Embodied Cognition and Religious behaviour
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| Year of publication | 2016 |
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| Description | Embodied cognition theory generated research showing that bodily expressions play a pivotal role in our emotive experiences. Various experimental designs showed association between emotions and body as not merely unidirectional but indicating that bodily configuration such as posture also has feedback and regulatory effects on emotion and motivation. Religious behaviour often requires particular body manipulations and positions. In the light of the aforementioned research, those positions should not be understood only as expressions of desired emotional responses. Specific bodily positions can enforce attitudes and motivations carried in teachings and theologies, inducing their effectivity and impact on further behaviour. “Theology of submission” will serve as a case study, illustrating how this area of research can help us better understand some parts of religious behaviour and rituals and their effect. A “theology of submission” is type of religious teachings and approaches emphasizing strict power distinctions between the human and superhuman/divine, often demanding submissive attitude towards the superhuman agents. This attitude can be enforced not only directly in teachings and theology of the given religious tradition, but also by ritual practices using embodied states of submission, such as kneeling, prostrating or looking up to the representation of deity. |
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