ABSTRACT
Much of the detailed development of material religious symbolism may be traced to the source. Early religious rites and attitudes of worship admit of confusion and distortion in the way indicated is a matter of no mean importance in the conduct of our own religious life. The performatory side of religious ritual loses nothing of its force and significance on the views advanced. A sacrament can have functions, a solemn commitment to the implications of one’s belief for example and a reinforcement of the bonds which hold a religious fellowship together. An equally mistaken notion is that material entities and certain manipulations of them have some kind of spiritual significance or efficacy on their own account. Certain kinds of entity, rivers and trees for example, will tend to acquire a recognized religious status on the basis of which they can be made to serve in more elaborate representative functions.
