Based on the symbolic interactionists' perspective, identify the most common means of learning and internalizing religion.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. For symbolic interactionists, religion is not innate but socially constructed. As a result, people can learn and interpret the same religion differently across cultures and over time. Symbols, rituals, and beliefs are three of the most common means of learning and internalizing religion.A symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else to which people attach meaning. Many religious symbols are objects (a cross, a steeple, and a Bible), but also include behaviors, words, and physical appearance. Religious symbols, like all symbols, are shorthand communication tools.A ritual (sometimes called a rite) is a formal and repeated behavior that unites people. Religious rituals, like secular ones, strengthen a participant's self-identity. All religions have rituals like birth and marriage that mark significant life events. Death rituals are probably the most elaborate and sacred worldwide. They vary across religious groups and societies, but all of them comfort the living and show respect for the dead.Rituals and symbols come from beliefs, convictions about what people think is true. Religious beliefs can be passive or active. Beliefs bind people together into a spiritual community. One of the strongest beliefs worldwide is that prayer is important. Prayer offers psychological and spiritual benefits such as comfort and a sense of unity among those who pray together, but depending on God can also diminish people's motivation to actively shape their own lives.