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Conclusion - (Re)Creating Ritual Experiences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2024

By
Blanka Misic  and
Abigail Graham
Edited by
Blanka Misic  and
Abigail Graham
Blanka Misic
Affiliation:
Champlain College, Lennoxville
Abigail Graham
Affiliation:
Institute of Classical Studies, London
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Summary

How can we use cognitive approaches to embed the dynamic and often variant outcomes of ritual experiences? Key themes that have emerged in both individual and communal rituals are the subjectivity and variation in these experiences: the role of physical and emotional interaction in shaping memory. The concluding chapter begins with a vivid discussion of cognition, sensation and experience, exploring how these elements function together, creating a spectrum of variable experiences and outcomes in modern and ancient ritual contexts. This section is used to further develop ideas, common themes and issues connecting the different chapters – the versatility of ritual experience(s), the role of embodied cognition in constructing ritual experience(s), the importance of the relationship between distributed cognition and ritual experience(s) - and how these themes help to expand disciplinary boundaries in the study of ancient religions and religious rituals. The concluding chapter also situates the themes of the volume within current cognitive science of religion research as well as broader disciplines such as art, heritage and museum studies. These discussions address how the study of ancient religions from a cognitive perspective can contribute to a number of disciplines, opening up new venues for research and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Keywords

Cognitionsensationritual experiencesvariancereligionneurodiversityperceptionperformanceritual transgressionemotions.
Type
Chapter
Information
Senses, Cognition, and Ritual Experience in the Roman World , pp. 200 - 224
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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