Religious symbolism and iconography - Sacred Relation, Symbols, Iconography

religious symbolism and iconography

Table of Contents

Introduction
The nature of religious symbols and symbolization
- Concepts of symbolization
- Varieties and meanings associated with the term symbol
- The symbolic process
- Symbols in the religious consciousness
The relation of the symbol and the sacred
- Symbols as the incarnate presence of the sacred or holy
- Symbols as indicators of the sacred or holy
- Symbols of sacred time and space
- Ceremonial and ritualistic objects as indicators or bearers of the sacred or holy
- Other relations between the symbol and the sacred
Relation of religious symbolism and iconography to other aspects of religion and culture
- Relation to myth and ritual
- Relation to meditation and mysticism
- Relation to the social realm
- Relation to the literary and visual arts
- Relation to other areas of culture
- Changes in symbolical relations and meanings
Modes of symbolic expression
- Diagrammatic and emblematic
- Pictorial
- Gestural and physical movements
- Verbal symbolism
- Musical symbolism
- Conjunction and combination of various modes
Icons and systems of iconography
- Iconographic forms
  - Temples and other sacred places
  - Icons and images
- Iconographic themes
- Iconographic types
  - Anthropomorphic motifs
  - Theriomorphic, or zoomorphic, motifs
  - Phytomorphic motifs
  - Hybrid motifs
  - Chrematomorphic motifs
  - Absence of representational forms
Influence of humanity’s environment on religious symbolism and iconography
- Influences from nature
- Influence of human relationships
- Symbolism of sex and the life cycle
- Cultural influences
- Conceptual influences
Influence of religion on symbolism and iconography
Conclusion

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Antelami, Benedetto: Deposition from the Cross

Coello, Claudio: Adoration of the Holy Eucharist

For Students

religious symbolism and iconography summary

Discover

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.

Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Adolf Hitler (Nazi, nazism, German leader).

9 Things You Might Not Know About Adolf Hitler

How Is Coffee Decaffeinated?

VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.

What Is an Aftershock?

Pluto. The Changing Faces of Pluto. Most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003.

10 Important Dates in Pluto History

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 of religion. The historical study of religions has shown that it is fundamentally the symbol that mediates and forms for the religious consciousness the reality and the claim of the holy. Religion is a system of relationships, a system of reciprocal challenges and responses, the principal correspondents of which are the sacred or holy and humanity. Though there are many forms of experience in which the sacred or holy is ...(100 of 11146 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.