AntHr ( ) pglogy ofReligiQn : THree Major AntHropological Figures in Contemporary Religious THougHt

Th~ · cOlnplexityofthe. nature of religion has beeIl partially responsible for thediffi~ultyin r~~chi?g a universally accepted d~finition. Th~ inclination has been to · broadly define the termin?logy as did Tylor in ·1874 . . From so broad a definition "a belief in spiritual beings" anthropologists can then project more specific characteristics which may be considered necessary. For instance, Clifford qeertz as recently as 1966 defined religion as "a system of symbols which acts toestablishpowerful,pervasive and long,.lastingmoods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions! of a general order of existenceand clothing these conceptions With an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic". (Less a and Vogt 1979:79-80)