This comprehensive introduction to the anthropology of religion is designed to give students the tools to understand and analyze religion while considering its important role in world affairs. Intended primarily for beginning courses in comparative religion or anthropology of religion, the anthology includes classic and recent essays by authors from diverse ethnic and national backgrounds. Divided into twelve major topics in faith, religion, and belief, the text concludes with a unique section written by the editors that describes fundamental aspects of five of the world's most influential religions. Each of the book's sections opens with an overview that highlights relevant and critical concepts, providing essential background information for understanding the articles that follow.

*=New to this edition Preface World Map of Places Discussed in Text Introduction: What Is Religion? Part One: Introducing Religion 1. The Origins of Religion James McClenon: How Religion Began: Human Evolution and the Origin of Religion (2002) John M. Watanabe and Barbara B. Smuts: * Explaining Religion Without Explaining It Away: Trust, Truth, and the Evolution of Cooperation in Roy A. Rappaport's "The Obvious Aspects of Ritual" (1999) Bronislaw Malinowski: Rational Mastery by Man of His Surroundings (1925) 2. Religion and Society Charles Lindholm: *Culture, Charisma, and Consciousness: The Case of the Rajneeshee (2002) Aihwa Ong: The Production of Possession: Spirits and the Multinational Corporation in Malaysia (1988) Hikaru Suzuki: Japanese Death Rituals in Transit: From Household Ancestors to Beloved Antecedents (1998) 3. Religion and the Environment J. Stephen Lansing: Balinese "Water Temples" and the Management of Irrigation (1987) Marvin Harris: *The Cultural Ecology of India's Sacred Cattle (1966) Sandra E. Greene: Sacred Terrain: Religion, Politics, and Place in the History of Anloga (Ghana) (1997) Part Two: Ritual, Religion, and the Supernatural 4. Supernatural Beings and Powers Mahipal Bhuriya: Tribal Religion in India: A Case Study of the Bhils (1986) Aubrey L. Parke: The Qawa Incident in 1968 and Other Cases of "Spirit Possession": Religious Syncretism in Fiji (1995) Fernando Cervantes: The Devil and the Saints in the Conquest of Mexico (1994) Arthur Saniotis: *Tales of Mastery: Spirit Familiar in Sufis' Religious Imagination (2004) 5. Special Roles in Religion: Shamans, Priests, and Prophets Laurel Kendall: Korean Shamans and the Spirits of Capitalism (1996) Julie Cruikshank: Claiming Legitimacy: Prophecy Narratives from Northern Aboriginal Women (1994) Andrew Apter: *The Embodiment of Paradox: Yoruba Kingship and Female Power (1991) 6. Ritual and Ceremony Victor W. Turner: Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage (1964) Phillips Stevens, Jr.: Play and Liminality in Rites of Passage: From Elder to Ancestor in West Africa (1991) Lori Leonard: Female Circumcision in Southern Chad: Origins, Meaning, and Current Practice (1996) George Gmelch: Baseball Magic (2002) Horace Miner: Body Ritual Among the Nacirema (1956) Part Three: Journeys of the Soul 7. Altered States Wade Davis: Hallucinogenic Plants and Their Use in Traditional Societies (1985) John R. Baker: The Old Woman and Her Gifts: Pharmacological Bases of the Chumash Use of Datura (1994) J. D. Lewis-Williams: Cognitive and Optical Illusions in San Rock Art Research (1986) Scott R. Hutson: The Rave: Spiritual Healing in Modern Western Subcultures (2000) Elaine J. Lawless: "The Night I Got the Holy Ghost . . .": Holy Ghost Narratives and the Pentecostal Conversion Process (1988) 8. Deaths and Funerals Richard T. Gill: Whatever Happened to the American Way of Death? (1996) Beth Conklin: "Thus Are Our Bodies, Thus Was Our Custom": Mortuary Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society (1995) Audrey Shalinsky and Anthony Glascock: Killing Infants and the Aged in Nonindustrial Societies: Removing the Liminal (1988) Dong Sull Choi: Origins and Realities of Suttee in Hinduism (2002) Part Four: Sickness and Health 9. Healing Wolf Roder: Magic, Medicine, and Metaphysics in Nigeria (1991) Madelyn Krassner: Effective Features of Therapy from the Healer's Perspective: A Study of Curanderismo (1986) Jacob R. Hickman: *"Is it the Spirit or the Body"?: Syncretism of Health Beliefs Among Hmong Immigrants to Alaska (2007) Ineke M. Lazar: Culture-Bound Illnesses in a Samoan Migrant Community (1985) 10. Bewitching Ronald C. Johnson: Parallels between Recollections of Repressed Childhood Sex Abuse, Kidnappings by Space Aliens, and the 1692 Salem Witch Hunts (1994) Joseph Jay Tobin and Joan Friedmen: Spirits, Shamans, and Nightmare Death: Survivor Stress in a Hmong Refugee (1983) Peter Wogan: Magical Literacy: Encountering a Witch's Book in Ecuador (1988) Part Five: Religion in Contemporary States 11. Religion and Poltitcs Raymond Firth: *Spiritual Aroma: Religion and Politics (1981) Kwang-Ok-Kim: *Rituals of Resistance: The Manipulation of Shamanism in Contemporary Korea (1994) Mahmood Mamd: *Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: A Political Perspective on Culture and Terrorism (2002) 12. New Relgious Movements Anthony F. C. Wallace: Revitalization Movements (1956) Allen Scarboro and Philip Andrew Luck: The Goddess and Power: Witchcraft and Religion in America (1997) Mark Juergensmeyer: Christian Violence in America (1998) Raymond L. M. Lee: Taipucam in Malaysia: Ecstasy and Identity in a Tamil Hindu Festival (1989) W. Paul Williamson and Howard R. Pollio: The Phenomenology of Religious Serpent Handling: A Rationale and Thematic Study of Extemporaneous Sermons (1999) Simon Dein: Lubavitch: A Contemporary Messianic Movement (1997) Part Six: World Religions 13. Hinduism The Historical Development of Hinduism The Sacred Literature of Hinduism Varna: The Caste System Varieties of Hindu Religious Practice Veneration of Cattle Festivals Hinduism and the Modern World 14. Buddhism The Life of Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E.) Buddha's Teachings The Development and Spread of Buddhism Divisions of Buddhism Relics, Pilgrimages, and Holy Days Contemporary Buddhism 15. Judaism Sacred Literature Historical Background Kabbalah and Hasidism The Holocaust Zionism Contemporary Judaism: Sacred Practices Religious Festivals Dietary and Religious Practices Divisions within Judaism Jews in the Modern World 16. Christianity Historical Background The Early Christian Movement Divisions in Early Christianity Monasticism Medieval Christianity: Division between Eastern and Western Churches Reformation and Response Sacred Literature Christian Ritual Christian Holidays Christianity Today New Denominations and Christian Fundamentalism in America 17. Islam The Life of Muhammad Islamic Expansion Muslim Beliefs and Practices Sunnah and the Hadiths Shiite and Sunni in Islam Other Variations: Black Muslims Islam in the Past One Hundred Years Glossary Index