Explorations in Anthropology and Theology

by Salamone, Frank A.; Adams, Walter Randolph

• ISBN13: 9780761806615
• ISBN10: 076180661X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-03-27
• Publisher: UPA

Summary

Some of the best scholars in the field of the anthropology of indigenous systems of theology such as Mary Douglas, Morton Klass, and Edith Turner are represented here. Explorations in Anthropology and Theology treats indigenous systems of religious thought, including "popular" American secular rituals, with the respect and attention usually reserved for only the "higher religions," covering topics such as feminist spirituality, traditional religions and the impact of modernization, alternative approaches to the sacred, implications for fieldwork, and the relationship and relevance of theology and anthropology to one another. The result is a stimulating exploration of a new field of research that is still being shaped and defined, the anthropology of theology. Papers represent most of the major ethnographic areas of the world, including Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, the United States and the Artic. Recommended for various courses in theology , anthropology of religion, symbolic anthropology, and fieldwork.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
An Introduction to Explorations in Anthropology and Theology	p. 1
Christian Theology, Sin, and Anthropology	p. 23
Crossing the Great Divide: What Anthropologists Might Learn from Theologians	p. 39
Feminist Spirituality, Theology and Anthropology	p. 47
Theology and the Anthropological Study of Spirit Events in an Inupiat Village	p. 67
Theoretical Reflections on the Chagnon-Salesian Controversy	p. 91
The Theology of Change: Evangelical Protestantism and the Collapse of Native Religion in a Peasant Area of Mexico	p. 113
Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) and the Professionalization of Theology: The Re-emergence of Ritual Consultancy in Nigeria	p. 125
African Polygamy and Its Theological Lessons for America	p. 139
Adoring the Father: Religion and Charisma in an American Polygamous Community	p. 157
Natural Modeling in Lacandon Maya Mythology	p. 175
"Back Home in Indiana" The Semiotics of Pilgrimage and Belief in Honor of an American Icon	p. 191
Processes and Dynamics of Community Fission and Maintenance: An Ojibway Case	p. 209
Sacraments, Society, and Women	p. 231
Bibliography	p. 245
Index	p. 269
About the Contributors	p. 277
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