The Role of Feelings in Understanding Religious Narratives
Theologians point out that religious discourse is metaphorical and resembles literary language. This led us to investigate whether theories of comprehension for literary works prove fruitful in understanding religious narratives. Neoforrnalist theory provides a framework for researching comprehensio...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2002
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| In: |
Research in the social scientific study of religion
Year: 2002, Volume: 12, Pages: 95-116 |
| Further subjects: | B
History of religion studies
B Social sciences B Religionswissenschaften B Religion & Gesellschaft |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Theologians point out that religious discourse is metaphorical and resembles literary language. This led us to investigate whether theories of comprehension for literary works prove fruitful in understanding religious narratives. Neoforrnalist theory provides a framework for researching comprehension of literary stories. It encompasses three psychological processes: defilmiliarisation of interpretative schemata, evocation of feelings that guide comprehension and refamiliarisation of the narrative under the guidance of the feelings. In a current study Dutch Protestant and Catholic children were asked to report feelings toward the biblical story and to provide an interpretation of this narrative. Data show that disapproving feelings block comprehension or lead to superficial interpretations, whereas approving feelings contribute to productive understanding. There is also evidence that respondents conform to the interpretative standards of their religious communities. The study outcomes suggest that in order to come to a deeper understanding of religious narratives, religious educators should encourage pupils to develop ideas about what a narrative means out of the surprising effects of defamiliarisation and simultaneously provide pupils with materials concordant with the teachings of their religious community. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Research in the social scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/9789004496200_007 |