Category: Local

Religion is a difficult concept to define when we try to be inclusive of all human societies. We can say that religion is observable and measurable, that it is a cultural expression, and that it plays a definite role in society. As cultural anthropologists we can only attempt to describe and understand what people believe and do in regard to the sacred and supernatural, not judging whether those beliefs and actions are based in an objective truth or not.Take Arthur, for example, an 83-years old resident of Bisbee, Arizona. He has lived frugally in solitary in the hills of that town for 30 years and has spent his life building, with his own hands and using only indigenous materials, shrines to worship a wide variety of beings: Martin Luther King, Che Guevara, the Virgin of Guadalupe, Buddha, Quan-Yi, departed relatives and friends… The shrines have become increasingly popular, with dozens of people visiting them every day to pray, meditate, take pictures of what Arthur labels his ashram, or to simply be.

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