Relation between Magic and Religion

Abstract

THREE views of the relation between religion and magic have been and are widely held: that magic is a degraded form of religion; that it is the parent of religion; and that the two are independent, mutually unrelated systems. These views appear to rest partly on too restricted an historical survey, partly on arbitrary definitions of terms, and partly on incorrect interpretations of religious phenomena. It is assumed that a refined conception of the relation between man and the deity existed from the outset; or that there is in religion an impure idea which cannot be explained except as the product of a low initial magical form of thought; or that religion as a friendly relation with the deity and magic as a hostile relation are mutually exclusive; or that magical procedures have always been regarded by primitive peoples as lying outside the sphere of religion; or that the continuous growth of culture would be impossible without an initial and persistent sense of friendship between man and the deity. The opposing theories are sometimes stated thus: if religion, in our sense of the term, had not existed from the beginning, it could never have existed at all; or, if religion had existed from the beginning, magic could never have existed at all.' It is very doubtful whether such hard-and-fast dividing lines can be assumed for early stages of religion. In the beginning everything seems to have been in flux-there were no sharp definitions of natural and supernatural, of gods and demons, or, in general, of friendly and unfriendly Powers.