Religious Symbolism

Symbolism is an important part of religion and has been used by all religions on Earth. The term symbolism can be defined as the use of symbols and signs to convey key concepts, ideas, or events and the effect that they realize on society and religion. These symbols and signs often bugger off the form of acts, artwork, language, rituals, statues, texts, and other types of artistic representation. Symbols help reinforce sacred ideals, strengthen each individuals faith, and cultivate deterrent example values in cultures around the manhood. Anthropologists such as Sherry Ortner, Susanne Langer, and Clifford Geertz have studied various cultures and come up with unique theories, definitions, and sub-definitions of symbols. each(prenominal) authors work presents his or her own translation of symbolism and how symbols and signs can be clearly defined into founder categories. In Ortners piece entitled On discover Symbols, she defines certain symbols as being key and divides them into two crystallize categories, with progress sub-categories. Langers essay entitled The Logic of Signs and Symbols highlights the divergency between signs and symbols, and that symbols are the vehicles for the conceptualization of objects.



Geertz offers a similar, more planetary picture of symbolism, stressing that symbols are the driving force for understanding world order. Through the descriptions of each authors theories on apparitional symbolism, it is evident that all three anthropologists have many comparative and conflicting terms and definitions.
Sherry Ortner presents her own theory of symbolism in her article On Key Symbols. Ortner is an American anthropologist who studied at the University of Chicago and Michigan. She started the trend in American anthropology to go further than before and find religious symbols that could sum up the contingent ethos, world view, or character unique to a culture. Ortner highlights in her article that symbols work to condense, produce, or invite meaning to the...If you extremity to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



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