The Cognitive Science of Roman Religions

Dear Colleagues,

Scholars studying Roman religions have begun applying the findings of cognitive science to their material. Meanwhile cognitive scientists have realized that Roman religions can provide useful case studies with which to test their theories. This mutual dialogue has resulted in cognitive studies of Roman religion (for, e.g., Mackey on belief; Lisdorf on prodigies; Patzelt on the Salian priests; Ambasciano on the cult of Bona Dea; Gragg on Roman religion as conservative or open to innovation); the so-called ‘mystery cults’ of the Roman world (Chalupa, Martin and Panagiotidou and Beck on Mithras, Gragg on Lucius’ initiations in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses); early Christianity and Judaism (Luomanen, Pyysiäinen and Uro and contributors, Czachesz, Howe and Green, Czachesz and Biro and some contributors) and late-antique Christianity (Graiver on Asceticism, Sandwell on audience comprehension of preaching, Sandwell, Barcelona and DeCruz on Christian doctrine).

This Special Issue will build on these works, using the religious situation of the Roman world to explore the findings of cognitive science, including the cognitive science of religion, embodied cognition, extended cognition, cognitive linguistics and evolutionary theories of cognition, etc.

How can the historical religions of the Roman world be understood using theories that focus on a transhistorical human mind? How can the normal methods and approaches of historians studying the religions of the Roman world be fruitfully combined with the methods and approaches of cognitive scientists? How far can the very particular nature of the religion of the city of Rome be explained by general theories drawn from cognitive science? How far can the religious situation that developed in the Roman imperial period, sometimes referred to as religious pluralism, be explained by cognitive scientific theories? Can religious changes and continuities of this period be better understood by implementing cognitive science? How far can the religions of the Roman period be placed in the evolutionary frameworks that inform many branches of cognitive science? How can we consider human minds and mental/cognitive factors in our work on Roman religions? How can cognitive linguistics provide us with new ways of analyzing religious texts of the Roman world?

Contributing articles will explore these and related questions, either by looking at a particular aspect, practice, experience, or source of one of the religions of the Roman world or by examining broader trends within the Roman world. The scope of this Special Issue includes all the religions that can be found within the Roman empire, including Roman religion in the city of Rome, the ‘mystery cults’ such as Mithraism, and the cults of Isis and Bacchus, etc., the religions of the provinces and cities of the Roman world, Judaism, and early and late-antique Christianity. Submissions discussing trends or material from the earliest history of Rome, up to and including late antiquity, will be considered.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400-600 words summarizing their intended contribution to the guest editors (bella.sandwell@bristol.ac.uk) or to the Religions editorial office (religions@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to ensure proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative completion schedule:

• Abstract submission deadline: 1 June 2023
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 1 July 2023
• Full manuscript deadline: 25 October 2023

List of references

Ambasciano, L. (2022). ‘Who is the Damiatrix? Roman women, the political negotiation of psychotropic experiences, and the cults of Bona Dea’. In Cognitive Approaches to Ancient Religious Experience, eds. E. Eidinow, A. W. Geertz and J. North. 69-95. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Barcelona, A. (2003). ‘The metaphorical and metonymic understanding of the Trinitarian dogma.’ International Journal Studies, 3.1: 1–27.

De Cruz, H. (2014). ‘Cognitive Science of religion and the study of theological concepts’, Topoi 23.2: 487–497

Chalupa, A. (2011). ‘What might cognitive science contribute to our understanding of the Roman cult of Mithras?’ In Past Minds: Studies in Cognitive Historiography, eds. L.H. Martin and J. Sorensen, 107-124. London and Oakville: Equinox.

Czachesz, I. (2017). Cognitive Science and the New Testament: A New Approach to Early Christian Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Czachesz I. and Biro T. (2011). Religion and Cognition Through the Ages. Leuven, Paris, Walpole, MA: Peeters.

Gragg, D. L. (2011). ‘Do the multiple initiations of Lucius in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses falsify the ritual form hypothesis?’  In Past Minds: Studies in Cognitive Historiography, eds. L.H. Martin and J. Sorensen, 125-130. London and Oakville: Equinox.

Gragg, D. L. (2004). ‘Old and new in Roman religion: A cognitive account’. In Theorizing Religions Past: Archaeology, History and Cognition. Walnut Creek and Lanham: Altamira Press.

Graiver, I. (2022). Asceticism of the Mind: Forms of Attention and Self-Transformation in Late Antique Monasticism. Turnout: Brepols.

Howe, B. and Green, J. B. (eds). (2014). Cognitive Linguistic Explorations in Biblical Studies. Berlin, Munich, Boston: De Gruyter.

Martin, L. H. (2015). The Mind of Mithraists: Historical and Cognitive Studies in the Roman Cult of Mithras. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

Lisdorf, A. (2011). ‘Prisons of the longue durée: The circulation and acceptance of prodigia in Roman antiquity’. In Past Minds: Studies in Cognitive Historiography, eds. L.H. Martin and J. Sorensen, 89-106. London and Oakville: Equinox.

Luomanen, P. Pyysiäinen, I. and Uro, R. (2007). Explaining Christian Origins and Early Judaism: Contributions from Cognitive and Social Science. Leiden: Brill.

Mackey, J. L. (2022). Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Panagiotidou O. and Beck, R. (2017). The Roman Mithras Cult: A Cognitive Approach. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

Patzelt, M. (2022). ‘Chanting and dancing into dissociation: The case of the Salian priests at Rome’. In Cognitive Approaches to Ancient Religious Experience, eds. E. Eidinow, A. W. Geertz and J. North, 118-141. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sandwell, I. (2019). ‘Preaching and Christianization: Communication, cognition and audience reception.’ In ReVisioning John Chrysostom: New Theories and Approaches, eds. W, Mayer and C. De Wet, 137-174. Leiden: Brill.

Sandwell, I. (2022). ‘A relevant mystery: Intuitive and reflective thought in Gregory of Nyssa’s representations of divine begetting in the Against Eunomius’. In Cognitive Approaches to Ancient Religious Experience, eds. E. Eidinow, A. W. Geertz and J. North, 266-289. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dr. Isabella Sandwell
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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.

• cognitive science
• minds
• evolutionary models
• cognitive linguistics
• embodiment
• Roman religions
• early Christianity
• early Judaism
• mystery cults
• history of religions