Anthropology studies could be said to be as old as religious studies. In social and cultural anthropology, religion is considered universal. ... Anthropology also focuses on the perception of the differences between women and men, and thanks to it, new information is being introduced about sex/ gender. ... Breaking a taboo may serious consequences, ranging from imprisonment to social ostracism. ... Anthropology studies have proven that these taboos increase the so called differences between women and men. ...

• Word Count: 1289
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The anthropology of religion involves the study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions; comparing religious beliefs, doctirnes and practices across different cultures. Modern anthropology assumes that every religion is a cultural product, created by the each individual community. ... We learn how to act in the way that is favorable to cultural expectations that is socially acceptable by these moral agencies. ... Religion or religious conviction forms social and cultural patterns for individuals, and this can vary between cultures. ...

• Word Count: 1433
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Comparing and contrasting Marx" belief on religion as a social opium, along with Emile Durkheim and Max Weber's understanding and account of religion within society. ... Marx imagined primeval communist societies in which all resources were owned jointly by the members of the community, a social organisation to which he longed for a putative return. ... He insisted that "economic facts have formed the foundation of social life; they are the base that generates the division of labour, the struggle of classes, and alienation" (136)*. ... Religion thus protects those who are in power,...

• Word Count: 2462
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

It was guaranteed by the most powerful and reliable of all social institutions."(Pg. 291) This "powerful authority" was religion and it was very useful in sustaining a stable social system in times when security was hard to come by. ... He insisted that "economic facts have formed the foundation of social life; they are the base that generates the division of labor, the struggle of classes, and alienation" (136). ... Religion thus protects those who are in power, all the more as it "provides the ideology [...] which they can call upon to remind the poor that all social arrangements should sta...

• Word Count: 2019
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate