Ritual Is Power: Religion as Revolutionary Concept or Evolutionary Advantage?

[cbayer]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/american-anthropological-association/ritual-is-power-religion-as-a-revolutionary-concept-or-an-evolutionary-advantage_b_1973622.html

Posted: 10/24/2012 3:46 pm
Written by Matthew Piscitelli

Since the Age of Enlightenment leading social scientists have proposed that symbolic rituals, sacred practices and theological treatises are products of the past. In fact, for the last century, secularization has been considered a revolutionary step in the transformation of agrarian societies into modern industrial nation-states. However, one must only open a webpage to a media outlet or look at a newspaper headline to realize that the modern world is as religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever.

Consider the backlash against the most recent inflammatory anti-Islam video or the impact that Mitt Romney's faith may have on his chances of winning the U.S. presidential election. In contemporary human society, religion and politics often collide -- sometimes with catastrophic results. There are many who believe that the modern world is on a downward spiral and that God is the answer. Nevertheless, terrorist attacks, toppled governments and warring factions heralded in the name of religion are not a modern phenomenon. Neither is religion's impact on human society always an entirely negative one. Such shifting social currents have a long history in human society and religion has often been responsible for dramatic cultural transformations.

Religion played a major role in the emergence of cultural complexity in the ancient world. For example, 5,000 years ago along the north central coast of Peru ancient inhabitants constructed the earliest public architecture in the New World. Within a small stretch of Peruvian coastline, 30 ceremonial centers with large-scale monumental architecture appeared over a 1,800 year time frame known as the Late Archaic Period (3,000-1,800 B.C.). Archaeologists have labeled the Late Archaic Period as the "cradle of Andean civilization" (Haas and Creamer) and many cultural characteristics of Andean archaeology have been attributed to the cultural developments of this time. Recent archaeological excavations at one Late Archaic site, Huaricanga in the Fortaleza Valley, have revealed that ritual practices were intimately linked to the emergence of incipient leadership and served as a base of power. Moreover, control over religious knowledge likely cemented the hold of early leaders over ancient populations by promoting a sense of group membership that facilitated the mobilization of labor forces to construct monumental architecture.

But does religion's pull on humanity have even deeper roots? I argue that ritual serves as a mechanism for promoting cooperation among members of a religion in order to achieve a common goal. Ritual practice, as a form of communication, signals to others that you identify with a particular set of beliefs. The subsequent trust that is built between those individuals provides the social glue necessary to accomplish common goals.

more at link

[trotsky]

1. It's amazing how self-contradictory this piece is.

Last edited Thu Oct 25, 2012, 08:37 PM - Edit history (1)

1) "the modern world is as religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever"

2) "I argue that ritual serves as a mechanism for promoting cooperation among members of a religion in order to achieve a common goal. Ritual practice, as a form of communication, signals to others that you identify with a particular set of beliefs. The subsequent trust that is built between those individuals provides the social glue necessary to accomplish common goals."

If both of the above items are true, then the places of the world that are more religious should see MORE cooperation, MORE trust, MORE goals accomplished.

Is that the world we see? Abso-freaking-lutely not. The most religious countries (middle east, the US) have the worst conditions. Where is more social progress being made? The increasingly SECULAR countries of Europe. A year of maternity leave. Social safety nets. Guaranteed healthcare. Solid secular institutions without a hint of religious ritual.

Very strange article. One more quote I'd like to comment on:

"it is clear that religious practice has an adaptive advantage that has greatly impacted human history"

Another practice that greatly impacted human history was slavery. Those cultures that kept slaves were also some of the most "successful" (in the sense of worldy power, accomplishments, and influence) the world has ever seen. Does that mean we should value slavery, and look to somehow incorporate elements of it into our society to "accomplish common goals", as this author is suggesting we do with religion?

[dimbear]

2. There are many who believe god is the answer. There are

also many who believe god is the problem.