315CHAPTER 13: suPERnATuRAlIsm

SACRED ROLES

Fundamental to supernatural beliefs is the culturally accepted existence of beingsor forces that exist beyond the observable world. Supernatural beings are person-ified or embodied gods, demons, spirits, or ghosts. Like humans, they may have genders (masculine, feminine, or gender fluid). Beings may be known (ancestors) or unknowable (all-powerful gods beyond human comprehension). They may existin the everyday world, such as in trees and rocks, or ina world beyond human comprehension.

Supernatural forces, in contrast, are disembod-ied powers that exist in the world. These powers maybring good or bad luck. They may exist in the air, water, or other natural features of the environment, or they may be confined to an item, such as a lucky charm or talisman to ward off evil. Because culture is fluid andchanging, multiple belief systems may be used simul-taneously to understand the spirit world of any society.

DeitiesDeities are distant, powerful beings. People ask them for help with life’s problems, assuming they areconcerned with human issues and can alter the course of events. Gods and goddesses are found most often in societies with a hierarchical social organization, since a society’s belief systems reflect its social organization.A society’s gender roles are also reflected in the gender composition of deities, in that a male-dominated, authoritarian society will worship a masculine, authoritarian god. Societies in which women do much of the labor will worship both male and female deities. Over time, societies may change their understandings of gender roles, but codified religioustenets may not change at the same pace.

Worship of one god or goddess is called monotheism. Monotheistic religions posit a single, all-knowing, and all-powerful deity as the absolute ruler of the universe. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are three modern religions that stemmed from a single religion of pastoral peoples. This pastoral society’s worship of a single god evolved into these three world religions. The all-powerful deity is expressedas either the masculine Yahweh in Judaism, God as Jesus Christ in Christianity, or as the neutral/genderless Allah in Islam. Although there are important female

Figure 13.5 ORACLE BONESAncient Chinese diviners used ox scapulae or the undersides of turtle shells to read a person’s future. It was believed that the ancestors would guide the questioner toward the right decisions. Credit: © Cambridge

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