A Study of Religious Behavior

[Lightkeeper]

Anthropologists Develop New Approach To Explain Religious Behavior
ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2008) — Without a way to measure religious beliefs, anthropologists have had difficulty studying religion. Now, two anthropologists from the University of Missouri and Arizona State University have developed a new approach to study religion by focusing on verbal communication, an identifiable behavior, instead of speculating about alleged beliefs in the supernatural that cannot actually be identified.

"Instead of studying religion by trying to measure unidentifiable beliefs in the supernatural, we looked at identifiable and observable behavior - the behavior of people communicating acceptance of supernatural claims," said Craig T. Palmer, associate professor of anthropology in the MU College of Arts and Science. "We noticed that communicating acceptance of a supernatural claim tends to promote cooperative social relationships. This communication demonstrates a willingness to accept, without skepticism, the influence of the speaker in a way similar to a child's acceptance of the influence of a parent."

Palmer and Lyle B. Steadman, emeritus professor of human evolution and social change at Arizona State University, explored the supernatural claims in different forms of religion, including ancestor worship; totemism, the claim of kinship between people and a species or other object that serves as the emblem of a common ancestor; and shamanism, the claim that traditional religious leaders in kinship-based societies could communicate with their dead ancestors. They found that the clearest identifiable effect of religious behavior is the promotion of cooperative family-like social relationships, which include parent/child-like relationships between the individuals making and accepting the supernatural claims and sibling-like relationships among co-acceptors of those claims.

"Almost every religion in the world, including all tribal religions, use family kinship terms such as father, mother, brother, sister and child for fellow members," Steadman said. "They do this to encourage the kind of behavior found normally in families - where the most intense social relationships occur. Once people realize that observing the behavior of people communicating acceptance of supernatural claims is how we actually identify religious behavior and religion, we can then propose explanations and hypotheses to account for why people have engaged in religious behavior in all known cultures."

Palmer and Steadman published their research in The Supernatural and Natural Selection: The Evolution of Religion. The book was published by Paradigm Publishers.

Anthropologists Develop New Approach To Explain Religious Behavior

Is the bottom line of religion about social behavior? Are we all basically looking for a parent?

[Storm2008]

Originally Posted by Lightkeeper

Anthropologists Develop New Approach To Explain Religious Behavior

Is the bottom line of religion about social behavior?

Religion, possibly. Belief, no.

Are we all basically looking for a parent?

No.

[metis]

Originally Posted by Lightkeeper

Is the bottom line of religion about social behavior?

Very hard to say because, to a theist, the "bottom line" is faith, but to an atheist, the bottom line is typically quite different from the theist's. However, I think both theists and atheists both agree that religion does have significant impact on social behavior.

Are we all basically looking for a parent?

The famous rocket scientist Werner von Braun, who was a theist, said that if there was no God, man would invent one anyway. IOW, we probably never outgrow our need for security. Just take a look at how God in the Abrahamic religions was anthropomorphized to be like a powerful father figure that would protect us.

[arthra]

I do believe religion can unite people and add coherence and meaning to their lives whether it inculcates child like acceptance may depend on the particular religion... that can vary I think.

- Art

[Eolas Pellor]

...is where they have ever found anthropologists who spend their time "speculating about alleged beliefs in the supernatural that cannot actually be identified".

[metis]

Originally Posted by Eolas Pellor

...is where they have ever found anthropologists who spend their time "speculating about alleged beliefs in the supernatural that cannot actually be identified".

I'm a bit confused by your question-- can you clarify exactly what you are looking for? As an anthropologist (retired), let me take a stab at what our work involves in this area.

Religion is considered one of the five basic institutions that all societies have in one form or another (the others are political, economic, family, and education). We typically do not make judgements as to the validity of religious beliefs, but spend most of our time studying the beliefs and the effects of the beliefs on their culture. If we have any religious beliefs, we are to put them on the side and do our best to keep our own faith (or lack there of) out of the picture.

[Eolas Pellor]

Originally Posted by metis

I'm a bit confused by your question-- can you clarify exactly what you are looking for? .

The "researchers" claim to have blazed a new trail, and criticize other anthropologists as "speculating about alleged beliefs". This is nonsense; a hollow claim, no matter how interesting their inquiries may be. I have read a fair bit of anthropology of religion articles and books and have yet to find a credible anthropologist who "speculated" about what people believe....

They describe what people believe, which is quite a different thing.