RE104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Scapegoating, Anthropomorphism, Antisemitism
Document Summary
Historically used for yom kippur (atonement for years past sins) Sins of community put on goat and the goat sent out of the city to die. In judaism, the scapegoat symbolized: delegated guilt, abolishing past sin. Used during yom kippur as a means of purging: desjardins. The process of scapegoating: personification, projection, embodiment, separation. Harumi befu argues that demons and demonization are a way for humans to solve problems and to symbolize what is bad or evil in the world. William paden argues that when boundaries of us/them become too rigid: what is normal vs. what is unacceptable. Rigid boundaries caused by huge social changes (i. e 911) Demons are totally separate from humans and often purely evil. Enact evil for its own sake, have no good qualities. Demonization process where groups characterized as diff from us, and are. This is done to solidify ones own group identity and justify actions taken.
