Magic- Witchcraft- and Religion - An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural Description:

Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion : An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural review:
3 stars (Here's my problem with it so far...) - Here's my problem with the book: It presents an unfavorable view of certain types of magick and religions. True, I have not finished the book yet, but all you hav to do is read the negative definitions for the words "withcraft: An EVIL power inhert in certain individuals that permits them...to do HARM or cause others MISFORTUNE;" "New Age: a loosley used term describing a combination of spirituality and superstition, a FAD and FARCE, that SUPPOSEDLY helps believes gain knowledge of the unknown;" and two of the four definitions involving the word magick end with the words "intended victim." Granted, the book was originally written in 1985 when withcraft, magick and Wicca weren't as accepted, but it was reprinted in 2001, so you'd think some of the definitions could have been changed. It just doesn't seem like an objective view of the supernatural and magick, but rather a negatively jaded one. It's getting 3 stars becasue I haven't finished it, and there's always a chance it could redeem itself at the end. ~Koppur
4 stars (good summary of religion) - This book is used by Butte college as well as Chico State. The book consists of independent articles, or exerpts, that illustrate the topics of each chapter. Some of the articles are difficult to read, but in general it does provide useful information.
4 stars (Magic, Witchcraft, & Religion) - I currently use this book as the text for a class I teach at California State University, Chico (Anthropology 40: Magic, Witchcraft, & Religion). I was fortunate enough to have taken this and other courses from the authors Arthur C. Lehmann and James E. Myers. This book serves as a good reader for comparative religions and focuses on non-western societies. Articles on western belief systems are used for comparison and contrasting with the non-western examples. Although targeted for the freshman level, the text assumes the reader have some understanding of anthropology.