Reading of Luther Martin's paper, Cognitive Science ritual and the Hellenstic Mystery religions

Luther H Martin  Cognitive Science ritual and the Hellenstic Mystery religions, Religion and Theology  vol.13, n. 3/4, 2006.
The introduction looks at repetition and routinisation as part of the rituals of religion, especially the mystery religions. here I am thinking Freud, repetition/compulsion and of course Freud had much to say about religion, the projection of the father onto a deity and the identification with the aggressor, Oediapal relationship with the father/god. He did not deal with the goddess/mother but further feminist psychoanalysis did interpret these dyads.
p 385

Whitehouse, a cognitive anthropologist, has identified two divergent modes of religiosity, which he terms 'doctrinal' and 'imagistic'. The doctrinal modality is, in his analysis, not to be confused with religions which maintain beliefs or teachings, a characteristic of most if not all religious traditions. Nor is the imagistic modality of religiosity to be confused with religions in which images are to be found, again a characteristic of most if not all religious traditions. Rather, these divergent modes of religiosity are characterised by an interrelationship among and interdependency upon multiple variables that include alternative ways by which religious knowledge is processed and encoded, and the ways by which recall and transmission of this knowledge is constrained by different systems of memory.

The fundamental cognitive function that underlies the divergence of religious modalities is memory. 

Memory in pre-literate and oral communication for the mysteries is very important. I think here of the way in my religion all the scripture is sung, so people can remember the words as they fit into the rhythm.  The music itself has emotional memory and emotional impact. Of note, the mystery religions also had song, dance especially during the processions. Music and music makers were important components of the religions, thinking of the sistrum, drums, bells. 

p 386  in which knowledge is expressed in syntactic or sequential form as a coherent set of practices, whether those practices are ideational (e.g., doctrinal) or non-ideational (e.g., ritual) in which significance is, nevertheless, cued to idealtional meaning. These doctrinal practices become encoded in the semantic memory of its practitioners through countless iterations and reiterations and, which, over time, achieve historical stability. If a hierarchical leadership and centralized structure is developed to maintain and to control such doctrines and/or practices, such standardised sets of officially sanctioned and transmitted schemas (orthodoxy) and scripts (orthopraxy) can become the basis for large-scale, if anonymous, communities.'

p 387. Initiation into the Hellenistic mysteries took place, for the initiate, but once per initatory grade, three, for example, in the Eleusinian mysteries (Plut. Demetr. 26), two in those of Isis (Apul. Met. 11), and up to seven in the Roman cult of Mithras (Jerome Ep. 107 ad Laetam) .

 The enigmatic and terrifying ordeals characteristic of these initations would have produced cognitive disorientation among the individual initiates which would have mitigated against their learning any coherent set of shared teachings. Such cognitive perplexity could, however, have resulted in personal constructions of analogies, especially given initiatory anticipations which had been primed during preparations for the ritual (fasting, purification, drugs, etc.).

While the mysteries never developed any broad doctrinal coherence or canonical writings, attendance by initiates at subsequent initiations of new members would have allowed for a certain consolidation of religious knowledge within each mystery cell. Although this knowledge may have been structured by certain broad themes or norms associated with cult identity and characteristics of its patron deity, this knowledge seems to have remained substantially local since no centralised form of administration was ever developed among the mystery religions

In addition to their (likely) presence at (some of) the initiation rites for new members, participants in the mysteries commonly shared meals of fellowship, as did social groups in the Graeco-Roman world generally.

P 389 . Were they simply social? or were they, in some sense or other sacrificial? sacramental? The meal that was engaged in by initiates into the Roman cult of Mithras offers an enticing example. It is clear that meals were essential to Mithraic practice. Every mithraeum (Mithraic temple) was designed as a triclineum, a dining room, with dining couches along the two side walls and the tauroctonous representation of Mithras presiding as host from the place of honor on the third, rear wall. Further, some Mithraic iconography portrays Mithras sharing a meal with Sol while sitting on the hide of a bull - presumably the bull that is portrayed as being slain in the tauroctonous scene - while other imagery portray members of the community sharing a similar meal. Since the modes theory emphasises ritual divergence, we might consider the role of the Mithraic meal from the perspective of a second pioneering cognitive theory of ritual, that of Lawson and McCauley, who specifically address the relationship of different rituals within a common ritual system.

Are there examples today- my Lions club has rituals, go to any Lions club in the world and the same rituals, 

there is an induction of new members and new members are invited to join only if accepted of good character. No terrifying ordeals but I suspect they were more serious 100 years ago as these clubs were set up by Freemasons- also rituals, meals, initiatory processes, 33 degrees, the lion.

The meal is also nb. given that it starts with a traditional invocation and the concept of breaking bread together allows for trust outside a family (or oikos).