| A | B |
|---|
| religion | the process among members of a society that helps to order their society and provides them with meaning, unity, peace of mind, and the degree of control over events they believe is possible. |
| cosmology | set of principles or beliefs about the nature of life and death, the creation of the universe, the origin of society, the relationship of individuals and groups to one another, and the relation of humankind to nature. |
| initiation rites | a ritual that marks the passage from childhood to adult status |
| myths | sacred narratives that tell of supernatual beings and of the origin of all things |
| a point of religion by Malinowski | there is an intimate connection between the sacred tales of a society and its ritual acts, moral deeds, and social organization |
| anthropomorphic | human in form [referring to spirits] |
| zoomorphic | animal in form [referring to spirits] |
| naturalistic | associated with features of the natural environment. [referring to spirits] |
| anthropopsychic | have features of personality similar to those of human beings. [referring to spirits] |
| polytheistic | many gods |
| monotheistic | one god |
| trickster | interested in their own benefit, not that of human beings. in christianity = devil. personifications of evil and often combine attributes such as greed lust, and envy with humor and wisdom |
| mana | religious power or energy |
| ritual | ceremonial act or a repeated stylized gesture used for specific occasions |
| rites of passage | public events that mark the transition of a person from one social status to another. they publicly mark a person's change of social status. |
| separation | first generic stage of rites of passage - deatches the person or group from a former status. |
| liminal | second phase of generic rites of passage - a stage of limbo in which the person has been detached from the old status but not yet attached to a new one. |
| reincorporation | the third stage of generic rites of passage - the passage from one status to another is symbolically completed. after this the person takes on the rights and obligations of his or her new social status. |
| communitas | a temporary state of equality and oneness brought about by the liminal stage. |
| antistructure | the use of behavior that is normally unthinkable during religious rituals. occurs during the liminal stage. |
| rites of intensification | rituals directed toward the welfare of a group or community rather than the individual |
| totems | a plant or animal considered to have an intimate relationship with a human group, sometimes as an ancestor |
| totemism | a religious practice centered around a plant, animal, or other aspect of the natural world considered to have an intimate relationship with members of a group. totems are sometimes considered ancestors. |
| prayer | conversation held with spirits and gods through which people praise, plead, or request. critical feature of which is that people believe that its results are dependent on the will of the spirit world rather than on actions humans perform. |
| sacrifice | offerings to spirits to increase the efficacy of their prayers. often animal lives or human lives are sacrificed in order to propitiate a deity. |
| magic | when people believe that their words and actions compel the spirit world to behave in certain ways. failure is understood as resulting from incorrect performance of the ritual rather than the refusal of spirits to act. |
| imitative magic | the procedure performed resembles the result desired. ex... a vodou doll and even christian baptism can be seen as forms of imitative magic |
| contagious magic | based on the idea that an object that has been in contact with a person retains a magical connection with that person. |
| divination | ritual practice directed toward obtaining useful information from a supernatural authority. |
| scapulomancy | a form of divination ritual in which a shoulder blade of a caribou or other animal is scorched by fire. the scorched bone is used as a map of the hunting area, and the cracks in the bone represent the best place to hunt. |
| witchcraft | a physical aspect of a person. people are witches because their bodies contain a magical witchcraft substance. |
| sorcery | the conscious manipulation of magic, prayer, or sacrifice with the intent of harming another person. |
| Wiccans/neo-pagans | a new group of religious worshippers who call themselves witches. they claim their descent from pre-christian Europe and the Middle East. their basic principle is the threefold law - "whatever good or ill a person does in the world returns to them three times." |
| clerics | people who conduct religous ceremonies and perform rituals. |
| shamans | people who are able to achieve direct contact with the spirit world. |
| priest | a person who is formally elected or appointed to a full-time religious office. priests are responsible for performing certain rituals on behalf of individuals, groups, or the entire community. |
| nativistic | a religious movement whose aim is to restore a golden age believed to have existed in the past. |
| vitalistic | a religious movement whose followers look toward a Utopian future - ex... Rastafarians |
| revitalization movements | a consciously organized effort to consturct a more satisfying culture. |
| millenarian | people who are focused on the coming of a messiah who will usher in a Utopian world. |
| syncretism | the merging of two or more religious traditions to form a new religion, is often found in religions of resistance. |
| orichas | african deities |
| Ghost Dance | a native american religious movement of the late nineteenth century. |
| Peyote Road | the moral principles followed by members of the Native American Church. |
| Peyote | a small, hallucinogenic cactus that grows only in south texas and northern mexico. |
