RELIGION – Models and Applications

This work examines religion through seven different religious groups, all of which apply the teachings of the Old Testament. The included groups are Roman Catholics, Evangelical Lutherans, Orthodox Christians, Islam, Judaism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Pentecostals.

The book is divided into a general and a personal section. The general section presents an ontological model for each religion, based on interviews with religious representatives such as priests, rabbis, imams, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. These models are detached from personal religious experiences and instead provide a cartographic representation of each religion’s core teachings, tracing their structure from the first cause to the final consequence. The purpose of these models is to illuminate and compare the differences and commonalities between religious doctrines from a structural perspective.

The personal section applies the general models to individual members of each religion. Ten individuals from each religious group participated by drawing their personal interpretations of concepts found within the general models. These drawings connect the models to human experiences, aiming to reveal the enclosed nature and personal depth of religious belief in relation to broader doctrines.

The work is built upon the juxtaposition of these perspectives—the general and the personal—and the dynamic interplay between them.

When examining religious doctrines as structures, striking similarities emerge beneath the surface of today’s global conflicts, particularly between Islam and Christian religions. Meanwhile, the individual drawings reflect how personal, political, and social factors influence the interpretation of religious teachings.

This text was created with AI assistance