FRAZER, Sir James George (1854-1941):
a British lawyer influenced by William Robertson
SMITH who became the first ever professor of SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY at the University of
Liverpool, England in 1907. He quickly retired from this post and devoted his life to
writing. Although a prolific writer his "anthropology" was decidedly the
"armchair" variety based on interpretations of works by MISSIONARIES, traders
and travellers which tended to take BELIEFS and practices totally out of their social and
historical context to create a grand theory. His influence on the development of
COMPARATIVE RELIGION and popular religious ideas was considerable as can be seen by the
continuing popularity of his major work The Golden Bough (published in twelve
volumes between 1890 and 1915) which attempts to show underlying themes common to all
religions. His other works include: Folklore of the Old Testament (1918) and The
Fear of Death in Primitive Religion (1933-1936). Today his work remains popular with
the public but has little scholarly value.
