The Culture of the Sacred: Exploring the Anthropology of Religion

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 264 pages
• Published by: Waveland Press, INc. July 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1577662938
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1577662938
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 15.2 ounces

Product Description
Why is religion relevant? Why are there so many "believers"? Why is religion significant both as a cause of discord and strife and as a perpetual source of security identity, purpose, meaning, and values? Written from the perspective that culture and religion are holistic systems composed of interrelated elements, including belief, ritual, mythology, and ethics, this well﷓organized text explores religion’s enduring role in political, economic, and social affairs. Angrosino has taken a unique approach to capture the attention of readers who are new to the study of religion and culture. Each chapter contains an overview, research explorations, a case study, discussion questions, and suggested resources. The overview, an accessible treatment of often﷓complex concepts, is followed by research explorations—suggested activities that involve students in hands﷓on projects geared to looking at how others experience various elements of religion. Next, a carefully chosen article, written by a recognized scholar(s), illustrates the chapter’s main theme and exposes readers to relevant perspectives and original sources. Discussion questions link the concepts presented in the case study to the main points of the chapter, and the list of suggested readings and video resources provides further enrichment. The appendix contains chapter﷓by﷓chapter questions for review. This text is loaded with the necessary tools for learning new concepts and achieving a better understanding of religion as a permeating, enduring, and significant system.

Publisher Description
Titles of related interest also from Waveland Press: Malefijt, Religion and Culture: An Introduction to Anthropology of Religion (ISBN 9780881334838) and Malinowski, Magic, Science and Religion and Other Essays (ISBN 9780881336573).

Reader Reviews
I had to read this book for an anthropology class of mine, and it only created more questions than answers. It wasn't a fun read, but it wasn't informative either. Angrosino's definitions are vague and his assertion that anything can be a religion nullifies the need for him to continue the rest of the book. If you are a professor reading this and thinking of assigning this book, please thing twice. We were supposed to use this book to create dialogue as my class is a strictly discussion course, and mostly we could only talk about how much we didn't like the book. Angrosino's final chapter also includes a case study written by him and only goes to show how untalented he is at writing or expressing any knowledge of the "sacred." His case study also features grammatical errors which lower his credibility from very little to none. That's a big problem when this is being used in an academic setting.