Anthropology and archaeology are key disciplines in understanding the role religion has played in past societies and in present society.
| DISCIPLINES: • Anthropology • Archaeology |
Religion is often a driving or very influential force in how societies are formed and how they function. Anthropologists study humans through biology, behavior, language and culture from comparative, evolutionary and historical perspectives. In understanding religion, anthropologists look at symbols, beliefs, patterns of behavior, rituals and moral codes of humans. Earlier Western anthropologists are now thought to have looked at non-Western or non-monotheistic religions through a “primitivist” lens. But today’s anthropologists often follow the example of American anthropologist Franz Boaz, who believed humans live in a pluralistic universe with many realities, in which there are no “better” societies, only different ones. This approach fits well with the vastly globalizing nature of human society and the growing religious diversity of people in America and around the world.
Archaeologists study the material remains of past societies, which can serve as a source of information about religious traditions, ritual practices, symbolic systems and the sacred in pre-historic and historic contexts. Archaeology has contributed to important discoveries into how religious life was established and preserved in the archaeological record.
Religion is a popular field for anthropological and archaeological research. There is keen interest, for example, in biblical archaeology among those hoping to find or disprove support for a historical basis for biblical accounts. Questions one could ask when engaged in this topic of research may arise from the sources of funding, and the goals and politics of sponsors and whether there is a religious bias. Political and religious situations in some nations also impact access to important sites for research. Researchers in these fields should prepare for adulation from religious groups when support for that religion’s historical basis is found, and criticism or dismissal from similar groups if contradictory evidence is found. Findings bring up the issue of whether faiths are in any way reliant on the integration of texts and traditions with artifacts in preserving practice of the faith as well as the potential power of archaeological findings to challenge existing beliefs. There is also interest among religious communities in understanding how their traditions were practiced in earlier times, which gives them context for modern-day interpretation and worship. Researchers could also explore how their own beliefs inspire or inform their work.