inner journey
∂ Through the analysis of My Place, The Road Not Taken and Good Will Hunting, it is evident that inner journey is, more than anything else, about the process of self-reflection in order to grow in understanding and change one’s self.
Many scholars, from various disciplines, have attempted to answer the question in as objective a manner as possible. What follows is an introduction to some of those answers. We begin by taking a detailed look at the work of the religious scholar Ninian Smart before going on to explore the views of psychologists, sociologists and evolutionary biologists. We close by comparing cults, sects, superstitions and religions.
Smart's Seven Dimensions of Religion
Ninian Smart (1927 - 2001), Professor of Comparative Religions at the University of California and Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of Lancaster, England, suggested that there are certain aspects or dimensions of religion. In 'The World's Religions' (Cambridge 1989), Smart suggested that there were seven dimensions: •The Practical and Ritual Dimension
•The Experiential and Emotional Dimension
•The Narrative or Mythic Dimension
•The Doctrinal and Philosophical Dimension
•The Ethical and Legal Dimension
•The Social and Institutional Dimension
•The Material Dimension Smart pointed out that some religions emphasise certain dimensions more than others and that in some religions one or more dimensions may be almost non-existent.
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The practical and ritual dimension: This covers acts of worship, both private and corporate, prayer, preaching, sacrifice and meditation. It also includes practices such as yoga. Examples include the celebration of the Eucharist in Christianity, participating in the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mekkah (Mecca) in Islam, or offering puja in Hinduism.
•
The experiential and emotional dimension: Bringing together a range of religious phenomena ranging from conversion experiences to shamanistic trances. It also includes less
Many scholars, from various disciplines, have attempted to answer the question in as objective a manner as possible. What follows is an introduction to some of those answers. We begin by taking a detailed look at the work of the religious scholar Ninian Smart before going on to explore the views of psychologists, sociologists and evolutionary biologists. We close by comparing cults, sects, superstitions and religions.
Smart's Seven Dimensions of Religion
Ninian Smart (1927 - 2001), Professor of Comparative Religions at the University of California and Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of Lancaster, England, suggested that there are certain aspects or dimensions of religion. In 'The World's Religions' (Cambridge 1989), Smart suggested that there were seven dimensions: •The Practical and Ritual Dimension
•The Experiential and Emotional Dimension
•The Narrative or Mythic Dimension
•The Doctrinal and Philosophical Dimension
•The Ethical and Legal Dimension
•The Social and Institutional Dimension
•The Material Dimension Smart pointed out that some religions emphasise certain dimensions more than others and that in some religions one or more dimensions may be almost non-existent.
•
The practical and ritual dimension: This covers acts of worship, both private and corporate, prayer, preaching, sacrifice and meditation. It also includes practices such as yoga. Examples include the celebration of the Eucharist in Christianity, participating in the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mekkah (Mecca) in Islam, or offering puja in Hinduism.
•
The experiential and emotional dimension: Bringing together a range of religious phenomena ranging from conversion experiences to shamanistic trances. It also includes less