The Interplay between Religion and Culture

Dear Colleagues,

Religion is a cultural product, a cultural system. In most cultures of the past, it has been “the central cultural fountainhead” (King 1987). The full significance of religion can be seen only when viewed in the total cultural matrix (Kluckhohn 1949)—in the cultural web, in the cultural context. Somehow, religion and culture are parts of each other (Geertz 1973).

If culture means “the total life way of a people, the social legacy the individual acquires from his group” (Kluckhohn 1949), then the same applies to religion. If culture is “a way of thinking, feeling, believing” (ibidem), then it is certainly influenced by religion. On the other hand, culture plays a significant role in shaping religious beliefs. In other words, religion attempts to order individual and societal life, in accordance with the environing culture. Religion therefore adapts to the cultural environment and can have different forms, e.g., Christianity in Europe and in Africa, Islam in various countries. Thus, culture affects religion—the latter is culturally determined—and religion affects culture, triggering cultural changes.

Religion as a cultural system is composed of myths, rituals, symbols, and beliefs created and transmitted by people. As such, it is an abstraction, and yet, it influences the overt behavior and various areas of life, including customs and lifestyles, e.g., in education, medicine, politics, economy, etc. Religion becomes tangible in human works, such as art, architecture, tools, and various kinds of artifacts which are inspired by it. Such works consequently enrich culture; they are the tangible and intangible results, products of religion form a heritage of people who are bound together by social and cultural ties, immersed in the same culture.

The interplay between religion and culture is complex and multilayered. Both impact on one another in manifold ways. The topic can be approached from various angles and various forms of that interplay can be analyzed. We invite scholars representing multidisciplinary approaches to explore various aspects of the topic under discussion and send us original research articles.

Here are some areas in which the interplay between culture and religion manifests itself in tangible and intangible ways, which are proposed for consideration in this volume:

• Tradition;
• Values;
• Customs;
• Sacred places and landscape, understood in geographical terms;
• Sacred objects;
• Sacred writings;
• Religious symbols;
• Religious principles and culture;
• Myths, legends, and stories;
• Rituals;
• Festivals;
• (Pop)art;
• All kinds of artifacts.

The discussion on the interplay between religion and culture is not limited to the above issues.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prior to submitting a manuscript, the potential authors of the articles are requested to send a proposed title and an abstract of 250–300 words to the Guest Editors: Dr. hab. Bożena Gierek ([email protected]) and Dr. hab. Izabela Sołjan ([email protected]).

Dr. Bożena Gierek
Prof. Dr. Izabela Sołjan
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• architecture
• art
• belief
• culture
• landscape
• myth
• religion
• ritual
• symbol
• value