First Question
1. Religion is a team sport. So understanding how it develops socially is an important key to understanding the nature its nature and function. Livingston notes that “Difference in the structures of societies….affect the forms of religious belief and behavior….These structures, in turn, are shaped by religion.” The question is: provide FOUR examples from the reading or from your own experience where a) the forms of religious belief or practice that people engage in is shaped by the structure of society (TWO examples here). Then provide TWO examples where religious beliefs or practices of a community shape the structure or practices of the larger society.
Second Question:
2. Take the case of “healing rituals.” Some of these rituals can be pretty far out, and a number of nonreligious or more scientifically inclined people find them not only bizarre, but perhaps dangerous or counter productive to true healing (they give false hope, they waste time, they incline people to be suspicious of those who don’t share their beliefs). What do you think of this argument; and is there any place for these rituals in modern life?