Abstract
Interpretations of symbolic representations of the religious experience are based on the subjective experience of both beholders. Both clergy and the communities they serve are bound together in an intersubjective process of symbolic interpretations of the religious experience during Sunday morning services. Equivalent to the Kantian neoumen, symbols as things-in-themselves evoke subjective feelings that can be interpreted through a religious lens. Therefore symbols speak a thousand words. The transformative ability of the symbol to evoke awe, hope, love, and other positive subjective feelings can positively contribute to the well-being of religious adherents, regardless of the medium by which those symbols are consumed. In Kantian language, the neoumenal world stands out from the phenomenal world, which can be experienced in our senses. Therefore, religious symbols would then exist in the neoumenal world, with faith leaders and the communities they serve serving as conduits, providing unique interpretations of those images based on positive past religious history and doctrine. Symbols as they truly are, serve as eternal forms within the Kantian neoumenal world, independent of our perception and understanding. Within a religious context, when clergy utilize positive approaches to symbolic interpretation that are inclusive, loving, and positively ecumenical, the communities they serve are more likely to walk away with healthy representations of the subjective experience of faith. That effort is a doorway to well-being and interbeing, bridging the unknowable world of things as they are, and the subjective experience of the phenomenal world of the religious communities where interpretations are negotiated.
Presenters
Jesse Eugene HerriottStudent, Ordained Ministry (Unity Minister), Unity Institute and Seminary (UWSI), Missouri, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Image, Symbol, Religion, Church, Clergy, Interpretation, Holy, Divinity, Inclusive
