Abstract

Marcel Mauss claims in his work A General Theory of Magic that the best way to work with the concept of magic is discussing it in comparison to religion or comparing it to religion. Thus, first this paper aims at presenting a theoretical study with a primary nature, whose central focus consists in Marcel Mauss’s studies on the theme of magic, through the elements that constitute it, which are, according to the author: the magician, the acts, and the magical representations. In the second moment, it proposes to conceptualize the term religion. When addressing the definition of religion's constituents as a phenomenon, a discussion of belief and religious ritual is emphasized. Finally, the relation between religion and magic is introduced through a basic comparative exercise and its impacts are interpreted according to the contemporary religious sense.