Ecstatic Religion: A Study of Shamanism and Spirit Possession (Paperback)

~ (Author) "This book explores that most decisive and profound of all religious dramas, the seizure of man by divinity..." (more)
Key Phrases: inspirational possession, central possession religions, peripheral possession cults, North Africa, West African, Addis Ababa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Well presented and ingeniously argued...in this excellent book there is much that is lively, sometimes even comic. Not only is Ecstatic Religion well written and lucid, but it states a case with vigour and is quite devoid of jargon.' - Times Literary Supplement on Ecstatic Religion: First Edition.

Well presented and ingeniously argued...in this excellent book there is much that is lively, sometimes even comic. Not only is Ecstatic Religion well written and lucid, but it states a case with vigour and is quite devoid of jargon. - Times Literary Supplement on Ecstatic Religion: First Edition.

'This book is a fascinating study of the subkject from a variety of view points ... the author writes with intelligent insight and offers some thought-provoking questions.'

' ... in its third edition, this book has established its reputation as a classsic in at least two disciplines - social anthropology and religious studies.' - International Review of Biblical Studies

This book is a fascinating study of the subkject from a variety of view points ... the author writes with intelligent insight and offers some thought-provoking questions.

... in its third edition, this book has established its reputation as a classsic in at least two disciplines - social anthropology and religious studies. - International Review of Biblical Studies

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

First published in 1971, Ecstatic Religion was hailed as a modern classic. In this second edition, Professor Lewis offers us a new introduction in which he answers his critics and defines his current position in the field.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2nd edition (December 22, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415007992
• ISBN-13: 978-0415007993
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,831,490 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ecstatic Religion: A Study of Shamanism and Spirit Possessio, May 2, 2000

By	"frederick-smith" (Iowa city, IA) - See all my reviews

I. M. Lewis's Ecstatic Religion is probably the most important place to begin study of the fields of spirit possession and shamanism. This book has deeply influenced the study of these fields of research since it was first published in 1971. Like most anthropologists, Lewis seeks to determine the social etiology and meaning of possession as well as its culturally determined psychological dimensions. He seriously examines trance, ecstasy, hypnosis, and shamanism, ultimately concluding that the latter shares an important process with possession-a reciprocity between gods and humans. He develops two contrasting psychosocial loci of possession which he labels "central" and "peripheral." Central possession, highly valued by some, supports prevailing political, moral, and religious beliefs, and views spirits as sympathetic to these. Peripheral possession indicates an invasion of evil spirits, undesirable, immoral, and dangerous. Lewis's work, while much cited and admired, has also been the target of extensive criticism. Perhaps primary among these criticisms is that his distinction between centrality and peripherality becomes highly ambiguous upon close contextual analysis. A second criticism is that many possession states do not share with shamanism the essential feature of reciprocity. A third criticism is that although Lewis is largely free from Western cultural biases, his characteristic terms "ecstasy" and "ecstatic" are drawn from Western theological discourse and cannot be applied unhesitatingly to many possession accounts. Lewis describes ecstasy as "those transports of mystical exaltation in which man's whole being seems to fuse in a glorious communion with the divinity" (15). This is similar to only a fraction of possession states observed in throughout the world. A fourth critique, and perhaps the sharpest one, is his association of possession with marginalized people, his assumption that possession provides the powerless with a means to symbolically express social, economic, or political oppression. While many of the contexts of possession worldwide seem to confirm this, the preponderance of the evidence in many countries bears this out in only the most superficial manner, possesssion, trance channeling, etc., have become increasingly middle-class phenomena. Nevertheless, this a very important and valuable book.