the word‘recognition’often denotes the unilateral act of recognition,
typically an‘upward’act of the servant who recognizes the lord. At
the same time, this act takes place in the context of mutuality in which
the recognizee also performs some act of expectation, typically the
granting of favour or commendation. Even in cases in which the
recognizee of upward recognition is non-personal, as inagnitio veritatis,
the recognizee is supposed to exercise an influence on the recognizer.
Since early Christian times, the phenomenon of recognition has
been essentially mutual, involving both the recognizer and the recog-
nizee. Such mutuality does not entail the elements of horizontality or
equality. The starting point of recognition is typically a situation of
unequal partners, although in some cases the end result can be inter-
preted as producing an increase in equality (as infilium agnoscere).
Because of this inherent mutuality, the paradigm of gift transfer
or even gift exchange is often adequate in describing religious recog-
nition. This paradigm is especially prominent in feudal law that
operates with the concept of benefit(beneficium). In his act of favour,
the lord grants a benefit that is recognized and received by the vassal.
This paradigm can often be metaphorically applied to the situation
between God and people. In the upward recognition of God, people
give thanks for the good gifts of life and creation that the divine act of
favour has bestowed upon them. Such a paradigm of gift exchange
need not be understood as an anthropological idea but as an element
of classical theological vocabulary.
At the same time, gift exchange may remain a somewhat mislead-
ing concept by which to depict complex historical processes of reli-
gious recognition adequately. Actual gift objects seldom play a role in
religious recognition, although gifts of creation or divine favours can
be interpreted in that way. Rather, the divine expectation is an act
of commendation or promise in which God promises to enter an
alliance with those who recognize him. Especially in the tradition of
loving attachment, that is, from Bernard (section 2.3) to Zinzendorf
(section 3.1), individuals receive a promise of divine protection or
self-preservation. While the term‘promise’does not appear frequently
in the texts, it can be used as a summary description of the issues of
divine favour and commendation. It also relates closely to terms
like benevolence, justification, application, and acquisition that depict
divine action in our texts.
As the tradition of loving attachment is concerned with the self-
understanding and self-preservation of a human agent, it may not
194 Recognition and Religion