By raising hands in prayer, the worshipper approaches the realm of the heavenly gods; by kneeling, the realm of the underworld. This apparently was the original meaning of kneeling before it became an expression of humility. The bow as an intimated genuflection generally indicates respect. The ...
Religious symbolism and iconography - Sacred Relation, Symbols, Iconography: Whatever the experience of reality that lies behind the religious symbol may be, it is above all the experience of the sacred or holy, which belongs essentially to any concept o
The 20th-century Persian clerical migration to Karbala contributed to the city's urban religious fabric and the reproduction of collective transnational Shi i identity. Having several pilgrimage places and spaces with a rich social history, imbued with meaning where myth and reason coalesce, the city...
This rationale is developed particularly by the discussion of the Five Big Questions that the author has been using for his Introduction to Religion course: Ultimate Meaning, Transcendence, Personal Identity, Vocation, and Service. Keywords: religious education; post-truth; introduction to religion; ...
in the making and shaping of the country's religious diversity. Moreover, the meaning, implication, and usage of the very concept of 'religious diversity' in contemporary Chinese scholarly discourse are also likely to have been directly influenced by the policies and rhetoric of the Chinese state...
2.2. Distance and Direction as Symbols Physical distance can also have a symbolic meaning in the Bible. The experience of God's absence is expressed as a lament for His being far (rh. q): "Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?" (Ps 10:1); "Why are you so far from helping me?"...
Among them, puppets made of ma‑ hogany are nothing special in terms of practicality but do have a special cultural meaning. First, puppets made of mahogany have such a long history that the first record about them appeared as early as the Warring State Period (403 BC–211 BC). ...