ABSTRACT
Clifford Geertz famously defines religion as a system of symbols that functions to unite a certain way of life or ethos with a certain world view or metaphysics (1973:87-141). In his view, religion by definition involves metaphysics, its understanding of the structure of reality. Moreover, of the different features in any religion, Geertz says that it is primarily ritual that instills in religious people how their recommended way of life is connected to the way things are.
