ANTH 366: The Anthropology of Religion

A comparative study of religion and spirituality from an anthropological perspective. Topics include: belief, ritual, mythology, symbolism, prayer, magic and sacred texts. The course focuses on traditional and indigenous spiritual systems, as well as global religions. The course examines religion in relation to other dimensions of culture, including political systems, economic structures, family life and the arts. Attention is also given to theoretical developments in the anthropology of religion and to research methodologies developed by anthropologists for the analysis and interpretation of religion. The course will examine traditional religions of sub-Saharan Africa, Christianity in Western Europe, and indigenous spiritual systems of Native North America, among others.