In Chapter 10 on Religion (Kottak, Mirror for Humanity), the notion of witch hunts is raised as a powerful means of social control "creating a climate of danger and insecurity that affects everyone, not just the people who are likely targets." These accusations are often targeted towards the socially marginal and the anomalous (those who deviate from the norm) as a "leveling mechanism" bringing them back in line with the status quo. See Big Religion Chart for broader view of religion.
You might be interested in seeing a real-life crucifixion in contemporary Phillipines for a man who made an oath to be cruxified to save his daughter. This video is provided by National Geographic.
How might common superstitions work as a form of social control, as leveling mechanisms where social differences stand out? Which individuals or groups in our society might be affected by these superstitions (Remember the experiment 3rd grade teacher Jane Elliot did with the brown and blue eyes)?
Common Superstitions* Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day
* If you walk under a ladder, you will have bad luck
* To break a mirror will bring you seven years bad luck
* To open an umbrella in the house is to bring bad luck
* Step on a crack, break your mother's back
* If you blow out all of the candles on your birthday cake with the first breath you will get whatever you wish for
* An itchy palm means money will come your way
* A beginner will always have good luck: beginner's luck
* Crossing your fingers helps to avoid bad luck and helps a wish come true
* After receiving a container of food, the container should never be returned empty
* A sailor wearing an earring cannot drown
* To find a penny heads up, brings good luck
* To make a happy marriage, the bride must wear: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
* Washing a car will bring rain
* You must get out of bed on the same side you got in on or you will have bad luck
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24 comments:
I really think that people need to believe to something because life is hard for everybody and when you believe to something you can count on an extra help, something unconscious that can help us in the difficult periods. Moreover, there are so much things to worry about that sometimes you can't overcome these problems by yourself and believe to something become a necessary help.
I find that many Asian people are really superstitious. I think that these ideologies are most prevalent in underdeveloped or primitive societies since people there are much more prone to unfortunate events such as death, starvation, and disease. They look to any sign to foresee the future because it offers a slight feeling of comfort that things have a better chance of working out.
Everything in this world has a meaning. Nobody does anythign without a purpose. Certain scientits have found out that the rituals have a scientific purpose behind them, there are certain hindu traditions which are not merely done because the forefathers or the ancestors have been doing them since centuries, but they actually having a scientific purpose behind them, mainly pertaining to health!
I wanna comment on what Julien said previously about how people "need to believe in something". It would be easy to say that atheists and people who don't follow in the constructs of religion have no beliefs but I think this isn't true. As a Eastern Orthodox Christian I have always been taught to believe in god, Christ, and always be thankful to god by praying. As I progressed through school I began to question the existence of god. I began to think that if you were to do good it would rather be because you want to and not because your working your way up to heaven. This is why religion is a clear social control over its believers. But on the existence of god I think that he does exist because people believe he does, he or she is omnipotent because we believe he or she is. Millions of people have believed in god for thousands of years and that makes him more real then any of us. The point i wanted to make is that atheists also have beliefs. They believe in living their lives out to the fullest, not being bound by a control in order to express their true individuality and not be bound by a single control.
I feel that the only reason superstitions work as a form of social control, is due to people holding on to a believe with no scientific proof. Superstitions may always hold a certain amount of social weight because humans in an society feel the need to believe in powers beyond themselves.
In many ways religion is important to an individual, but one should not be subjected to one. We should pick a religion if it helps us cope with life. Often as children we are only taught a certain religion or belief, and as we get older we see what makes sense in our lives. What remains essential is a universal truth; treat those how you would want to treated.
Somebody said last Tuesday that the only reason religion is so powerful on most societies is because it helps us explain things that modern science can't. Well, personally I agree with that way of thinking. We as human beings need to believe that there has to be an answer for everything even though if this answer comes from a "supernatural source". this leads us to social organization.Due to its rules and philosophy, religions some way or another are able to organize and sometimes even control how a society behaves and interacts
i believe that superstitions are a form of a leveling mechanism, it is correlated to the concept of having a religion. People cannot explain why things happen so they must make a mechanism for explanation because something without explanation is too complex in our already ambiguous society. People do not feel comfortable with new things so they must make meaning to it in order for them to accept or cope with new ideas or phenomena.
I agree, Superstitions are beliefs that people create to merely obtain answers to things that are unexplainable and to have some sort of justification for things that occur. Superstitions are a way of getting those ideas of your head and being able to continue life without having to worry. Like mikedunn already stated "humans want answers for everything" and if those things aren't answered then there would be a problems in society because people would want explanations to these intractable questions.
Well i think superstitions are originally made for different reasons. The saying if you walk under a ladder you will have bad luck could have been started after someonewho had walked under a ladder had something bad happen to them. So people talk and the fear of the same thing happening to anybody else gives flight to such saying. Another one would be the superstition if you go to sleep right after you eat a rouch will bite your lips or end up in your stomach.I've fell a sleep next to food so i know this one is false.
Everton Hunt
I think superstitions are remnants of history. Each country has its own superstitions and a country has the most superstitions concerned with activities that used to be most common
Many people are superstitious. It is common for cultures to have some type of belief of superstition. For example: Today is Tuesday the 13th..To many people this is a sign of bad luck. There are those who believe that because of the date they will have a bad day or at least something bad should happen to them. In reality, something undesired is always bound to happen. We are humans and therefore our imperfections will always prevail in our lives. Superstitions are usually a belief created by a certain group and then decided to be continued by others. I personally, am not superstitious. I don't believe in things "happening for a reason". We make our own future without the need of someone telling us that "such & such" will happen. Our decisions and choices are what make up our lives.
I definitely agree with what Julien said about needing "something to believe in to get extra help". People usually rely on superstitions or religion to help them cope with things they cannot control. I, myself practice some superstitions myself. buy for the most part I think we all control our own destinies. But it doesn't hurt to maximize your chance of good outcomes. :)
-Jenny
I believe that religion is still used to control masses of people as it was in the history. I mena clearly there are positive things about religion, faith, and prayers, but I think that many times people use religion as a way to cover up bad things they do. I also think that it is neccessary for peopel to realize that most religions and their books are supsoed to be more symbolical and peopel shoudl not take them too literally. For the way I understand after life is as follows: I think that when u are a good person in your life people are going to remember you that way and thats how you will live in their minds. This is the so called heaven. Your body doesnt exist but your spirit is still there alive in othe rpeopel who take u as an example for their own lives. the oposite works for being a bad perosn during your life.
to sum it up I think that religion should be used more symbolicaly.
I was raised ina catholic envoronment but I have multiple reasons why I do not assoeciate myself with christianity. I find it very interesting that catholic church is against stem cell research becasue it claims that it is killing living organism but when catholics killed millions of innocent people in religios wars, crusades , witch hunts and other thing sit was ok.
My whole family don't have religion. If you ask me what i believe, i believe in science. I believe people should do things to their surrandings and treat others kindly. I think religion just tell people if you do something , you will get feed back when you die. This is good because it could lead people to be kind, in other word , be kind you could live in the heaven while you are alive. You could feel peace in you heart. You could smile all the time. What means heaven, if you are happy, you are in your own heaven. If you are not happy, although you are rich , you have everything others wish to have, you also live in hell.Religion is just a method to make people believe something,lead people to live in heaven while they're alive.
I watched the video of the crucifying of the Filipino and it was absolutely shocking. To be able to have such faith in any "lord" to deliver him his wife and child from danger is positively amazing. I am an atheist and therefore dont believe that anything happened because someone greater had intervened. And that man put himself through that pain just for his wife and daughter is very touching.
That was a perfect example of religion playing a major role in someones life. I believe that religion is true as long as you believe its true. That man believed and it pulled through for him.
It is simply amazing the miracles that one person can witness.
-William Chen
I agree with Aditi that everything in is worls has a meaning to it and nothing is done without a meaning.But,I dont believe in superstitions and I believe in religion because it is true.
I think that superstitions affect different classes of people differently. The lower classes believe in superstitions because they feel like they have something to gain, and the wealthier believe because they are afraid to lose something. I think those who are more susceptible to the superstitions are the lower classes, those who have less power, wealth, and prestige, because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain with such beliefs. If you are in want or need of certain things like wealth or power, and don't have the means to attain them, you might start believing in superstitions in order to bring on those things that you wish.
Valerie Grebenyuk
I think that superstitions are just replacements for the lack of knowledge. In older times people didn't understand how the world worked so they had to explain things in other ways. To do this they made up stuff to explain it the unknown. When they later discovered how things worked, there original explanations became superstitions.
Nicole Rosario
Superstitions and religion are a way to control society, I agree. As Julien said everyone needs something to believe in, if not they would have no guidance in how to "act" Those strong beliefs become the foundation of morals and how people treat one another. They then form the basis of societal structure and stratification between people. Everyone will be to scared to not follow the religion. So Superstitions become enforcers. They put fear in people to deter them from breakin any social constructs. People assimilate easier and stratification can occur. Religion and superstitions our the means of controling the world
I agree that superstition and religion is a way of controlling society. Even my theo professor told me this and I think it makes sense because if people think that the bad choices they make will damn them, then they are generally not going to do bad things if they believe. But the problem is sometimes people use religion as a justification to do bad things.
Superstitions effect people immensely. It effects the way they act or how they think and if they walk under a ladder they think they have bad luck. Like the third grade class and the brown eyed kids and blue eyed kids. Brown kids were smart one day and the next were blue. The reason is because we make obstacles in our mind that make us think we have bad luck when in fact we are okay. In our minds we tend to make excuses on why something goes wrong and we must learn to not believe in superstitions and believe in ourselves.
I just remembered a few Russian superstitions, although I am not sure if they are specifically Russian or exist in other societies. One is that when a couple gets married and they are going to their house, the man must carry a woman is his arms and must walk in only with a left leg. The other one is about a new apartment: when someone is ready finally move into a ready for living apartment, the owner must first let a cat to bring luck.
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