The Limits of Symbolic Realism: Problems of Empathic Field Observation in a Sectarian Context
Robert Bellah's "symbolic realism" is an epistemological orientation which asserts the existential "reality" of religious symbols without necessarily accepting their factual reality. It thus implies a common distinction between empathy, as the intuitive comprehension of subj...
| Published in: | Journal for the scientific study of religion |
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| Authors: | ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[1973]
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| In: |
Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Further subjects: | B
Participant Observation
B Reality B Symbolism B Christian symbolism B Sympathy B Sectarianism B Christianity |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Robert Bellah's "symbolic realism" is an epistemological orientation which asserts the existential "reality" of religious symbols without necessarily accepting their factual reality. It thus implies a common distinction between empathy, as the intuitive comprehension of subjects' meanings, and sympathy, as the internalization of these meanings. However, an approach which is empathic without being totally sympathic encounters special difficulties when applied to field observation of extreme sects such as the "Jesus Freaks," which define their own meanings as exclusively true and thus assume that to know the truth is necessarily to "believe." A participant observer who is perceived as empathic but who resists conversion thus implicitly threatens the sectarian meaning system and may disorient and demoralize subjects. The subjects' resulting defensive behavior may then disorient the researcher and inhibit further empathic communion. Regidly exclusive sects may thus constitute a limiting case of symbolic realism, which may presuppose tolerance and pluralism. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-5906 |
| Reference: | Kritik in "Comment on "The Limits of Symbolic Realism" (1974)"
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1384427 |