Towards the Semasiological Function of Religion

Abstract

In the context of the contemporary debate on religion, let me formulate a thesis on the border of cultural anthropology and sociology as follows: “If the researcher manages to realize his cognitive limitations and at the same time honestly and critically listens to “what man has said” the researcher and the subject together are able to convincingly answer difficult questions about truth within the spiritual culture” Importantly, building an atmosphere of honesty refers to the researcher / respondent relationship, as a result, the researcher sometimes has to acknowledge failure in confrontation with reality which is “a labyrinth of alleys and crevices”. Otherwise, you may find that you “hear the words but not the music” (C. Geertz). That’s to say, not every interpretation leads the discovery of the truth – and only so-called “good” interpretation. [spiritual culture / religion, religious / magical ritual, etic / emic description, “good” interpretation]