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  • Essay / Analysis of The Sacred Canopy by Peter Berger - 1371

    In The Sacred Canopy by Peter Berger, religion and the human world are presented as interconnected and society fits into the picture. It mainly focuses on religion and worldbuilding. Berger leads the reader to question certain concepts regarding society, culture and religion. Berger implements the role that rituals and myths also play. Berger's ideas on legitimations, plausibility structure, and microcosm/macrocosm are clearly visible in the myths and rituals of the text. Legitimations appear as a fairly important theme in the Sacred Canopy. Legitimations can be defined as socially objectified “knowledge” that serves to explain and justify the social order. “Knowledge” is created by society. Thus, when society creates a movement between different societies, a new structure of plausibility must be adopted. The plausibility structure must remain strong. The nomos of society will seem plausible as long as it is supported by a strong plausibility structure. Society wants to maintain the nomos it already has (47). If society's plausibility structure begins to weaken, society doesn't like it. Society then begins to question the nomos it already has. A change in the nomos can lead to a change in the plausibility structure. This proves that there is a relationship between nomos and plausibility structure: each affects the other. Every religious world is somehow based on a plausibility structure. With this principle, conversion is always possible. This shows that the plausibility structure applies to the society and religion of the people. The last major concept addressed by Berger is the microcosm and the macrocosm. The microcosm is the small world. The microcosm refers to the human world. The macrocosm is the larger world. The macrocosm refers to the world of the gods. An example would be in Genesis 1: “Humans are created in the image of God; rule over creation as God does. Shepherd: divine world constructed by analogy with the human world. Religion also plays a role in this concept. Religion says that humans should reflect the divine. It takes up motifs such as the Tablet of Fates, the conflict between good and evil gods, and its connection with the story of Anzu. Gods play a huge role in myths. Three gods are sent, and only the third triumphs in the stories. In the Epic of Creation, Marduk is born as unique and powerful. He came to power by replacing the big three of traditional Mesopotamian religion. The powerful three included Ea, Anu and Enlil (IV 137). In the Epic of Creation, the microcosm and the macrocosm are clearly visible. When Marduk kills Tiamat, he cuts up her body and gives half to heaven and half to earth. This shows how the microcosm is the human world and the macrocosm is the divine world in Mesopotamian society. Tiamat's corpse is the universe. Marduk created the universe from dead chaos. This shows that the world is inherently unstable and chaotic. To make the world less chaotic, order must be established from the outside by force. Atrahasis focuses on three main realms: the heavens, the earth, and the Apsu. The Epic of Creation challenges this by placing responsibility on Marduk. What happens on earth is now in the hands of Marduk. Marduk defeated Qingu and Tiamat in a direct battle. Marduk then creates and overcomes because of his inherent superiority. There is a human king said to mirror Marduk. This says that the human king is supposed to follow Marduk and stay in his place (IV