The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

How does gender operate across Frazer’s text? What observations does he make about the power dynamics between men and women (both divine and human), and how do these reflect the political and religious societies by which they were conceived?

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?