(section 3.2) considers that we shouldfirst recognize the importance of
religion, the existential relationship is probably a new status rather than
a new psychological constitution of the recognizer’s personality. Clearly,
the third paradigm teaches that the object of recognition acquires a new
status in this relationship (o-sta). In some variants, the existential
attachment is ontologically constitutive of this status (ont-o-sta). For
instance, a Barthian might say that God has no status in her life unless
shefirst becomes attached to God existentially, as a leap of faith.
The new status of the object of recognition in thefirst and second
paradigms is causally but not ontologically constitutive of the act of
religious recognition (cau-o-sta). The author ofRecognitions, for
instance, might consider that God exists in any case. However, only
the act of conversion enables a link to God as the True Prophet,
ascribing a proper status to God (cau-o-sta). In this manner, the
object is conceived more strongly in Barth’s thinking (ont-o-sta)
than inRecognitions(cau-o-sta). Obviously, such applications of
Ikäheimo’s theory remain somewhat speculative and anachronistic.
Ikäheimo, however, offers an abundance of classifications that per-
mits one to express the various emphases of our historical authors in
a sophisticated manner.
Although both Ikäheimo and the present study want to highlight
the difference between the recognizer and the recognizee, in the great
majority of our cases some reciprocity can be observed. This means
that both the subject (s) and the object (o) of recognition become
affected and transformed in the reciprocal process. Our study
thus displays continuity with the approaches of Ricoeur and others
(section 1.2), who underline the importance of mutual recognition as
the full-fledged form.
4.5.4. Constitutive RelationalityWe have emphasized the relational character of the acts of religious
recognition. From the ancient beginnings, and increasingly during
the medieval and Reformation periods, religious recognition is con-
sidered to be a relational act that involves and redefines its partici-
pants. The personal identity of the individual who performs the act of
recognition is not an unchanging substance, but is expressed in terms
of her attachment and social bond. She is qualified as a‘servant’,
a‘bride’,a‘lover’,ora‘believer’.
246 Recognition and Religion