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Embodied world construction: a phenomenology of ritual

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2023

Jack Williams Open the ORCID record for Jack Williams [Opens in a new window]
Jack Williams*
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Independent Scholar, UK
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Email: jack@thewilliams.me.uk
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Abstract

This article presents a new approach to understanding ritual: embodied world construction. Informed by phenomenology and a philosophy of embodiment, this approach argues that rituals can (re)shape the structure of an individual's perceptual world. Ritual participation transforms how the world appears for an individual through the inculcation of new perceptual habits, enabling the perception of objects and properties which could not previously be apprehended. This theory is then applied to two case studies from an existing ethnographic study of North American evangelicalism, indicating how the theory of embodied world construction can shed new light on how individuals are shaped by ritual practice.

Keywords

Ritualphenomenologyanticipationliturgyhabitembodimentevangelicalism
Type
Original Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 60 , Issue 1 , March 2024 , pp. 103 - 122
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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