bMS 649/39 (17): Religion and Art, Introduction, Course lecture n. d.

Intr.

1) The threefold meaning of religious art.

a] Art with a religious content in terms of religious symbols, ...as appearing specialin religious traditions.

b] Art with a ... religious content used for the cult (public or private).

1) The content can be figurative.

2) The content can be decorative (forms and colours with a special meaning for the believers)

c] Art with a transc religious style substance shining through even if the  content is any finitea secular object. This presupposes that there is art without a religious substance shining through even if the content  is a specially religious one.

This demands a distinction in the concepts of religious and secular.

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2) The double meaning of religious.

a] The special meaning: The acts and symbols which are related to the gods, the sacred sphere, the myths and the cult.

b] The general meaning: The situation of being ultimately concerned. The movement of the personality towards produced by the ques- tion of the whole, the ground and the meaning of life. In the sense of the first irreligion is possible (atheism etc) In the sense of the second it is impossible. It is

In the second sense every relig culture (and art) is substantially religious. But not every culture allows its religious subs

The substantially character of religious character of all culture. But the intention towards the finite forms. Therefore

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the possibilities of being transparen directed towards its ground or towards the finite relations (secular). The latter never completely possible. But to such a degree that it is hard to bring religious contents into such a style. The religious style makes it often hard to deal with secular objects adequately  (mosaics). The dissolution The archaic bondage cannot be overcome easily. And if, a loss of substance occurs and aft a longing back (archaism).