Seven Dimensions of Religion

Understanding a human
phenomenon
The Seven by Ninian Smart

 Practical and Ritual Dimension

 Experiential and Emotional
 Narrative or Mythic Dimension
 Doctrinal and Philosophical Dimension
 Ethical and Legal Dimension
 Social and Institutional Dimension
 Material Dimension
 Practical and Ritual

 Practices such as
– Worship, Praying,
Regular Gatherings, http://www.huntington.edu/worship/images/Worship-039_small.jpg

Rites of Passage

http://www.farsipraise.net/blog/uploaded_images/worship%20shofar-blower-talit-756042.jpg

http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/muslims-praying.jpg
 Experiential and Emotional

 People react when they

have encountered
something which they
believe is very profound.
http://delivery.viewimages.com/xv/74365748.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4A
D9FDB9CF1933D389E1A66A48986185BD6C7A7470EA7879D000F7E7BD7FE

http://delivery.viewimages.com/xv/1541648.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=
17A4AD9FDB9CF19396908EAF14430D35940696E613E87FCF2556AE8CBB5C4EFC
Narrative or Mythic

 Stories which explain

and inspire.
– One such story is the
Hopi tradition of how http://www.zoopy.com/photo_image/large/1180376216.jpg

peaches became sweet

and the bees got wings.

http://www.greengiantfresh.com/images/peaches.jpg
Doctrinal and Philosophical

 Provides rational for

many of the practices
and ideas of the
religion.
– Trinity
– Bodhisattva

http://www.lemoyne.edu/philosophy/images/thinker.jpg

http://www.rothburycommunity.org/images/RCC2%20Logo.JPG
Ethical and Legal

 Ideas and laws that

shape behavior.
– Laws of Manu
– 5 Precepts
– Ten Commandments http://minimediaguy.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/tn_question.jpg

– Beatitudes

http://66.231.15.127/ClassLibrary/Page/Images/Data/515.jpg
Social and Institutional

 Social outgrowth of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Jama_Masjid.jpg/800px-Jama_Masjid.jpg

religious experience.
– Masjid
– Church
– Synagogue
– Sangha

http://www.diamond-congress.hu/mdo2006/images/mdo/pict/synagogue.jpg http://www.jeffooi.com/Sangha_0044.jpg
Material

 An outgrowth of religious
experience/encounter.
– Music http://www.ethnicpaintings.com/images/buddhist-art-thanka-life-mandala.jpg

– Art
– Symbol
– Architecture

http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_pictures/symbols/images/dharma.gif
http://www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/Previous/Images/ISLAMIC.JPEG
Sources

 Seven Dimensions
of Religion are from
The World’s
Religions by Ninian
Smart