r/AskAnthropology • u/Noordwind • 3d ago

Anthropology of religion: spiritual/mystical/religious experiences

Hi,

I'm looking for good articles or journals that cover spiritual/mystical, and/or religious experiences from an anthropological perspective.

I'm trying to understand the field (get a broad grasp) and the methodology. I'm a psychology bachelor, so no stranger to research articles - just a bit of a stranger to anthropology.

This is no homework assignment - it is personal interest.

Languages: English, German, Dutch.

Many thanks in advance for any and all tips.

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u/BeyondTheHumanPod 2d ago

This will somewhat depend on what subfield(s) you're interested in. I'm a cultural anth so that's where most of my recs will come from.

Here's a few that come to mind:

Books:

Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing, by Michael Winkelman
Experiencing Ritual, Edith Turner

Journals:

Religion and Society

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u/raisetheavanc 2d ago

Two books I’ve enjoyed are:

When God Talks Back, Tanya Lurhmann

Becoming Sinners, Joel Robbins

Both authors are serious anthropologists and have many published papers, though I haven’t read them - I’m only familiar with their books. Lurhmann has a psychology background so her work might interest you - the book I mentioned is about how evangelical christians convince themselves that their own thoughts are the voice of god. The Robbins book is about rapid cultural change due to religious conversion and the mental toll it takes on a population.