The Interpretation of Cultures

Geertz’s analysis of religion as a cultural system begins by acknowledging the stagnation in anthropological development regarding religion. He proposes to use dominant anthropological thought as a starting point, with the aim of placing it in a wider context—culture as it relates to social and psychological processes. To orient readers, Geertz provides a succinct definition of culture: “an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life” (89).

Geertz constructs a definition of religion, denoting how religion as culture sheds light on sociology and psychology via a series of enumerated phrases:

[Religion is] (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic (90).

Geertz unpacks the word “symbol” from Phrase 1, emphasizing its role as a model. Models function in two distinct, yet simultaneous and mutually reinforcing ways for cultural symbols: Models for act as templates for reality, and models of act as reflections of reality.