Meaning and religion: Exploring mutual implications

Abstract

“Meaning” and “religion” appear as deeply interlinked concepts in modern thought. Theology has often discovered religious faith as a “source of meaning” and philosophy of religion has tried to better describe that link to show how religion provides meaning, or is built through structures of meaning, or is a form of “meaningconstruction”. Cognitive approach may add new perspectives to better explain this implication. Recent attempts combine scientific methods and philosophical analysis to show how meaning is built and works, and how religion provides a specific sort of meaning, distinct from other forms in which meaning displays itself. Describing religion in terms of “meaning building” helps to better understand its specific role and function in the human mind, and offers a more balanced view on its cognitive dimensions. Different attempts to connect religion and meaning are reviewed in this paper in order to offer a complement to the new scientific study of religion.