Sigfrid Rafael Karsten (16 August 1879 — 21 February 1956) was a Finnish

social anthropologist Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

and philosopher of religion, known especially for his work among the indigenous people of Southern America.

Career

Rafael Karsten was born in

Kvevlax Kvevlax () is a church village in the municipality of Korsholm, Finland. It is located approximately north of the city of Vaasa. Kvevlax became an independent parish in 1857. Until 1 January 1973 it was an independent municipality. Kvevlax has ...

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, to a very religious family, and his native language was

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. He studied philosophy at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

in 1899–1902 and had his first job at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. A student of

Edvard Westermarck Edvard Alexander Westermarck (20 November 1862 in Helsinki – 3 September 1939 in Tenala) was a Finnish philosopher and sociologist. Among other subjects, he studied exogamy and the incest taboo. Biography Westermarck was born in 1862 in a w ...

, Karsten was critical of theological explanations of religions. He was a critic of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and state religion, and a proponent of freedom of religion. Karsten defended his doctoral thesis, ''The Origin of Worship: A Study in Primitive Religion'', in 1905 at the University of Helsinki. He was a member of the

Prometheus Society The Prometheus Society (, ) was a Finnish student society at the University of Helsinki from 1905 to 1914, whose main purpose was to promote Freedom of religion, religious freedom. Views Its program included the abolition of compulsory baptism ...

, a student society promoting

freedom of thought Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by developing knowledge, concepts, theo ...

and

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

. In total, Karsten travelled six times in Southern America and studied the indigenous people and their religions — in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

, 1911–1913, in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, 1916–1918, and in the Amazonas, 1946–1947, and others — and published extensively on them in Swedish, Finnish, German, English, and Spanish. He also authored several academic course books on sociology and social anthropology. Karsten served as the professor of

practical philosophy Practical philosophy concerns itself mainly with subjects that have applications in life, like the study of values, norms, politics, art, etc. The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ...

at the University of Helsinki in 1922–1946. His pupils included

Arne Runeberg Sven Arne Runeberg (7 April 1912 — 15 November 1979) was a Finnish anthropologist and linguist, best known for his studies on magic, witchcraft, and sociolinguistics. Biography Arne Runeberg was born in Helsinki into the Swedish-speaking cu ...

. Karsten died in Helsinki, aged 76.

Publications in English (selection)

* ''The Origin of Worship: A Study in Primitive Religion'' (1905) * ''Studies in Primitive Greek Religion'' (1907) * ''Indian Dances in the Gran Chaco (South America)'' (1915) * ''The Couvade, or Male-childbed among the South-American Indians'' (1915) * ''Contributions to the Sociology of the Indian Tribes of Ecuador'' (1920) * ''Studies in South American Anthropology'' (1920) * ''The Religion of the Jibaro Indians of eastern Ecuador'' (1922) * ''The Toba Indians of the Bolivian Gran Chaco'' (1925) * ''Civilization of the South American Indians, with Special Reference to Magic and Religion'' (1926) * ''Ceremonial Games of the South American Indians'' (1930) * ''Indian Tribes of the Argentine and Bolivian Gran Chaco'' (1932) * ''The Headhunters of Western Amazonas'' (1935) * ''The Origins of Religion'' (1935) * ''A Totalitarian State of the Past: The Civilization of the Inca Empire in Ancient Peru'' (1949) * ''Studies in the Religion of the South-American Indians East of the Andes'' (1964)

Sources

External links

Rafael Karsten (1879–1956), a Finnish Scholar of Religion.
Biography by Ilona Salomaa. {{DEFAULTSORT:Karsten, Rafael 1879 births 1956 deaths People from Korsholm People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish philosophers Finnish ethnologists Finnish explorers Religion academics Finnish critics of Christianity Academic staff of the University of Helsinki

Career

Publications in English (selection)

Sources

Further reading

External links