‘Belief’ and Anthropology, in Use and in Theory
This essay examines the standing of three important and widely accepted criticisms of the use of the concept of belief within the anthropology of religion. It does so by examining whether these criticisms track the historical use of the concept within the discipline, that is, whether the problematic...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
Method & theory in the study of religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 35, Issue: 2/3, Pages: 174-200 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Needham, Rodney 1923-2006, Belief, language, and experience
/ Evans-Pritchard, Edward E. 1902-1973, Witchcraft, oracles and magic among the Azande
/ Faith
/ Religious conviction
/ Concept of
/ Anthropology of religion
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| IxTheo Classification: | AA Study of religion AD Sociology of religion; religious policy |
| Further subjects: | B
Belief
B Social Anthropology B Evans-Pritchard B Needham |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This essay examines the standing of three important and widely accepted criticisms of the use of the concept of belief within the anthropology of religion. It does so by examining whether these criticisms track the historical use of the concept within the discipline, that is, whether the problematic implications that they associate with the concept can reasonably be inferred from the historical use of the words ‘believe’ and ‘belief’ by anthropologists. It argues that the criticisms do not meet this standard, and that we therefore have reason to think that they are pseudo-problems, which have no legitimate claim on our attention. It concludes by suggesting some reasons why these apparently arbitrary concerns about the concept of belief should have arisen, looking first at some discussions of the meaning of the terms ‘believe’ and ‘belief,’ and second at the reception of Rodney Needham’s 1972 monograph Belief, Language, and Experience. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-0682 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Method & theory in the study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700682-bja10090 |