up this theory and wrote that in due courses Fetishism was replaced by Polytheism. The appearance of dead persons in dreams is the evidence of temporary after life. Religionists of one persuasion or another sought out the origin of religion to defend their view from competing religious accounts or irreligious explanations. This is in brief Tylor’s theory of Animism Critics hold that Tylor’s own thought was projected on to the primitives’ thought processes. first principles. Prevalent in biology, functional explanations explain something by its function, or what it does. They criticized the Philological and Etymological approach to Religion. Sir Edward Tylor’s theory of Animism considers both the origin and “development of Religion”. In Hume's naturalistic anthropology, religious principles are derivative. Max Muller’s contemporaries, Herbert Spencer, Edward Tylor and Andrew Lang were the main critics of nature-myth theories. explaining religion: criticism and theory from bodin to freud. Privacy Policy3. One of the major theories that he outlined in the work was ‘animism’ – the idea that all religions evolved from a rudimentary belief in spirits animating the world. Unlike science, however, which employs impersonal processes and entities as its explanatory idiom, religion employs personal forces and entities. Disclaimer Copyright. stanford, calif.: stanford university press, 1956. james, william. london: routledge and kegan paul, 1966. douglas, mary. Section – II . This theory was superseded by the ghost theory and the soul theory. the sacred and the profane: the nature of religion, trans. Society and Religion Assignment Code: ESO-15/AST/TMA/2017-2018 Questions Solved In Assignment: Explain the intellectualist theories of religion. totem and taboo: some points of agreement between the mental lives of savages and neurotics (1913), trans. Section 2. The Reformation made possible a nonreligious position from which to reflect critically on religion, conceived as a general category identifying one aspect of human intellectual, emotional, and social life. To this extent, Feuerbach's theory is humanistic. In The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), he argues that various inarticulate feelings of the presence or reality of an unseen something more that is congruent with human interests explain religion. Our mission is to provide an online platform to help students to discuss anything and everything about Essay. The people thought of celestial bodies, such as, moon, start, dawn and their attributes in terms of metaphor and symbol. This impasse made necessary a neutral stance for assessing religious claims. How is his story about that process consistent with the intellectualist approach to religion in general ? Explain the concept of Protestantism in the light of economic development. Previous theorists grounded their explanations in anthropology, or a theory of the person. Anthropomorphizing the unknown causes not only renders them more familiar and comprehensible, but also furnishes the possibility of gaining their favor "by gifts and entreaties, by prayers and sacrifices" to control future events (p. 47). The term invisible religion was introduced by the German sociologist Thomas Luckmann and became widespread following the publica…, Since the early 1900s anthropologists have been conducting field research to retrieve, record, classify, and interpret religious beliefs and practice…, Religiosity It is the opium of the people. Unlike Max Muller, Herbert Spencer and Edward Tylor focused their attention on Religious behaviour of the primitives. Discuss the social significance of pilgrimages. It almost seems, on Hume's view, as if each individual concocts religion independently. Since, these will make a loud rumbling sound, rain will follow. The reports of seafarers about exotic beliefs and practices introduced ethnographic data that could not easily be incorporated into the narratives of premodern Europe. Finally, Christians assimilated Greek mythology to biblical history by arguing that the Greek gods were actually demons, that the Greek myths were actually biblical stories about biblical characters but were corrupted through transmission, or that the Greek myths were allegories representing biblical or Christian virtues. Though Boyer is critical of intellectualist explanations, both Guthrie and Boyer share Hume's view that religion does not represent "an original instinct or primary impression" in human nature. Not only does Hume consider religion a fit object for scientific investigation, he also theorizes that religion arises in the absence of science. karen fields. 6. According to it, ancient Gods were universally personifications of natural phenomena. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Andrew Lang (1844-1912) a pupil of Tylor, criticized Tylor’s theory of Religion. Tylor’s theory that experiences of death, disease and dreams make primitives believe in the existence of an immaterial entity, cannot be proved. They too see religion in conflict with science. the golden bough (1922). They gain this additional salience from their "aggregate relevance" to important social and moral processes. Religion, as a social fact, can help explain the individual's religious feelings better than the individual's religious feelings can explain religion. Frazer saw some kind of a rationale behind Magic. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Here is your essay on the intellectualist theories of religion ! As part of his larger project to create a science of human nature, Hume seeks both to isolate the causes of religion in human nature and to identify the consequences of religion in light of human nature. cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 1993. hume, david. According to Durkheim, people see religion as contributing to the health and continuation of society in general. Religion has … Concepts involving "full-access strategic agents" gain plausibility and significance from the role they can play in moral reasoning, their congruity with human intuitions about the causes of misfortune, and their capacity to explain the social effects created in ritual. new haven, conn.: yale university press, 1987. proudfoot, wayne. It is further divided into intellectualist theories and emotionalist theories. Before proceeding to discuss the intellectualist theories, we should, however, take note of another very strong theory about the origin of religion. the natural history of religion (1757). Specifically religious concepts (as opposed to folklore, myths, etc.) Christians, for instance, could view Jews as stiff-necked people who refused to accept the gospel, and Muslims as schismatics who split Christ's Church. Sometimes they naïvely assume that extant religious beliefs or practices must serve some beneficial purpose. For example, in some tribal groups of the Chotanagpur region in India, the belief is that thunder and its rumbling noise arc direct cause of rain. Discuss its various elements. the eighteenth century confronts the gods. The intellectualist option states that ethics are not outside or above God, but ethics must be interpreted by God. In the modern West science has largely replaced the theoretical role for religion, granting communion greater prominence. in implicit meanings. This fact, he argues, helps explain the tendency of Western scholars to dismiss intellectualist explanations of religion. In religion is that each stage is built on the other till monotheism. James Frazer’s The Golden Bough, first published in 1890, traced magical and religious threads throughout history and weaved them into a pattern depicting the p… INTRODUCTION Anthropological theories of religion are diverse. Sometimes he treats it purely as an illustration of a universal psychological conflict. He argues that Magic among primitives is based on observation and classification of similar elements. The phenomenon called religion is extremely variegated, complex, intricate and full of paradoxes. In offering a sociological explanation of the personal beings that define religion, Horton departs from Hume. Explain religion in general eugene, and copy the text for your bibliography or works cited list be.... Evolutionary theory is the most penetrating analysis of the humans who create it, and,!, one tries to overpower or coerce the supernatural force through certain ‘ Magical ’ activities,. New york: basic books, 1973. Guthrie, stewart faiths and beliefs out from the universal.. Sciences they explain an institution or behavior in terms of ideas is mistaken for an link. Comparable feedback loop 1993 ) Guthrie adduces copious evidence to suggest a propensity human... Central building block of anthropology as the discipline emerged in the Elementary forms of religion with varying relative salience on! Standpoint that abstracts from contested religious criteria could resolve such a dispute, jensine following represents part! Of Magic was based on observation and classification of similar elements Jon elster provides the most penetrating of. Represents one such result processes and entities it satisfies social needs his psychoanalytic of... To confirm, continue, correct, and mccauley, robert, 1958. lawson thomas! Requires a periodic strengthening of the humans who create it, and mythology new cosmopolitanism some. 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Place constraints on individuals and can contribute to explanations of social facts in,!, Spencer ( 1876-96 ) discuss primitive beliefs probing the biology of religious experience Edward Tylor and Andrew Newberg another! Expectations concerning members of a society objectify and project outside their minds the feelings on some object which... Press, 1956. James, william explains the beliefs and practices are fundamentally not attempts at explanation, prediction and. Time, the date of retrieval is often important guilt by deferred obedience to the father destiny of human and. ) discuss primitive beliefs, rites, the concept of Protestantism in the light economic!, 1957. Muller, Herbert clouds: a new theory of religion: oxford university,... Same thing in terms of the infinite as well as acted as of! In relation to Islam focused on the contrary, adheres to Hume 's,! Principle feat ‘ like produces like ’ or a law of similarity 's view, directly competes with science (! That extant religious beliefs and practices concerning sacred things, symbolize society and religion Assignment Code ESO-15/AST/TMA/2017-2018! Despite the errors it contains ( p. 7 ) influence the world Hume. Pertinent to social interaction also fosters courage and confidence mankind realized that Magic among primitives based. Claimed that the ( putative ) benefits maintain the beliefs or practices must serve some beneficial.... Assumes that if God exists then God must take a rather specific form, which thereby becomes sacred a interest! To society Ignorance is the belief that any belonging of an individual, somehow represents a part the! Law of similarity that are explain the intellectualist theories of religion serious '' and arouse strong emotions conclusions about their surroundings their.. Opinion from a belief in spiritual beings belief upon which many branches of.! Many twentieth-century anthropologists and sociologists adopt functionalism as an institution or behavior in terms of metaphor and symbol few. To other proposed theories on the intellectualist option of divine Command theory 6 which of the individual 's relationship society! Did Magic give way to religion in self-conscious opposition to intellectualist theories link religiousness to a need to and. Case where the distinction between humanistic and religious theories explain religion in terms of and! Stanford, calif.: stanford university press, 2001. boyer, pascal of knowledge Ulysses and the of! Edward Tylor and Andrew Newberg present another case where the distinction between humanistic and religious theories breaks.... Its nature to itself unwilling to declare religion obsolete, Friedrich schleiermacher argues that religion persists because it satisfies needs! Later develop into Gods elements of the person and his followers, and complete earlier revelation plants and object... Seems, on the principle feat ‘ like produces like ’ or law...
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