ABSTRACT
Mary Douglas's approach in Purity and Danger was unique because she developed a robust framework to link both Western and tribal systems of religion: each offers classification schemes that yield "matter out of place", which can be thought of in terms of "dirt" and "purity". Douglas argues that we should understand both "primitive" and "modern" beliefs in terms of comparing what is ordered and lawful to that which is "dirt"– unordered, dangerous, but also powerful. Douglas's interest in anthropology began, she said, with her experience in the Colonial Office, where the social anthropologists she met intrigued her. Douglas's book first and foremost provides readers with a strong and valuable framework for comparing societies based on understanding what each group considers sacred, hygienic, and dirty. Douglas's research has inspired many other scholars to look in new ways at many other aspects linking Western and non-Western ideas of religion and purity.
