Table Of ContentNINE THEORIES
OF RELIGION
Qt
THIRD EDITION
Daniel L. Pals
University ofMiami
New York Oxford
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LibraryofCongress Cataloging—in—Publication Data
Pals, Daniel L.
[Eight theories ofreligion]
Nine theories ofreligion / Daniel L. Pals, University ofMiami.—Third Edition.
pages cm
Rev. ed. of: Eight theories ofreligion. 2006.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0—19-985909-2
l. Religion—Study and teaching—History. I. Title.
BL41.P36 2014
200.7—dc23
2014003980
Printing number:9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
on acid-free paper
To the memory of my father, Herbert H. Pals (1916—2004).
Filiis caritatem maiorem posset nullus pater habere.
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Introduction 1
Animism and Magic 15
E. B. TYLOR AND J. G. FRAZER
Religion and Personality 49
SIGMUND FREUD
Society as Sacred 8]
EMILE DURKHEIM
Religion as Alienation 113
KARL MARX
A Source of Social Action 143
MAX WEBER
The Verdict of Religious Experience 185
WILLIAM JAMES
The Reality of the Sacred 227
MIRCEA ELIADE
Society's "Construct of the Heart" 263
E. E. EVANS-PRITCHARD
Religion as Cultural System 293
CLIFFORD GEERTZ
10. Conclusion 325
Index 353
PREFACE
It is gratifying, certainly, to find that interest in this book—sustained by the
choices of fellow scholars and teachers, as well as the (good, one would hope)
reading experiences of their students—has persisted over an interval of
almost two decades. The self-referential side ofme wants to compliment them
on their good taste in authors, but the truth clearly points elsewhere—to the
wisdom in their choice of subjects. For in my View, and I presume theirs as
well, there is no better way to be tutored into a field of inquiry than to engage
its most impressive analyses and arguments as offered by its classic figures:
the theorists whose ideas and interpretations have set the original terms of
debate, defined the primary borders of the subject, and offered the paradigms
that all who follow them must in one way or another engage, endorse, amend,
or challenge. Seven Theories ofReligion took shape initially as a venture of
that kind; it sought to introduce the classic theorists ofreligion and their inter-
pretations in accessible summary form and nonspecialized language, accom-
panied by some measure of analysis and critique. When the book went to a
second edition, initiated by Oxford’s Senior Editor Robert Miller, it was
agreed that the great German sociologist Max Weber ought to be brought into
the mix, so a chapter on Weber was added. The incorporation ofthat addition,
along with a concluding chapter looking forward to more contemporary
developments, led to the publication of the second edition, as Eight Theories
ofReligion, in 2006.
Eight years have passed since then, and in the last several of those years
Robert Miller orchestrated a new set of outside reviews to see whether
another edition should appear, and if so, what changes should be made. As
always, opinions differed, but the reviewers’ thoughtful commentaries led
me to conclude—and Robert to concur—that among the classic early theo—
rists of religion, the voice of the American William James ought also to be
heard. Recognized in his day as the patriarch of both scientific psychology
and philosophical pragmatism in American universities, James established
vii
viii Preface
himself at the turn of the twentieth century as one of the nation’s foremost
intellectuals. In both psychology and philosophy he broke new ground, while
at the same time the paths of his inquiries turned him inevitably toward what
was his one lifelong interest: the claims and values ofreligion. In consequence,
James’s enviable legacy as a psychologist and philosopher has come to be
rivaled—some would even say, surpassed—by his achievement in the study
and theory of religion, where his pragmatic perspective culminated in the
book that well deserves its reputation as a theoretical and empirical Classic:
The Varieties ofReligious Experience, a capstone effort work that emerged from
the celebrated Gifford Lectures he delivered at the University of Edinburgh
in 1901—02.
NEW TO THIS EDITION
The addition of a Chapter on William James is the one major change in this
third edition of the book, which now becomes Nine Theories ofReligion. As
will become clear, the views James developed as a psychologist of religion
offer a counterpoint to those of Sigmund Freud; further, they envision psy-
chology as ranging well beyond the province ofpsychoanalysis. Consequently,
consideration of James serves also to bring some balance into the book’s por-
trayal of the psychology of religion, which was somewhat skewed in the text
of the previous editions, where Freud stands alone as representative of the
discipline. In meeting James we meet the psychology of religion pursued
along lines very different from Freud’s. But in another sense we also meet a
welcome similarity. For in James, as in Freud, we encounter another of those
agile, ambitious, and inventive minds that made the decades before and
after the turn of the twentieth century so intellectually vibrant and fiercely
contentious. That in itself should make the new pages given to him worthy of
attention.
Beyond the new chapter, there are only minor changes and additions. Small
edits, elisions, or amplifications have been made throughout the book to
(1) include relevant comparisons and references to James in the existing chap-
ters, most often in the sections centered on analysis and critique; (2) achieve
greater economy of expression, and thereby slightly reduce chapter length
throughout; and (3) secure greater precision and clarity of exposition where
needed. Because certain useful studies and several major new biographies—
notably of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber—have appeared since Eight Theories
was published, I have also made some updates to the “Suggestions for Further
Reading” noted at the end of each chapter.
Preface ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks need again to be extended to Oxford University Press, and especially
Robert Miller, for the editorial patience shown, especially as administrative
duties at the University of Miami kept putting me off the hours I could have
been spending with James, and thus delaying the new chapter “yet another
year” until now. I want also personally to thank Oxford Associate Editor
Kristin Maffei and Editorial Assistant Kaitlin Coats for their diligence and
hard work—invariably underappreciated—in bringing this new edition into
final form. The same must be said to Ms. Bev Kraus and her colleague
Ms. Wendy Walker, whose careful attention to detail, and keen eye for my
slips and errors, did so much to make light the tedious labors of copyediting
associated with this new edition. In Miami my longtime colleague—and
authority on religious conversion—David Kling has again provided both a
close critical reading and his characteristically wise conceptual assessment,
of the new chapter. Of course no one has been more patient, or, when impa-
tience was needed, put me more regularly and rightly in my place, than the
two lodestars of my life: my wife Phyllis and daughter Katharine. For them,
as before and ever, no measure of thanks is measure enough.
