The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

The Golden Bough was published in 1890 and revised throughout the early 1900s. What cultural and historical forces was the text responding to, and why did Frazer expand the work during the following decades?

Discuss Frazer’s treatment of Christian doctrine and the church in The Golden Bough. Why did many Christians of Frazer’s time find the text offensive? How are his arguments about Christianity received today, and why?

Frazer has been criticized for approaching his source material from a Eurocentric perspective. Discuss the validity of outside critical perspectives on this issue, using examples from the text.

Discuss Frazer’s prose style. What literary tropes and rhetorical devices does he use? How does the way Frazer writes reflect his critical approach, agenda and methods? Support your argument with examples from the text.

Darwin’s 1859 text On the Origin of Species influenced Frazer’s thought. Consider Frazer’s treatment of evolution and progress in the text. How does he apply Darwin’s ideas to the study of culture and religion?

American scholar Joseph Campbell took inspiration from The Golden Bough in his 1949 book on comparative mythology, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. What argument does Campbell’s text make, and how does it reflect Frazer’s arguments and scholarly approach in The Golden Bough?

Food is one of the main symbols in The Golden Bough. Discuss how different types of food (i.e., plant-based and animal-based) and the act of eating figure into Frazer’s argument. What parts do food and eating play in the cultural myths and magical practices in the text?

Discuss the role of animals in the text. Are any particular animals central to the all the cultures and practices the text describes? What does each animal represent, and why is its meaning significant in Frazer’s argument?