Anthropology of Religion

Anthropology of Religion, taught by Utah State University Professor Richley Crapo, is chock full of fascinating details of religions from around the world, which range from the tales and practices of hunter-gatherer peoples to the rites of large-scale denominations of modern America.

Crapo draws attention to common themes such as the way religions reinforce a society’s moral code and teach its worldview.  For example, in individualistic Western societies, religions tend to view each person’s soul as a unique individual, which will live on in an afterlife, with its own individual life memories.  Religions in more communal cultures often feature a belief in reincarnation, which stresses that each individual is part of a larger whole, and that a single soul can live many lives in different individuals.

Sadly, Crapo delivers his lectures in a slow even tone, which sounds like he might be reading from the congressional register or a telephone book.  Still, the material is so good, it’s definitely worth a listen.  Each lecture, or “chapter,” is posted as a series of QuickTime movies which you can download and watch from within iTunes.  If you have conversion software, like Applian Technology’s Replay Converter, you can convert the QuickTime movies into MP3 files for listening on your iPod or MP3 player.

See also: More Cambridge University on the web