“A religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing those conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.”

—  Clifford Geertz, book The Interpretation of Cultures

Source: The Interpretation of Cultures (1973), p. 90

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Clifford Geertz16
American anthropologist 1926–2006

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