religion as worldmaking

what is religion as worldmaking?

humans don’t just passively live in the world, they actively build and rebuild how we view it

nelson goodman’s view on worldmaking

we never create a worldview out of nothing, we build on ideas and frameworks that came before us

mary douglas’ view on worldmaking

we actively organize our surroundings so that they fit an idea in our mind

what is matter out of place?

anything that disrupts an established social or mental boundary

it isn’t an inherent or physical quality, but is a matter of context

what happens when matter is out of place?

it causes discomfort, revulsion, or confusion because it disrupts the expected order

what is the impurity-holiness scale?

a spectrum where impurity equals chaos/disruption and holiness is completeness, clarity, and order

how do societies fix matter out of place?

labelling it as wrong, unclean, impure, or dangerous

creating rituals to restore order or purity

what is a symbolic system?

a shared framework that uses labels such as sacred / secular, clean / dirty, insider / outsider

how do symbolic systems handle anomalies?

1. reduce ambiguity

2. physically control the anomaly

3. avoid the anomaly so it reinforces the rule to which it doesn’t conform

4. labeling anomalous events as dangerous

5. using ambiguous events in ritual to enrich meaning

what is group and grid?

a mary douglas framework that explains how different social environments produce different styles of religous beliefs

what is group?

how strongly people are tied to a collective identity

what does a weak group consist of?

weak allegiance to school, minimal pressure in group goals and activities, minimal social incorporation, individual’s interests are prioritized over group interests

what does a strong group consist of?

strong allegiance to school, strong pressure to consider group goals and activities, strong social incorporation, groups interests are prioritized over individual interests

what is a grid?

how strictly people’s roles, rules, and responsibilities are defined

what does a strong grid consist of?

minimal autonomy, specifically defined roles, rules and responsibilities, centralized power and authority (authoritarianism)

what does a weak grid consist of?

maximum autonomy, loosely defines roles, rules, and responsibilities, decentralized power and authority (democracy)

on a group-grid scale, what groups fall into high grid and high group?

orthodoxy, judaism, anglicans, mormanism, methodists, baptists, muslims, cults, extremists

on a group-grid scale, what groups fall into high grid and low group?

pentecostalism, buddhism, hinduism, unversalists, student ministries

on a group-grid scale, what groups fall into low grid and high group?

courtrooms, classrooms, secular rituals, dictatoral governments

on a group-grid scale, what groups fall into low grid and low group?

agnostics, atheists, spiritualists