Abstract

Proposes that primitive religion, rather than being derived from magic or animism as some earlier anthropologists thought, may represent the discovery of an extrasensory power shared among mankind. In giving primitive man strength, religion would encourage him in a way of life with survival value. Based on the anthropological studies of R. R. Marett, it is suggested that the idea of the Holy may be parapsychological in nature. Anthropologists should be open to such possibilities and approach them experimentally.