Kurs

Cognitive Science of Religion and the Sunday Service

Participants are trained to analyse Sunday services and other liturgies with methods and perspectives from the cognitive science of religion (CSR) in combination with theological and ethical reflection, in order to learn how different practices form specific communities and inspire differing conceptions of God. The goal is for participants to understand how CSR and related fields may contribute to church formation and theological development. Topics include anthropomorphism in the liturgy and our innate intuitions; worship as a costly signal, identity formation, and the ethics of social boundaries; ritual efficacy, emotional arousal, and the form of the liturgy; knowledge production, memory, and counter-intuitiveness in worship; cognition of language, metaphor and communication in liturgy.

Efter kursen förväntas studenten:

• Analyse Sunday services and other liturgies with theories from CSR, both in written text and in group discussions
• Reflect theologically and ethically on worship and liturgy, using insights from CSR
• Critically evaluate the usefulness of CSR for practical theology