The Seven Dimensions of Religion (Ninian Smart)

• Ritual: Forms and orders of ceremonies (private and/or public) (often regarded as revealed)
• Narrative and Mythic: stories (often regarded as revealed) that work on several levels. Sometimes narratives fit together into a fairly complete and systematic interpretation of the universe and human's place in it.
• Experiential and emotional: dread, guilt, awe, mystery, devotion, liberation, ecstasy, inner peace, bliss (private dimension)
• Social and Institutional: belief system is shared and attitudes practiced by a group. Often rules for identifying community membership and participation (public dimension)
• Ethical and legal: Rules about human behavior (often regarded as revealed from supernatural realm)
• Doctrinal and philosophical: systematic formulation of religious teachings in an intellectually coherent form
• Material: ordinary objects or places that symbolize or manifest the sacred or supernatural