This paper identifies theories and cognitive aspects that shed light on the transcultural unifying identity power of Masonic initiation rituals and illustrates this more closely using the case study of the German master ritual. It suggests that the potential of the unifying identity of Masonic rituals does not reside solely in their symbolism, but rather primarily in their enactment as performance. By breaking down the basic elements of the performative character of rituals and comparing the Masonic ritual to that of male initiation among the Chambri people of Papua New Guinea within Whitehouse’s theoretical model of modes of religiosity, this paper also explores the transcultural unifying identity power of rituals while outlining a novel explanatory framework in the field of Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) and Ritual Studies. The present paper suggests that religious and religiously connoted transcultural unifying identity, including its inherent capacity for meaning creation and meaning attribution, is more strongly and stably achieved the more Framed Cognitive Immersion (FCI) is engaged, that is, the more corresponding cognitive processes of the participants are triggered together.:1. Why ritual research?
1.2 The concept of religion used in this study
1.3 The concept of ritual used in this study
1.4 The three basic elements of a ritual
2. Symbols and the performative character of rituals
2.1 The holistic approach to human cognition (Embodiment)
3. The power of rituals: The performative dimension
3.1 The performance of the legend of Hiram Abif
3.2 Generation of Reality
3.3 Scenic Staging
3.4 Corporeality or Physical Presence
4. Framed Cognitive Immersion (FCI) in ritual context
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:85504 |
| Date | 23 May 2023 |
| Creators | Álvarez-Vázquez, Javier Y. |
| Contributors | Helmut Reinalter |
| Publisher | Studien Verlag |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 1562-4226 |
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