Traditional Religions

Open Educational Resources

This page and the resources with links from it are Open Educational Resources (OER)

Scope of Course

"Traditional religions" typically refer to belief systems, spiritual practices, and cultural customs that have been established over a long period within a particular community or society. These religions often have deep roots in the history and culture of a region or ethnic group and are passed down through generations via oral traditions, written texts, rituals, and ceremonies.

Characteristics of traditional religions often include:

  • Historical and Cultural Roots: Traditional religions are usually deeply intertwined with the history, culture, and social structures of the communities that practice them. They are called "traditional religions" because they reflect the values, beliefs, and experiences of the people who have practiced them for centuries.
  • Oral Tradition: Many traditional religions rely heavily on oral tradition for the transmission of teachings, myths, and rituals from one generation to the next. Stories, songs, and rituals are passed down verbally rather than through written texts.
  • Ancestor Worship and Animism: Traditional religions often include practices related to ancestor worship and animism, where natural objects, animals, or ancestors are believed to possess spiritual significance or supernatural powers.
  • Rituals and Ceremonies: Rituals and ceremonies play a significant role in traditional religions. These practices mark important life events such as birth, coming of age, marriage, and death, as well as seasonal changes and agricultural cycles.
  • Connection to Nature: Many traditional religions emphasize a deep connection to nature and the natural world. This connection is often reflected in rituals, prayers, and beliefs that honor and respect the environment and its resources.
  • Polytheism and Pantheism: Traditional religions often involve belief in multiple gods or spirits, each with its own domain of influence or power. Pantheistic perspectives where the divine is seen as present in all aspects of the natural world and is also common.
  • Examples of traditional religions include various forms of indigenous spirituality, such as Native American religions, African traditional religions, Australian Aboriginal religions, and the traditional religions of many indigenous peoples in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Additionally, certain forms of Hinduism, Shintoism , and Taoism could also be considered traditional religions due to their deep historical roots and cultural significance within their respective regions.

    Additional materials will be available during the course. Students in Traditional Religions will study in detail those religions, usually of tribal peoples, that may also carry the label "animistic."

    I have a very personal interest in this subject since we spent one term of service in Haiti, where the predominant religion is an animistic one called voodoo (variant spellings include voudun and vodou). [ e-book on Haiti ]

    Case studies to be used in class:

    Are you doing some of your research on the Internet? If so, be sure to cite those internet sources properly in your written work.

    Course Syllabus

    Miss 5103/Soc 5103

    Requirements

    1. Regular attendance. An important component of this course is what goes on in the classroom: lectures, presentations, interactions, and discussions. Therefore, unexcused absences will reduce the final course grade.
    2. All of the textbooks will have to be read in their entirety. At exam times, you will be asked if you have completed the readings assigned in preparation for that particular exam.
    3. Three written papers on assigned topics related to the course content. These should be typed, double-spaced, and include a bibliography of sources consulted. Quotes and other material needing documentation do not require full footnotes or endnotes. Rather, they can be done in the style of sociological and anthropological theses, e.g. (Kiev: 134). In this case, Kiev is the name of the author being cited, and 134 is the page on which the citation is found.
    4. Written video reflections. Whenever videos are shown in class, you must write a minimum one-page analysis/reflection paper on it to be turned in by the next class period.
    5. Read Paul Hiebert's article, "The Flaw of the Excluded Middle." It can be found in the 1982 bound copy of Missiology or in the third edition of Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Turn in a one-page reaction/summary.

    Maya symbol

    Grading

    The letter grade for the course will generally be assigned according to the standard breakdown (A=90% or above, B=80% or above, etc.). The following percentages will be used to compute the course grade:

    Assignments which come in late will be subject to a reduction in grade.

    Course Calendar

    Jan. 24
    Jan. 29
    Jan. 31
    Feb. 5
    Feb. 7
    Feb. 12
    Feb. 14
    Feb. 19
    Feb. 21
    Feb. 26
    Feb. 28
    March 5
    March 7
    March 12
    March 14
    March 26
    March 28
    April 2
    April 4
    April 9
    April 11
    April 16
    April l8
    April 23
    April 25
    April 30
    May 2
    May 7
    May 9
    May 15
    Worldview, "Flaw of the Excluded Middle"
    Mysterium tremendum/ des Ganz Andre/ Majestas
    Religious myths, rituals, and ceremonies
    Animism and animatism
    Sorcery, diviners and magicians
    Magic, amulets, and charms
    Review day
    EXAM
    Sorcery
    Totemism and the manitou
    Individualistic cults
    Shamanistic cults
    Communal cults
    Ecclesiastical cults
    EXAM over pages 85-164 of Howells & Report #17
    Spirit possession and glossolalia
    Voodoo
    Idols and images
    Syncretism
    Prophetic and nativistic movements
    Cargo cults
    Review day
    EXAM
    Folk churches
    Neopaganism in America (In "gods" we trust)
    Death, ghosts, and ancestor worship
    Magical treatment of illness
    Folk psychiatry
    Film
    Review and catchup
    (Wednesday) Final exam 8-9:50

    Bibliography

    This bibliography is not exhaustive. It is simply a sampling of what is available in the library.

    Periodicals

    Adeney, Miriam. "What is 'Natural' About Witchcraft and Sorcery?" Missiology. l974: 377-95.
    Atkinson, Jane Monnig. "The Effectiveness of Shamans in an Indonesian Ritual," American Anthropologist. June, l987, p. 342.
    Booth, William. "Voodoo Science," Science. April 15, l988. p. 274.
    Brown, Kenneth I. "Worshiping with the Church of the Lord (Aladura)," Practical Anthropology.l966: 59-84.
    _______. "Forms of Baptism in the African Independent Churches of Tropical Africa," Practical Anthropology. l972: l69-l92.
    Carpenter, Mark. "The Bible vs 'Brazilian Reality'," Christianity Today. December 13, l985, p. 50.
    Devillers, Carole. "Haiti's Voodoo Pilgrimages of Spirits and Saints," National Geographic. March,l985, p. 395.
    Gilliland, Dean. "Phenomenology as Mission Method," Missiology. l979, 4:451-459.
    Hiebert, Paul G. "The Flaw of the Excluded Middle," Missiology. l982, l:35.
    Holmes, Lowell D. "Cults, Cargo and Christianity: Samoan Responses to Western Religion,"Missiology. l980, 4:471-487.
    Kapenzi, G.Z. "Shona and Navaho: A Comparative Study of Beliefs and Practices," Missiology.l974, 4:489-95.
    Katz, Susan. "A Pantheon of Spirits: Haiti's Voodoo Mixes Faith and Magic," Newsweek. February 24, l986, p. 64.
    Levine, Art. "Mystics on Main Street: While Skeptics Cast Doubts, Psychics Count Dollars," U.S.News and World Report. February 9, l987, p. 67.
    Loewen, Jacob A. "Mythology and Missions," Practical Anthropology. l969: l47-l92.
    McGregor, Donald E. "New Guinea Myths and Scriptural Similarities," Missiology. l974, l:35.
    O'Brien, Patricia. "Prehistoric Evidence for Pawnee Cosmology," American Anthropologist. Vol.88o, 939-946.
    Osborne, Kenneth B. "A Christian Graveyard Cult in the New Guinea Highlands," Practical Anthropology. l970: l0-15.
    Partain, Jack. "Christians and Their Ancestors: A Dilemma of African Theology," Christian Century.November 26, l986, p. l066.
    Roberts, John M., Saburo Morita and L. Keith Brown. "Personal Categories for Japanese Sacred Places and Gods," American Anthropologist. Vol. 88. Dec., l986, pages 807-824.
    Saliba, John A. "Myth and Religious Man in Contemporary Anthropology." Missiology. l973, 3:281.
    Sass, Louis. "Voodoo Therapy: Do you believe in magic?" Vogue. Sept., l986, p. 296.
    Shaw, Daniel. "Every Person a Shaman," Missiology. l98l, 3:359-366.
    Singleton, Michael. "Signs and Spiritual Direction: the Pastoral Counseling of the Possessed," Missiology. l977, 2:l85-l94.
    Taber, Floyd W. "How Real are Dreams," Practical Anthropology. l972: l08-l09.
    Thornton, John K. "On the trail of voodoo: African Christianity in Africa and the Americas," The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Inter-American Cultural History, v. 44, Jan., l988, p. 261.
    Tippett, Alan R. "The Evangelization of Animists," in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, ed. by Ralph Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. pages 629-640.
    Toliver, Ralph. "Syncretism: A Specter Among Philippine Protestants," Practical Anthropology.l970: 210-219.
    Turner, Harold W. "Old and New Religions Among North American Indians," Missiology. l973,2:47.
    Turner, Charles V. "The Sinasina Stone Bowl Cult," Practical Anthropology. l970: 28-48.
    Van Rheenen, Gailyn. "Cultural Conceptions of Power in Biblical Perspective" Missiology, January 1993
    Welton, Michael. "Themes in African Traditional Belief and Ritual," Practical Anthropology. l97l:l-l8.
    Wright, Michael. "Some Observations on Thai Animism," Practical Anthropology. l968: l-7.
    Yancey, Philip. "Tree Trunks and Other Trivial Pursuits," Christianity Today, May 17, l985, p. 8.

    In microform:

    "Christian response to the phenomenon of witchcraft in Ghana," an MA thesis by Vincent Boi-Nai.
    "Elements of a strategy for the evangelization of Rastafarians with special reference to Jamaica," an MA thesis by Laurie Lind

    Books

    Beals, Ralph L. and Harry Hoijer. An Introduction to Anthropology. pages 434-470.
    Bessy, Maurice. A Pictorial History of Magic and the Supernatural.
    Conn, Harvie. Eternal Word and Changing Worlds.
    De Waal Malefijt, Annemarie. Religion and Culture.
    Durkheim, Emile. Elementary Forms of Religious Life.
    Diederich, Bernard and Al Burt. Papa Doc and the Tonton Macoutes. pages 345-357.
    Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy.
    Frazer, James George. The New Golden Bough. (Found in "reference" section)
    Gehman, Richard J. African Traditional Religion in Biblical Perspective.
    Haviland, William A. Anthropology. pages 535-560.
    Hiebert, Paul G. Cultural Anthropology. pages 371-396.
    Keesing, Roger M. Cultural Anthropology. pages 385-405.
    Kottak, Conrad Phillip. Cultural Anthropology. pages 260-284.
    Leach, Maria, ed. Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, l972. (Located in "Reference" section)
    Leslie, Charles, ed. Anthropology of Folk Religion.
    Lessa, W. A. and E.Z. Vogt, editors, Reader in Comparative Religions.
    Levy-Bruhl, Lucien. Primitives and the Supernatural.
    Lowie, Robert. Primitive Religion.
    Melton, J. Gordon. Magic, Witchcraft and Paganism in America. ("Reference" section)
    Nevius, John L. Demon Possession.
    Nida, Eugene A. and William A. Smalley. Introducing Animism.
    Taylor, Robert B. Cultural Ways. pages 229-246.

    Check also the 20-volume series Peoples of the Earth located in the "reference" section.

    How do I go about learning their language?

    NextThe gospel can never become contextualized until it is expressed in a people's native (or heart) language. [ more ]
    Writing
    Standards


    Most courses at SNU contain a writing component.
    I expect students to produce written work that is focused, well-developed, organized, and relatively free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
    Papers falling short of this standard will not be graded. That work will be returned to the students for further revision and resubmission.
    See my writing checklist.

    Tempted to cheat on some schoolwork? Before you do, read Southern Nazarene University's academic integrity policy

        -- Howard Culbertson,

    More on traditional religions for you