Chapter 11. Religious Specialists

As you have learned in previous chapters, reinforcement of a society’s beliefs in the forms of its rituals and practices offer cohesiveness and guidance and solidify community bonds. Therefore, prescribed rituals and practices often require the leadership and authority of those who are willing and able to guide the community and its willing participants. Because the beliefs and ceremonies of religions will vary considerably from society to society and culture to culture, so do the people that guide others in the religious rituals. All societies include people who guide and nurture the religious practices of others. People who are sought after for guidance and reassurance in an ever-changing world. Anthropologists call these people “religious specialists” and this category includes religious devotees, priests, rabbis, imams, monks, nuns, religious teachers, shamans, tarot card readers and self-help gurus, etc; all of these individuals are those that have people who seek them out for a sense of spiritual nourishment and reassurance. <a href="https://amanda-zunner-keating.medium.com/11-religious-specialists-c68a1e7248a">Read More</a>