The document discusses three key points about religion, politics, and power: 1) Violence and peace can both result from either nature or culture, and each influences the other. The example of Micronesians deploying violence only as a means to achieve peace demonstrates how nature and culture can be evenly matched. 2) Egalitarianism in hunter-gatherer communities ensured fairness and equality in sharing scarce resources through cooperation. This suppressed dominance and promoted a sharing culture. 3) Karl Marx argued that religion serves to numb pain in times of economic turmoil, making people conformists unable to engage in social change or resist exploitation. It offers divine justification for unfair economic situations.

1. Running head: RELIGION, POLITICS AND POWER 1
Religion, Politics and Power
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Religion, Politics and Power
Chapter 12 a
The first point is that organized human violence can be viewed as a normal reaction to the
underlying human conditions. These conditions are likely to be biological factors resulting from
physiological or genetic processes. The other alternative argument is that people are violent for
survival. The second point states that humans are natural peaceful and that they tend to violence
only when the situations overwhelms them. The third point states that peaceful or violence may be
a derivative of either nature or culture interchangeably. . That is, human beings are either violent
in nature, and only act peacefully due to cultural factors, or that human beings are naturally
peacefully, but only revert to violence as dictated by their culture.( Guest, 2014, pp. 549)
The most persuasive point is the third point. That violence and peace are both as result of
either culture or nature, and that one influence the other. The example given in the text is about
Micronesians who decide to deploy violence as the only viable means of getting peace (pp. 550)
The Micronesians also prepare people for war so that war is avoided when its detrimental effects
are considered. Here, nature (their desire for war) and culture (their considerations about the
consequence of waging a war) are both evenly matched.
Chapter 12 b

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Egalitarianism is a belief that all people are equally important and therefore have the same
rights. Egalitarianism sustained hunter gatherer communities as it ensured fairness, equality and
non-domination over scarce resources. Hunter gatherer bands used sharing of resources on an
equal level as an economic strategy through cooperating in gathering foods, coordinating game
hunting activities, while successfully resisting hierarchy and domination. The community has also
learnt to resist aggression, and any other acts of egoism or domination. According to Kenneth
Guest in Cultural Anthropology (2017, pp 536) members of hunter gatherer communities work
together to suppress any kind of dominance and embrace cooperation, resulting into egalitarianism,
which made life possible.
The early man was a hunter gatherer and therefore these practices by hunter gatherer bands
have evolved today, due to the developed of ethics which promote a sharing culture, generosity
and altruism. In the world today, people pursue cooperation, and generosity, and often put up
measures to curb exploitation or domination.
Chapter 13
In times of economic turbulence, and increasing social stratification, religion serves the
role of a narcotic which numbs pain so that people cannot realize how serious a situation is. Karl
Marx argued that religion turned people into meek conformists who cannot dare engage in
activities aimed at bringing social change. He further argued that the basic tool of social
stratification is the economy, and other aspects such as family, governments, arts and religion
formed institutions meant to mask the true consequences of an unfair economic situation. Equally,
institutions such as religion give the masses an opportunity to let off, and console themselves that
all problems are in passing and in fact there will be an eternal life in heaven. This serves to offer a

4. RELIGION, POLITICS AND POWER 4
divine justification for the economic status quo. According to Marx, religion is the agent used to
undermine the impulse of the masses hence they are unable to resist exploitation, or take steps at
effecting changes in social order.
I think Max ideas of the role of religion is true. My opinion is formed by current
observations, where religious practices in the developed countries like Switzerland are reducing
drastically, while religious activities in Third World Countries like let’s say Nigeria are at their
optimum, with multiple denominations and church. Indeed, it is easy to see the positive correlation
between increased religious activity and an unfair economic setting. Religion makes people stay
humble, unable to rise and agitate for change that will boost equality.

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References
Guest, K. (2014). Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age. W. W. Norton & Company
.