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Religion "will inevitably appear, in the eyes of science, to be distinguished as no more than a sphere of confused ideas. If religous ideas are accorded the same value as any other conceptual system, as giving access to the mechanism of thought" (Levi-Strauss, Totemism 1962:104) Then it can be truely studied and explored to define what religion actually is.
Originally posted by Vladamir no1The purpose of religion is to provide a hint of something beyond itself . To study it would be futile without studying what it alludes to.
Religion "will inevitably appear, in the eyes of science, to be distinguished as no more than a sphere of confused ideas. If religous ideas are accorded the same value as any other conceptual system, as giving access to the mechanism of thought" (Levi-Strauss, Totemism 1962:104) Then it can be truely studied and explored to define what religion actually is.
Originally posted by knightmeisterNo, the piont Levi-Strauss is getting at is that if we can study say, totemism as a list of categories and the emergence of logic and how man assess's his environment. And we can do this in quite a objective way as westerners, then surely we can utilise these same techniques to try and explain religion or the need for it.
The purpose of religion is to provide a hint of something beyond itself . To study it would be futile without studying what it alludes to.