ANTH 330 - Ritual and Religion

Units: 3

Ritual and religion have historically been powerful shapers of society. Every society that has existed has asked universal questions like the following: Where do we come from? Why are we here? What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to act? What happens to us when we die? Provides a cross-cultural and comparative examination of the social, political, economic, cultural, and ideological constructs that people have generated in seeking to answer to these questions. Examines the role of religion as an integral component of world view and social institutions, anthropological theories and findings about comparative religion, and emphasizes the explanatory concepts of religion in its social, environmental, and economic contexts rather than focusing on the specific attributes of differing religions.