ASB 214

Anthropologists study religion as a way of studying humans, and this lecture surveys the origins and history of religion, from primate grieving and early human rituals through organized religions and the scientific worldview. Anthropology may not offer new answers about God and the great beyond, but religion offers a fascinating window into humankind.

Jocks, C. and Sullivan, . Lawrence E. (2021, December 20). Native American religions. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American-religion

In North America and western Europe there is a growing interest in the spiritual practices and ideas of the world's native peoples. In this program, Hans Kung first travels to Australia to investigate the beliefs of today's Aborigines through ceremonies involving body painting, music, and dance. He then journeys to Africa, the cradle of humankind, to gain insights into tribal culture through modern rites that include torchlight processions, dance, and animal sacrifice. The influence of Christian missionaries is also examined.

Trace the relationship between religion and art, which has inspired some of the most ingenious, affecting, and breathtaking works of art ever made. Yet beneath great works of religious art often lie conflict, intrigue and divine mysteries.

This program looks at rites and rituals designed to achieve spiritual awakening through physical pain and bodily injury.

Why do the Mazatec people consider Salvia divonorum to be sacred? Evidence suggests that shamans in the Oaxaca region have revered the vision-producing plant since the pre-Columbian era. In this program, Oxford archaeology professor Andrew Sherratt compares the hallucinations of volunteer ingestors with those experienced by the Mazatecs and by people with mental illness. Input from a medical anthropologist, a psychiatrist, and a pharmacologist lead the experimenters to consider the role of cultural context in the feelings of peace, joy, and insight that salvia users often report. The group is at odds: Does Salvia divonorum enhance brain functioning, or threaten it?

link to google book. Library does not have physical copy of book.

In this program by anthropologist Barrie Machin, Ayu Lha-Mo of Sabu calls on an oracle to possess her body. She goes into a trance. The oracle is Dorje Drakden and answers questions about sickness, diagnoses sickness, anything about the future the future, travel plans, children etc. With English subtitles.

Ever wondered what happens to you after you die? Do our actions affect what happens to us in the afterlife? This program presents comprehensive overviews of life after death from Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian perspectives. Topics include teachings about following the path to Nirvana, Paradise and Heaven, and the concepts of final judgement and Hell.

Brainwave: By the Book features a panel discussion on the significance of the holy books of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and the Sikh religion. Panelists include Reverend James Parks Morton, Professor Manjit Singh, Rabbi Rolando Matalon and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Includes afterlife in Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism.

investigative journalists Mariana van Zeller and Darren Foster journey to some of the country's most haunted locations and examine America's obsession with the paranormal. A mother and daughter believe they are being haunted by their deceased loved one. Mariana tests an electronic magnetic field meter, a device often used to detect ghosts.

Presented against a backdrop of Gothic architecture and pre-Raphaelite art, asks whether religion and science can coexist in a post-Darwinian world. Are Creation and Evolution mutually exclusive? Part two focuses on the questions raised by the global movement toward social equality. Must Christianity adapt to survive, and if so, do issues like female priests and homosexuality threaten to rob it of its scriptural authority? Should the Church restructure along democratic lines? And what role will New Age religions and the Pentecostal movement play as Christianity enters its third millennium?

Taking inspiration from the spiritual concept of Shakti, the Great Mother or supreme female deity of the Hindu religion, this program celebrates the power of women to drive social and economic change in India.

Alex Mar's documentary braids together the stories of three young Americans who have chosen to sacrifice comforts in order to embrace the fringes of alternative religion.

Atonement, penance, and absolution are beliefs that reside at the core of the world’s major religions. Have the practices of contrition and restitution become relics of the past, or are they still viable today as opportunities for spiritual cleansing, healing, and rebirth? In this program, The God Squad’s Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman; Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina, of the Organization for Islamic Learning; Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking; and others present their diverse perspectives on forgiveness in religious and institutional milieus.

Belief is at the heart of the world’s great religions as well as the sustaining power behind the paranormal, supernatural, and occult events that grace America’s tabloids. How can belief be explained, and from what deep well within the human psyche does it spring? In this program, ABC News anchor John Stossel goes to a psychology lab and even walks through fire to investigate the power of belief—as demonstrated by the placebo and "nocebo" effects—and what psychologists call "magical thinking." Mr. Stossel takes a look at a wide range of phenomena that exist beyond the ken of modern science, including astrology, faith healing, voodoo, channeling, and clairvoyance. (40 minutes)