Anthropology › Section M · Religion and culture › Topic M.5
Magic and other religious practices
Religious life is not only worship in a church, temple or mosque. People use magic to influence uncertain events, explain misfortune through witchcraft, build whole communities around their faith and treat the nation itself with reverence. Anthropologists study each of these as a serious, coherent part of human experience.
In this topic
- What is magic?
- Frazer's sympathetic magic
- Malinowski: magic and uncertainty
- Witchcraft and sorcery
- Worked example: the collapsing granary
- Oracles and accusations
- Worked example: magic in everyday life
- Utopian religious communities
- The Shakers
- Civil religion
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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