ABSTRACT
The scientific community interested in religion has concerned itself with two general sorts of objects of analysis. The focus has been on religious content, texts, revelations or customs, and explanations in light of psychoanalytical theory. Few investigations have been undertaken to examine the role religious belief plays in attempts to solve life problems, problems of death, and problems of change and contingency. The cognitive religious structure which a person may have built up through his or her own life history and which can give meaning to existence has rarely been an object of research. Taking a structural approach, namely, the relation of the human person to the ultimate, as that relation obtains within a concrete situation calling for a solution unavailable through objective means. A good example is the reaction of individuals at the interface of life and death who use elements such as trust, meaning, timelessness, etc. to make sense of their situation.
