What is the Anthropological distinction between religion and magic?

Question

2. Why are the lines between the two often blurred?
3. what functions does each serve in a society? ( posative or negative?
most specific gets the point's

This not a home work assignment I already know the answer maybe im looking for someone who has the same point of view.....

Answer 1

The sticking point to any distinction would be the definition of religion. For decades (if not centuries) native groups have been often defined as not having a religion, which is marked by a heirachy of full-time specialists who regulate rituals and a defined body of dogmas that specify the nature of the soul and its dispensation after death. This is sometimes differentiated from "cults" which have only part time specialists or otherwise lack attributes of a full religion. For example, I have seen druids from Roman and Pre-Roman times referred to as "cultists" because of a supposed lack of full time devotion to their faith.

I think that this definition is pretty much out of vogue, however, as it uses the European model as the baseline and downplays the importance of spiritual matters of any group not tied to a Western way of life-- for example, it was long denied that Native Americans had a religion because of this, despite dedicated specialists and a spirituality that suffuses their cultures.

Magic, however, taps into a universal energy, often mediated by spirits, to affect the world. There are technical terms associated with the various systems employed by practitioners from different societies, but I'm not going to go into that here. It is tied to spiritual practices, but is a tool used rather than a system of beliefs.

The hallmark of a religion, according to the definition above, is institutional control, and in fact religious leaders have vast powers of persuasion over their followers regardless of the messages they send.

The hallmark of magic, however, is personal control. It persuades individuals rather than populations, and depends on personal power rather than something enforced by a heirarchy or an institution.

Answer 2

Religions used what we now describe as magic to enhance their effectiveness and search for answers. But magic in and of itself is merely a tool, and by definition not a belief system. Only practitioners who have been misled into thinking magic has some spiritual essence, rather than being simply the art of illusion, have confused it with the religions that use it to enhance their manifestations of power and/or omniscience.

The Jews seem early to have consulted the teraphim (q.v.) for oracular answers
(Judg. 18:5, 6; Zech. 10:2). There is a remarkable illustration of this
divining by teraphim in Ezek. 21:19-22. We read also of the divining cup of
Joseph (Gen. 44:5). The magicians of Egypt are frequently referred to in the
history of the Exodus. Magic was an inherent part of the ancient Egyptian
religion, and entered largely into their daily life. All magical arts were
distinctly prohibited under penalty of death in the Mosaic law. The Jews were
commanded not to learn the "abomination" of the people of the Promised Land
(Lev. 19:31; Deut. 18:9-14). The history of Saul's consulting the witch of
Endor (1 Sam. 28:3-20) gives no warrant for attributing supernatural power to
magicians. From the first the witch is here only a bystander. The practice of
magic lingered among the people till after the Captivity, when they gradually
abandoned it. It is not much referred to in the New Testament. The Magi
mentioned in Matt. 2:1-12 were not magicians in the ordinary sense of the word.
They belonged to a religious caste, the followers of Zoroaster, the astrologers
of the East. Simon, a magician, was found by Philip at Samaria (Acts 8:9-24);
and Paul and Barnabas encountered Elymas, a Jewish sorcerer, at Paphos
(13:6-12). At Ephesus there was a great destruction of magical books (Acts
19:18, 19).

Answer 3

faith begins with a end, and then seems for information to help it. This narrows (better properly, HAMSTRINGS) the scope of analyze to the purpose the position contradictory information is filtered by the international view FIRST, and then immediately discarded as incorrect. This finally ends up in an exceedingly misguided representation of reality, it truly is the total opposite objective of technology. technology is all about taking off with the information, and making a end in accordance to the position the information takes you. this equipment is self-correcting as time strikes ahead and larger human beings get entangled, and it sorts a miles better precise view of reality than some thing else has. faith and technology can coexist, as long as non secular presuppositions are checked on the door, in the different case all that effects is undesirable technology in accordance to unverifiable claims. "EDIT: Banana- do you recognize that evolution easily verifies the order of introduction contained in the e book of Genesis? issues were created in a particular series, and positively, evolution verifies this series." i'm gonna scouse borrow this one from Banana: it truly is misguided. Genesis a million:a million itself is misguided, and what follows isn't defined by skill of evolution. you're a liar.

Answer 4

You need to get an anthropological definintion of religion and of magic and compare the two. Don't let anyone do your thinking for you.

One can be a component of the other.

Do your own research and evaluation. Using your mind is more important to your scolastic development than cheating by getting someoe else to answer for you.

Answer 5

Sorry, that would be too much work for 10 points. But my answers would be an attempt to summarize Sir James Fraser's in "The Golden Bough" (on line at the link below).