Victorian folklore and anthropology

Magic and Religion

Name: Magic and Religion
Author: Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang1901

Intermediatecomplete

Andrew Lang's anthropological examination of the relationship between magic and religion in primitive societies. Lang argues against the evolutionary theory that magic preceded religion, proposing instead that monotheistic concepts existed alongside animistic beliefs in early cultures. He critically engages with the work of E.B. Tylor and J.G. Frazer, offering evidence from Australian Aboriginal traditions and other indigenous peoples to support his thesis that belief in a supreme being was present in even the earliest human societies.

Also known asLang's Ritual and Belief

This edition1901

EditionLondon: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1901. First Edition.

Comparative ReligionComparative Mythologyhigh god theorycomparative anthropologymythology and folklorefolk magic and healingAustralian Aboriginal beliefsanimism and monotheismAnimismritual documentationAnthropologysympathetic magicBritish anthropologyFolklore StudiesWestern Anthropological / FolkloreTotemism