Remembering religious rituals

Autobiographical memories of high-arousal religious rituals considered from a narrative processing perspective

Datos Bibliográficos

ID16909367
AutoresValerie van Mulukom (0000-0002-0549-7365, Aarhus University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2017
Volumen7
Número3
Páginas191-205
Fecha de publicación2017-07-03
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligion Brain & Behavior (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2153-5981 • E-ISSN: 2153-599X
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/2153599x.2016.1232304
OpenAlexW2568770243
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas71

Autobiographical memory and religion both have the ability to guide us in our understanding of the world. One place where memory and religion intersect is in religious rituals, which have the potential to generate important memories. Religious rituals with high levels of arousal are expected to generate especially vivid memories. In this article, previous experimental anthropological work on memory and religious rituals will be discussed within the context of an extensive background of autobiographical and episodic memory research (including aspects like episodicity, emotionality, valence, and specificity), accompanied by recommendations for future research in the cognitive science of religion. Moreover, a novel perspective, based on the literature of narrative processing, memory reconstruction, and reflection, will be proposed. In this article, it is suggested that the experience of the ritual itself may be the goal of high-arousal religious rituals, giving rise to memories with high levels of emotionality. The subsequent narrative processing of these memories, in which interpretation rather than accuracy is pivotal, allows the memories to become an important part of the participants’ life narratives, thus contributing to the participants’ identities and sense of coherence and purpose

Arousal · Autobiographical memory · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Emotionality · Episodic memory · Literature · Narrative · Recall · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · History · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Memory Processes and Influences · Psychology · Social Psychology