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Cited by 313Study and Philosophy of ReligionAnthropological Studies and InsightsReligion and Society Interactions

The Christianity of anthropology

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Cannell, Fenella·2005·Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9655.2005.00239.x
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Abstract

This article critiques the way in which the discipline of anthropology has construed Christianity, arguing that too narrow and ascetic a model of Christianity has become standard and questioning the claims of the ‘secular’ social sciences to have severed themselves entirely from their Christian theological underpinnings. The article is in conversation with other writers on related themes, including Jonathan Parry on Mauss's The gift , Talal Asad, John Millbank, and Marshall Sahlins. Here, however, established anthropological assumptions on topics including transcendence, modernity, asceticism, and genealogy are reconsidered through a fieldwork‐based examination of American Mormonism, a religion which posits relationships between the mortal and the divine that are unique in Christianity. Despite their strong belief in Christ, Mormons have often been labelled as ‘not really Christian’ by mainstream churches. It is argued here that such theological position‐taking is echoed in the social sciences and that this reveals some of its (that is, our own) unrecognized orthodoxies.

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  • The LDS church has implemented its doctrinal embracement of capitalism by replacing competitive gift-giving with fixed-rate tithing, which facilitates church adherents' capitalist accumulation.

    “The LDS church has implemented its doctrinal embracement of capitalism by replacing competitive gift-giving with fixed-rate tithing, which facilitates church adherents' capitalist accumulation.”

    From When gifts become commodities: pawnshops, valuables, and shame in Tonga and the Tongan diaspora (2008) · cites this paper as Cannell 2005

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Authors
Cannell, F.
Affiliations
London School of Economics and Political Science (GB)
Corresponding author
Cannell, Fenella
Venue
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2005-05-10
Volume
11
Issue
2
Pages
335-356
ISSN
  • 1359-0987 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9655
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-9655.2005.00239.x
OpenAlex
W2004688718
Cited by
313
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 18
FWCI
86.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (publishedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Anthropological Studies and Insights
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
Keywords
secularization, asceticism, transcendence, modernity, genealogy, The Gift, Talal Asad, Marshall Sahlins

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