perceptionand Ibn Rushd. The mystic Jakob Boehme and the philosopher Spinoza
are seventeenth-century examples of pantheism in the West.Further reading: Levine (1994)PERCEPTION
A visual human ability that is more than an inherited biological ability to
see objects in the world, although perception does occur within an
embodied condition. It is a learned ability and a historically and socio-
logically constituted form of behavior. Therefore, the ability to see hap-
pens within a cultural context and is shaped by that context. This implies
that the act of perceiving is dependent on a wider apparatus beyond a
particular individual that includes presuppositions, assumptions, inclina-
tions, habits, historical associations, and distinct cultural practices.
Within such a context, there is a close connection between the act of
perception and knowledge. When humans see an object they come to
know it, and are able to form a representation of it.
The act of perception is frequently referred to as the gaze, which is a
visual field that includes seer, seen, and the act of seeing within a broader
physical, historical, and cultural context. By means of the gaze, percep-
tual humans project cultural influences that allow the possibility of mean-
ing, interrelationships among actors, and forms of experience. Thus,
being in a European, Roman Catholic cathedral, a person sees, for
instance, rows of pews, very high ceilings, stained glass windows, numer-
ous statues of apostles and saints, and a large cross behind the altar. What
a person perceives represents historical, cultural, and sociological ele-
ments of a person’s religion that possess predetermined meaning and
significance. Therefore, the gaze of the viewer is already shaped to a
large degree, and what is seen is easily comprehended by the viewer
because one is already inclined to see things in a certain way.
Perception represents a sensual aspect of religion that plays a vital role
in all forms of religion. In India, the technical term, for instance, for see-
ing the sacred is darśana, a term with a twofold meaning: one sees the
image of the deity and is seen by the deity. This type of mutual seeing
represents a means of communication between an inferior subject and a
superior divine being that allows a viewer to express their emotions. By
seeing the image of the deity in one’s home or in a temple, the viewer is
also able to participate in the essence of the object being perceived by