Anthropology and Religion

Robert L. Winzeler is professor emeritus of anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno.

• PrefacePart 1: Anthropology and ReligionWords 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 FaithReligion 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 MoralityPart 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 EnvironmentEcological Functionalism Religion as a Regulator of Ecological Processes Cultural Materialist Explanations of Seemingly MaladaptiveRitual Practices (or, Solving the Riddles of Culture) Religion and Environmentalism The Problem of Reaching Conclusions about Religionand 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 BeliefThe Nature of RitualReligious 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 ReligionsThree 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 ReligionsPart 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 NotesGlossary References

This 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.