Abstract
Despite the current research attributing methods for altering consciousness to the control of participants’ sympathetic nervous system, such as sleep restriction and drug control, researchers have found a significant correlation between participants’ altered states of consciousness during rituals and the practice of religious image. Therefore, this study explores the role of shamanic ritual images, with a particular focus on their impact on participants’ emotions, beliefs, and consciousness states. Specifically, researchers randomly assigned 30 participants into a practice group (Group A) and a control group (Group B) for ritual exercises and questionnaire surveys. The results indicate that in an environment resembling shamanic rituals, religious images positively elevate the consciousness states of participants in Group A, leading to a moderate level of self-dissolution experiences. After the ritual, participants in Group A, influenced by the religious images, exhibited significant changes in emotional states, accompanied by a substantial increase in supernatural belief levels. In contrast, the changes in Group B participants were not significant. These findings suggest that religious images can strengthen the independent environmental space within shamanic rituals, providing participants with a deeper sense of ritual involvement and prompting them to undergo religious experiences of altered consciousness in a sacred atmosphere.
Presenters
Hang SunStudent, Doctoral, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Ishikawa, Japan Eunyoung Kim
Student, PhD, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Commonalities and Differences
KEYWORDS
Keywords：Emotions; Beliefs; Conscious States; Religion Ritual; Shamanic
