I would add my voice to the others- this book is a big, big, winner. Written by the author at the sunset of a distinguished career as a professor of anthropology at a us unviersity, Ritual and Religion uses the discipline as anthropology as a mere starting point for an in depth exploration of the relationship between humanity and it's religion.



In particular, he integrates the fields of semiotics, linguistic philosophy and cybernetics/systems theory to create an argument that manages to both dissect and rebuild the role of relgion in human society.



Rappaports central argument: That ritual is crucial to maintaining human adaptability in the face of environmental challenges, is teased out over some 450+ fascinating pages. He defines terms like an analytic philosopher, talks about New Guinean tribal culture with the aplomb of an anthropolgist, and summarizes difficult to understand thinkers like Charles Peirce and Austin in ways that even a college undergraduate (or their equivalent) could grasp.



In the end, Rappaport argues that humanity without religion and ritual is not humanity at all. Or rather that it is ritual and religion that allows us to dominate the natural environments we exist in.