Objective facts and subjective meanings in Jacques Waardenburg’s neo-phenomenology of religion
R. F. Yarullin
Manuscript June 24, 2026 DOI: 10.30853/mns20260132 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that Waardenburg's neo-phenomenology should be understood as a shift from describing religious phenomena as external objects toward analyzing religious meanings as structures determined by intentionality and context, and that subjectivity is objectified in speech acts, rituals, symbols, institutions, and self-descriptions. |
Abstract
The study reconstructs the categorical core of Jacques Waardenburg’s neo‑phenomenology of religion through an analysis of the relation between objective religious facts and subjective meanings. The article examines the concepts of religious fact, subjective meaning, intentionality, the supposed/posited object, faith, context, understanding, and the verification of interpretation, as well as their interrelations within the methodological architecture of Waardenburg’s project. The scientific novelty consists in a systematic reconstruction of these concepts as an integrated categorical scheme rather than as an assortment of isolated terms. The study shows that Waardenburg’s project should be understood not as a new essentialist theory of religion but as a shift from describing religious phenomena as external objects toward analyzing religious meanings as structures determined by intentionality and context. It is demonstrated that subjectivity in this approach is not equivalent to arbitrariness: religious meanings become objectified in speech acts, ritual practices, symbolic forms, institutional relations, and believers’ self‑descriptions. The methodological significance of Waardenburg’s neo‑phenomenology is defined by its combination of understanding the insider’s perspective with source‑based, contextual, and logical testing of the researcher’s interpretation.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |