This book introduces students to the anthropology of magic, witchcraft, and supernatural belief. It takes a new approach to this area within the anthropology of religion, demonstrating that the bases for these beliefs and alleged practices are instinctual, inherent in human cognition and psychology, and are likely rooted in our evolutionary biology. It shows how magic and magical thinking are regular elements in people’s daily activities, and that understanding the components of the witchcraft complex offers surprisingly important insights into patterns of thinking and social behavior. The book reviews the many meanings of “magic” and “witchcraft,” explains why they are inadequate, and introduces the anthropological meanings of the terms. The components of these beliefs are timeless and universal; this fact, and recent advances in the brain sciences, suggest that the principles of magic are derived from basic processes of human thinking, and the attributes of the witch derive from neuro-biologically based fears and fantasies. Such beliefs had adaptive significance in the evolutionary development of the human species; they are inherently human. This book is intended to focus anew on the core concepts of magic, witchcraft, and the supernatural, while also serving as a valuable introduction to the anthropology of religion for undergraduate and graduate-level courses.

Religious belief is an extremely powerful motivator of human behaviour. Religious considerations permeate and influence all parts of a culture. Religious systems are universal in human cultures, around the world and through all stages of human history and prehistory. Of all academic approaches to religion, the anthropological approach is the most comprehensive and the most useful to students of human belief and behaviour, because it examines religion as a cultural system that cannot fully be understood separated from the other systems with which it interacts. This new four-volume collection from Routledge assembles exemplary scholarship in the field from its Victorian beginnings to the present, and represents all generally accepted categories of religious belief and ritual, plus some new ones. Topics covered include: 'Early Explorations'; 'Symbols'; 'Supernatural Beings'; 'Magical Power and Forces'; 'Human Agents of Supernatural Danger'; 'Myth'; 'Ritual'; 'Religious Practitioners'; 'Women and Gender'; 'Belief'; 'Ecology'; 'Mind and Body-Neurobiological Bases'; and 'Religion in Socio-Cultural Change'. The first volume is prefaced with a general introduction newly written by the editor which outlines the history and salient aspects of the anthropological concern for religion, and introduces the specific sections of the work. Each thematic part also includes a short introduction to set the gathered materials in context. Anthropology of Religion is destined to be valued by scholars, students, researchers, and practitioners as an essential one-stop reference.

This book introduces students to the anthropology of magic, witchcraft, and supernatural belief. It takes a new approach to this area within the anthropology of religion, demonstrating that the bases for these beliefs and alleged practices are instinctual, inherent in human cognition and psychology, and are likely rooted in our evolutionary biology. It shows how magic and magical thinking are regular elements in people’s daily activities, and that understanding the components of the witchcraft complex offers surprisingly important insights into patterns of thinking and social behavior. The book reviews the many meanings of “magic” and “witchcraft,” explains why they are inadequate, and introduces the anthropological meanings of the terms. The components of these beliefs are timeless and universal; this fact, and recent advances in the brain sciences, suggest that the principles of magic are derived from basic processes of human thinking, and the attributes of the witch derive from neuro-biologically based fears and fantasies. Such beliefs had adaptive significance in the evolutionary development of the human species; they are inherently human. This book is intended to focus anew on the core concepts of magic, witchcraft, and the supernatural, while also serving as a valuable introduction to the anthropology of religion for undergraduate and graduate-level courses.