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Studying Religion Through Practise in “Religions in Practise” by John Bowen

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Studying Religion Through Practise in “Religions in Practise” by John Bowen

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Bowen argues that the value of having anthropologists studying religion is in the fact that they look at phenomena from a microlevel and work their way out (pg. 6). Rather than taking an “outsider looking in” approach, the aim of modern anthropology is to live and develop genuine relationships with those whom the anthropologist is learning about and writing on. In this case, then, the anthropologist has the ability to see the religious community in a very genuine, very complex form. This sort of research is removed from the kind that studies its subjects with a generalised model or pattern in mind that sees communities only through the lens of that model (pg. 7). Nuance and complexity are thus welcomed, and religious communities are not viewed with presuppositions on how they are supposed to live and act according to theory. In other words, the anthropologist sees the many facets that make up a community’s unique religiosity, instead of analysing it through broad assumptions. As Bowen notes, these facets that make up religious identity therefore frequently fall within other domains of life (such as politics, gender, etc) that transcend the murky and often restrictive views of what defines religion and religiosity (pg. 4).

-       Question/s: Although fantastic in theory, wouldn’t be trying to discard all presumptions very difficult? To an extent, don’t we always go in with some kind of predisposed modular belief without even realising?

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What is the Origin? in “Religion Explained” by Pascal Boyer

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What is the Origin? in “Religion Explained” by Pascal Boyer

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Boyer’s overall point is that religion is a varied phenomenon that, by consequence of its multifaceted nature, has many unique definitions and conceptualisations. A lot of the time, then, these “religions” are not even viewed through the conventional framework of religiosity. (Although a different contention to Bowen’s, it is already clear that their striking similarity is in the point that religion is a complex term – far more complex than modern-day western definitions of religion believe it to be. Studying religion is therefore not simply about studying a belief system, and as we see with Boyer, is not about belief systems at all). For many cultures, says Boyer, religions are merely a matter of existence and factuality that bear no relevance to concepts of belief and disbelief (pg. 9). This raises a further point that Boyer does not explicitly discuss but is nonetheless alluded to – “religion” seems to be a relatively ethnocentric concept. The western understanding of religion is applied to many cultures whose so-called “religion” is not a matter of salvation, eternality, or faith (pg. 8-9). Here we see the dangers of generalisation through the lens of western thought. Thus, if we want to really understand religion, we must first take the time to discard any preconceived notions of what religiosity entails. This ethnocentric abandonment is the first step to any well-grounded anthropological practise in general.

-       Question/s: Would we perhaps then benefit from not using the term “religion” at all? What other term could we use?

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First People’s Spirituality in “Gondwana Theology” by Garry J. Deverell

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First People’s Spirituality in “Gondwana Theology” by Garry J. Deverell

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Deverell speaks of spirituality as something directly opposite to the mainstream (often western) conceptualisation of it. He says that spirituality, rather than being a supernatural phenomenon that transcends all that is physical or earthly, is better described as a characteristically terrene experience that encompasses what is real and truly natural (pg. 9). The First Nations conceptualisation of spirituality is one that is woven through the physicality of place, animals, and people, among other things. It is not about mysticism or mythology by any means (pg. 15). This idea that spirituality has nothing to do with otherworldliness holds many resonances to Boyer’s argument that, for many, religion has nothing to do with belief or disbelief. For the First Nations people, Dreaming is not about the “belief” or “idea” of Dreaming. It is not something that takes the vague form of a shared cultural story stemming from ‘old’ or ‘previous’ Indigenous mysticisms passed down through the ages and not always rendered ‘factual’. It is, in fact, the opposite – it is about all that exists and is living and omnipresent (pg. 15). In the voice of Boyer’s argument, we thus need to discard any preconceived western and/or ethnocentric understandings of spirituality if we wish to understand spirituality in its truest, most authentic, and all-encompassing sense.

-       Question/s: Are there consequences of using the term “theology” with Gondwana given its semantic weight? Maybe the Australian English lexicon should be more advanced to better accommodate for the complexities of Indigenous languages/cosmology?

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Art after religion? Artmaking as a spiritual practice in “Soul Search” by Meredith Lake 

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Art after religion? Artmaking as a spiritual practice in “Soul Search” by Meredith Lake 

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Lake explores the idea that, as we progress into a more secular world, people are still interested in seeking spiritual involvement in one way or another. Her discussions with Tomasetti and Eikelboom explore art as a devotional practise, or as something that replicates the transcendental experiences of traditional religiosity. Eikelbloom notes that “theology can happen in different ways”, which itself invites the notion that spirituality can be fluid, or workable to fit into the complexities of people’s lives. On the same token, Tomasetti describes the ways in which a sense of religiosity worked its way into her life “without a framework to locate it”, suggesting spirituality emerged organically, and supporting the idea that theology does not have to be based in conventional religious practise. This further supports notions from our earlier readings that spirituality and religiosity are not directly parallel to ideas of mythology and belief. In reality, religiosity seems to be able to enter one’s life without any formal religious architecture to guide a sense of spiritual commitment. It seems as though spiritual experience can be as evident in a secular world as it is in one dominated by traditional religious doctrine.

-       Given that Tomasetti describes art practise as “choosing her” rather than her choosing it, can we say that artmaking is akin to the transcendental experiences of those who engage with deeply spiritual, meditative forms of religious practise such as Buddhism? Is there a sense of fate in art and artmaking? And does this sit in contradiction to the Boyer reading from Week 2?

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Sacred landscapes: Suburbia in "Soul Search" by Meredith Lake

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Sacred landscapes: Suburbia in "Soul Search" by Meredith Lake

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This episode tackles multiple points about the connection between spirituality and place, looking at three distinctive approaches to the issue from different interviewees. The part I found the most fascinating was the discussion with Ann Aisatullin, a representative for the United Religions Initiative, and who speaks of the sacredness she attaches to her childhood beach suburb in South Australia. Aisatullin speaks of the religious-like spirituality she feels in being in her home town, to its unique concoction of earthliness and suburban-ness as a coastal town. This sentiment has remarkable parallels with Deverell's reading in relation to Indigenous conceptualisations of spirituality and religiosity where experiences with the sacred happen through nature. Here, we see that understandings of what religion and spirituality constitute can come in many forms, and often, our experiences with them are found simply in our relation to the town we grew up. Evidently, these experiences can manifest even in the mundanity of a sprawling seaside suburb.

Question/s: I struggled a bit to follow along with the connection of coastal town to suburbia. To me, they're slightly different places. Would it thus be more helpful to delve into the depths of a Melbourne suburb not characterised by its rolling beaches and distinct terrestrial essence? Or would the argument be lost?

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A woman's religion? in "Christianity: A very short introduction" by Linda Woodhead

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A woman's religion? in "Christianity: A very short introduction" by Linda Woodhead

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Woodhead offers her own explanation as to why women seem to be more attracted to the practises of the church given its traditional association between divinity and masculinity. One of her major arguments is that the church fosters a space for women that gives value to the roles of nurturance, love and caregiving typically prescribed to women in conventional social frameworks. On top of that, she argues that societies ruled by patriarchal and heterosexual power structures have fostered a gendered relation where women love and obey men, and as such, a relationship can be easily transferred to the love of the masculine figures that appear in Christianity. Although I understand this is an explanation rather than an endorsement, I have trouble with accepting Woodhead’s analysis on the basis that she seems to remain uncritical of the fact that these structures merely exist to begin with. The most problematic element is that Woodhead does not address the ideological elephant in the room, and so her explanations seem to remain without criticism of gendered and sexual ideologies that have rendered these frameworks plausible. Again, I understand this is more of an objective analysis. However, considering she is offering an explanation for why women are attracted to the church, it would have been suitable for her to unpack these ideological inequalities a bit further rather than saying “here and the reasons why, and so be it”.

Question/s: Why does Woodhead not unpack these ideas more? Why is there a general theme of acceptance to the fact that masculinity and divinity are correlational in the church? Should there perhaps be a bit more criticism of this idea?

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Does Submission to God’s Will Preclude Biotechnological Intervention? By Sherine Hamdy in "Deus in Machina: Religion, Technology, and the Things in Between" 

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Does Submission to God’s Will Preclude Biotechnological Intervention? By Sherine Hamdy in "Deus in Machina: Religion, Technology, and the Things in Between" 

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Hamdy’s chapter explores the relationship between devout religious commitment and spiritual accessibility to contemporary medical technology. Specifically, it challenges the common narrative that religion is incompatible with science due to its ‘fatalist’ agenda, and throwing one’s predetermined life happenings into temporal disorder would be going against a divine will. The chapter argues that, with the development of new medical practises in Egypt, the resistance to getting treatment is tangled in a thick web of ethical implications for the Muslim believer. In the ethnographic case study used, the major issue with receiving an organ transplant is rooted in the fact that the organ comes from a live human and doing so would risk their health as one of God’s creations. In some ways it is understandable that such a concept has been historically described as passive or fatalist, because of its commitment to the idea that intervention of this scale is intruding too much with a divine plan. However, as Hamdy describes, the problem is a far more complex one that, rather being rooted in passivity to divine will, is rooted in a sense of agency to seek out options that align with one’s personal and religious ethical convictions.

Question/s: There is a quote used at the beginning of the chapter that is along the lines of "the body belongs to no one but God". Does this mean the body belongs to God before it belongs to the person? Or is the body the same as the person? This brings up a Cartesian debate and I would be really interested to hear the debate around it in a Muslim context purely for my own curiosity.

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Uploading the ancestors: Experiments with digital Buddhist altars in contemporary Japan by Hannah Gould et al

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Uploading the ancestors: Experiments with digital Buddhist altars in contemporary Japan by Hannah Gould et al

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Gould et al’s research takes a look at the “necrosocial” bonds between the living and the dead as experienced in contemporary Japan. Specifically, they explore the existence of butsudan alters and the ways in which they are undergoing continuous digitisation and mediatisation to keep up with the ever-evolving nature of the technological world. Upon reading this piece I would have believed that the mediatisation of such ritual would have been seen as immoral, given the richness of its spirituality, sacrality and historicism. It surprised me to read that despite their cost-effectiveness, multisitedness and disruption to the traditional sensorial experience of the butsudan, they are seen as a viable option for ancestor veneration. Such notions are pertinent to the previous ideas we have discussed in this class regarding the ways in which religion can be experienced in many forms and many modalities. It’s clear through Gould et al’s piece that, increasingly, the ideas surrounding religion are moving away from their traditional sense to encompass a more comprehensive and modernised understanding of ritual and sacrality.

Question/s: I wonder how much of this would be able to be applied to other forms of worship and religiosity? Japan is a pretty technologically savvy country, but how would this apply to other, more primitive religions and places?

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Human Security and Spiritual Insecurity: Why the Fear of Evil Forces Needs to Be Taken Seriously by Adam Ashforth

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Human Security and Spiritual Insecurity: Why the Fear of Evil Forces Needs to Be Taken Seriously by Adam Ashforth

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Ashforth writes of the way that people and communities have always historically imagined themselves as living amongst supernatural and otherworldly forces, often characterised as evil. He argues this fear ultimately relates back to anxieties around lack of proper security which has implications of widespread social issues. As such, Ashforth contends that fear of such evil should be taken seriously by international bodies so that all aspects of security can comprehensively be taken into consideration. He goes on to say that four sets of relations should be considered to develop an understanding of these concerns and devise proper security-related solutions to them. The first is interpersonal relationships, meaning the relations between people need to be studied to analyse how they are shaped by fear of the supernatural. Second, the relations between people and substances that have the potential to cause harm. Third, relations between people and invisible beings. And lastly, the relations between psychological or ‘internal’ agencies of the person through their mind, body and soul. Ashforth argues that it is through acknowledging and understanding these sets of relations that human security can be properly accounted for, and as such, their social implications may be properly addressed.

Question/s: I believe there is a danger that, in officialising these concerns, we may also be endorsing them (i.e., making them seem even more ‘real’ and causing more fear). How, on a practical level, would we go about including notions of spiritual security in our national plans so that we acknowledge and understand them but do not fuel their fire by legitimising them?

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Hindu Women, Muslim Men: Love Jihad and Conversions by Charu Gupta

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Hindu Women, Muslim Men: Love Jihad and Conversions by Charu Gupta

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Gupta’s exploration and analysis of the “Love Jihad” movement in India argues against the conspiracy claim that Hindu women are being ‘forced’ to convert to Islam. Rather, she argues Love Jihad is the Hindu attempt to assert woman’s historically ingrained passivity and servitude to the Hindu faith (pg. 14). The aspect of this I found most compelling was Gupta’s depiction of the movement as a way of controlling women’s reproductive capacities by means of protecting Hindu numbers. Framing it in this light illustrates the idea that the Hindu community that follow this idea do not have concern for the rights of Hindu woman being ‘taken advantage of’ insofar as they have concern for preserving the Hindu faith through the female body. This suggests that the ‘protection’ of Hindu women and girls can more accurately be framed as a protection of faith and patriarchal power structures that only care for woman when her body is needed for a male-led project.

Question/s: The above sentiments reflect those of de Beauvoir's who argues that woman is an Other who is only worthwhile in the context of the masculine project. Could it thus be argued that, as Hindus Other Islam through their 'protection' of female Hindus, are also (paradoxically) Othering the Hindu woman?

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A Spectrum of Magical Consciousness: Conspiracy Theories and the Stories We Tell Ourselves by Susan Greenwood

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A Spectrum of Magical Consciousness: Conspiracy Theories and the Stories We Tell Ourselves by Susan Greenwood

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Greenwood writes on the universal human phenomenon of conspiracy theories and storytelling, what she gives the umbrella term of ‘magical consciousness’, to discuss ideas that fall outside of a rationalist paradigm. Often, she says, this incorporates a participatory mode of thought that makes non-sequential or random connections between things, and that is often found in First Nations cosmology. She argues it is often (wrongly) depicted as distinct from, and frankly detrimental to developments in logic and science, however Greenwood says that looking at non-rationalistic ways of thinking is essential for bridging the gap between First Nations peoples and Western cosmologies. An interesting element to her analysis is that the stories we tell create context and give meaning to our worlds by forming connections between things. In a way, she says, this is no different to the ‘stories’ we tell through modes of anthropology. After all, anthropology at its very core is really about giving meaning and understanding to our world through looking at it through another’s lens. There is a valuable note of profoundness within Greenwood’s argument, where she concludes that understanding this alikeness between global communities is perhaps the first step to overcoming disparity and conflict.

Question/s: