Religions_whatever else they may be_are configurations of cultural
information reproduced across space and time. Beginning with this
seemingly obvious fact of religious transmission, Harvey Whitehouse
goes on to construct a testable theory of how religions are
created, passed on, and changed. At the center of his theory are
two divergent 'modes of religiosity:' the imagistic and the
doctrinal. Drawing from recent advances in cognitive science,
Whitehouse's theory shows how religions tend to coalesce around one
of these two poles depending on how religious behaviors are
remembered. In the 'imagistic mode,' rituals have a lasting impact
on people's minds, haunting not only our memories but influencing
the way we ruminate on religious topics. These psychological
features are linked to the scale and structure of religious
communities, fostering small, exclusive, and ideologically
heterogeneous ritual groupings or factions. In the 'doctrinal
mode', on the other hand, religious knowledge is primarily spread
through intensive and repetitive teaching; religious communities
are contrastingly large, inclusive, and centrally regulated. While
these tendencies have long been recognized in the history of the
study of religion, the modes of religiosity theory is unique in
that it explains why these tendencies exist. More importantly,
Whitehouse does not give the final word, but invites us to join a
series of collaborative networks among anthropologists, historians,
archaeologists, and psychologists, currently trying to falsify,
confirm, or refine the theory. Are you tired of the flood of
descriptions and interpretations of religions which offer no clear
strategy for evaluation, comparison, and testing? Modes of
Religiosity can provide you with a new way to think when you think
about religion.
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