Why We Became Religious and the Evolution of the Spirit World

 Why We Became Religious and the Evolution of the Spirit World

Step 1:    After reading the chapter, list and define terms with which you are unfamiliar.

• Religion-author defines religion as a form of animism, which is the belief in presence of superior beings, and the worship of such[1].
• Superstitions – they are defined as fallacies or false notions[2]
• Animism- it is a belief that humans share the world with other beings that are extraordinary, extracorporeal and invisible enabling them to exist without the knowledge of the larger human population such as ghosts, demons and jinn.
• Religion is a form of animism in that we belief in forms which could be simply termed as having animalistic form which are parallel to the human world.
• Deity- beings which are not of the human nature or form and exist in world of their own and are superior to man in terms of their abilities and characteristics.

Step 2:    State in your own words the overall thesis of the chapter.

The author seems to emphasis the presence of religion in almost all cultures since prestate societies. In addition, this perspective gives forth the presence of supreme beings in our midst as nearly all people posses a religion. The author brings forth a classification of beings in terms of superiority form those in high end of command and those in lower end of the command. Hence according to the author the presence of beings in our midst within the society form part of religion as the same beliefs and are applied in the presence of good and evil within society as it forms part of the

Rituals are a major theme within the chapter as it illustrates the presence of respect for individual customs or religions. This forms the beginning of religions for people within the various societies around the world. This is due to the sense of belonging and passage of the beliefs and rituals form one generation to another with the aim of preserving culture.

Ancestral beliefs form a solid foundation of many beliefs and cultures of people in various parts of the world. The distinctness of such beliefs results in the different beliefs of the Superstition according to the author is the presence of fallacies in beliefs in the in the day to day activities of a culture, society or religion.

Step 3:               Outline the chapter which should include at least three major themes/subtopics for the reading.

This chapter covers the explanations of the presence of modern and ancient religions in human societies. The author accrues the various religions from the presence of the various beliefs, which were acquired from our ancestors. These forms of beliefs are derived from the interactions people had with these beings in prestate societies who developed rituals based on encounters with the various superior beings.

The author defines religion as the basic belief in the presence of the various beings that make up the deity realm of religions. This varies from one religion to another giving rise to numerous religions, which have individual rituals and cultural belief. Our ancestral beliefs according to the author resulted in the different cultures with the aim of giving man direction in terms of morals.

Step 4:   Write a summary statement for each subtopic

Rituals are used to define the various cultures and their beliefs. The same are also responsible for the formation of religions as religions are mere beliefs in the presence of various beings in our midst that are considered more superior than man is[3].

Religion has been present in the world for long time since the beginning of the world. Hence, the various beliefs in either good or bad usually define the religion and the differences from one religion to another. The various cultures and religions usually have varying beliefs of the number of presence of souls.[4]

Step 5:               Write a question for each subtopic.  

Why are there numerous religions around the world?

Why do people emphasize rituals?

Why do people believe in the presence of superior beings despite such beings being invisible?

Bibliography

Myers-Moro, Pamela, and James E. Myers. Magic, witchcraft, and religion: a reader in the anthropology of religion. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2010.

[1]Myers-Moro, Pamela, and James E. Myers. Magic, witchcraft, and religion: a reader in the anthropology of religion. (New York: McGraw-Hill.)

[2] Myers-Moro, Pamela, and James E. Myers. Magic, witchcraft, and religion: a reader in the anthropology of religion. (New York: McGraw-Hill.)

[3] Myers-Moro, Pamela, and James E. Myers. Magic, witchcraft, and religion: a reader in the anthropology of religion. (New York: McGraw-Hill.)

[4] Myers-Moro, Pamela, and James E. Myers. Magic, witchcraft, and religion: a reader in the anthropology of religion. (New York: McGraw-Hill.)

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