One way to study a religion is to understand its structure. To speak
of a structure suggests various elements that are arranged in a distinctive
manner. To help you study various religious systems in this way, we have
prepared the following check list of the elements of religious systems.
This list is not complete. You might like to add extra elements as you
study various religions. In the meantime it will give you a checklist to
help sort out different religions
You should pay careful attention not only to the elements of any religion,
but also to the arrangement of those elements. The same elements can often
be arranged in different orders of priority. Such rearrangements are typical
of divisions within a particular religion, for example, as a way in which
different denominations can be understood.
Functionaries: inherited/ elected/ selected
males only/ females only/ both
hierarchal/ secretive
nomadic/ fixed location
trained/ charismatic
Sacred places: geographically significant places
inside/ outside
natural place/ constructed place
permanent/ mobile
exclusive functions/ inclusive functions
Sacred objects: symbols
icons/ idols
fixed/ mobile
personal/ collective
natural/ constructed
dangerous/ beneficial
extrinsically sacred/ intrinsically sacred
Ideas:
Implicit/ explicit
polytheistic/ monotheistic
historical/ non-historical
dualistic/ monistic
creation/ emanation
Strategies: local/ expansionist
inclusive/ exclusive
Targets: personal/ collective
temporal/ beyond death/ beyond history
social order/ new order
Tradition: oral/ literary
historical/ mythical
continuing/ completed
illustrative/ normative
Ritual:
individual/ familial/ collective
devotional - private/ public
calendrical
liturgical/ spontaneous
sacrificial forms
Problems: sin/ guilt/ health/ power/ identity
individual/ collective
disobedience/ heterodoxy
others/ idolatry
Authority: institutionalised/ charismatic
textual-legal
collective
Methods: world denying/ affirming
private/ public
individual/ collective
ritualistic/ attitudinal
magical/ natural/ spiritual