Includes bibliographical references and index.

Anthropology and religion. Words and things ; Is religion a human universal? ; The meaning of religion ; Tylor's definition ; Do all peoples distinguish between "natural" and "supernatural"? ; The Durkheimian approach ; The anthropology of religion ; Types of anthropological studies of religion ; Types of religion ; Prehistoric religion ; Ancient religions ; Indigenous religions of small-scale societies ; The world religions ; Religions versus religion Religion here and there. Religion is primarily a matter of belief or faith ; Religion and identity : one at a time ; Religion is a separate realm of life ; Religion is associated with a special building ; Religion concerns transcendental rather than practical matters ; Practical religion among Latin American immigrants in Los Angeles ; Religion is the basis of morality -- Religion, evolution, and prehistory. The bio-evolution of religion ; When did religion develop? ; Neanderthal burials, ritual cannibalism, and cave bear cults ; Religion in the Upper Paleolithic in Southwestern Europe ; The origin of religion : how it began ; Psychological and sociological theories ; Altered-states-of-consciousness explanations ; Ritual as the origin of religion ; The nature of early religion ; Has religion evolved? ; The evolution of belief ; Religion and society.