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Religion and Ideology

Introduction

Religion and ideology are critical components of ancient social structures as well as most contemporary ones, serving to explain the world as well as providing an idealized scheme of behavior. In traditional societies these categories are generally very broad and may encompass other social components, including political and economic systems that are usually viewed as unrelated to religion in many modern cultures. Ritual practices may be organized by a central authority or on a personal level, practiced in the public or domestic realms, involve large-scale performative events or intimate private ones, and may produce material traces or be materially ephemeral.