Redeeming Anthropology

Abstract

Abstract Anthropologists have invariably engaged in their discipline as a form of redemption, whether to escape from social restriction, nourish their souls, reform their home polities, or vindicate “the natives.” This book explores how in pursuit of a secular science sired by the Enlightenment, adherents to a “faith in mankind” have variably rejected and embraced theology, albeit in concealed and contradictory ways. Mining principally the personal and biographical register from the American, British, and French anthropological traditions, it argues that despite manifold efforts to the contrary, theological sediments remain in this disciplining discipline. Rather than continuing to forget, deny, and sequester it, theology can serve as a mirror of introspection—a source of critique offering invaluable tools for revitalization—for thinking anew not only anthropology’s study of others’ cultures, but also its very own reason.

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