Conceptual Blending

Today I read an article called the Analogical Mind. It talks about metaphors and conceptual blending. After a bit of thinking I have decided that one of the main parts of religious studies is using conceptual blending to compare two or more things. We compare things from different parts of the same text, between books, between religions, and between completely different things. My discussion of rowing as a religion, is a half decent example of conceptual blending. Looking at two things and finding similarities and differences in a combined frame of reference. It would be very difficult to compare two religions without conceptual blending. While many are similar, being able to line up the similarities in order to better show the differences is crucial in understanding them. Comparing the different sects of Christianity would be very difficult for someone who has never been exposed to them before without being able to blend and differentiate them. Either way conceptual blending is an important tool that we use more often then we think.