Of sacraments, sacramentals and anthropology: is anthropological explanation sacramental?

Of sacraments, sacramentals and anthropology: is anthropological explanation sacramental? Anthropol Med. 2017 Dec;24(3):276-300 Authors: Naraindas H Abstract This paper suggests that what is usually called a cultural misunderstanding of biomedical disease categories may be construed as a biomedical and anthropological misunderstanding of cultural categories. This is premised on the fact that anthropology often functions as an intimate double and handmaiden of biomedicine, in so far as it refuses to countenance the possibility of theurgic aetiologies in the realm of what is called 'mental illness'. Such a refusal displaces native explanations of divine or demonic agency to human agency. This is best elucidated by examining the unexamined religious beliefs of Anglo-European anthropology, which appears to be the terra firma of its emic explanatory categories. The paper attempts to demonstrate this by proposing that while native explanations are akin to the sacraments, anthropological explanations are akin to sacramentals (holy water, the cross, the scapular, verbal blessings). While the sacraments, like divine agency, operate ex opere operato, the sacramentals are dependent on the disposition of the recipient and on the good offices of the church, as they operate ex opere operantis ecclesiae (from the work of the working church), as well as ex opere operantis (from the work of the working one). If the sacraments are efficacious as it is...
Source: Anthropology and Medicine - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Anthropol Med Source Type: research