Most approaches come up with what are called theories of religion, referring to accounts or explanations of the origins and functions of religion. Even this cursory summary of this first approach is, I hope, sufficient to convey the force and depth of the critique of religion. Is it possible to understand a faith without holding it? Historiography then becomes the science that studies the conceptions and production of historical interpretations of human civilization. Significance is reported at the p < .10 level. As it happens, one group of influential political philosophers has tried to do just that. 3.7 Robert Marrett and Animatism. Sociologists use a variety of methods to analyze culture. Often the scholar is confronted only with texts describing beliefs and stories, so the inner sentiments that these both evoke and express must be inferred. Author of. As the world's largest democracy, India . Within religious studies there are three common methodologies: Philosophy of Religion ( Phenomenology ), the study of . The people who take these courses are usually involved in religion themselves ,many are involved a in religious communities or, wishing to know more and learn regarding the religious beliefs of others. Besides their evolutionary assumption about religion, the followers of evolutionary theory show overwhelming Eurocentric biases. Ascension 120. Some of the contributions of William James were his distinction between institutional religion and personal religion, his analysis of religious experiences as mystical experiences, and his pragmatic approach to the value of religionthat the truth and value of a religious belief for an individual depend on the beneficial effects of the belief on the life of the individual. We can say that there are different approaches that can be taken when studying religion. A comprehensive overview of the history and context of feminist approaches to the study of religions, including a helpful discussion of the relationship of these approaches to feminist theology. First, as religion is not a thing but a term of art, it is perfectly legitimateas suggested abovethat different dimensions of it are appropriated in different disciplines and areas of life. Some theologians also engage in philosophy of religion to show that what is believed by faith can also be demonstrated by reason. It all depends on the person you are and the personal period of life you are going through. This can often lead to conflicts, including those that arise on religious grounds. At this juncture, let us x-ray some of the approaches in studying religion scientifically. Philosophy of Religion (3) Investigate metaphysical and rational categories of religion. India is a multi-cultural and a diverse nation with a flourishing history of pluralism that has been thriving for thousands of years. Another illustration of religious beliefs is the creation stories we find in different religions. We may conclude saying that maybe religions will never combine in to one global faith ,but we do think that the society is moving towards a global ideology that have a space for religion and identify the contributions of the diverse ethnicity and traditions and bring a new way in helping us to work together for the support of human values and spirituality. Human biomonitoring (HBM) approaches can provide inter alia information on the chemicals that are in our body at one point in time. Sullivan demonstrates that religion is too complex, too comprehensive, and too multi-faceted to be adequately captured by the law of the liberal state. First, different disciplines will have different answers to the question of what the concept of religion is for; and as a result they will work with different conceptions of religion. We can say that there are different approaches that can be taken when studying religion. London and New York, 1999. These perspectives offer sociologists theoretical paradigms for explaining how society influences people, and vice versa. Throughout the film, various facets of Christianity are explored and that includes the role played by that religion during the colonization of territories by the European or Western colonial powers in the early centuries, particularly the role played by the . Transcribed image text: To address the following questions, consider the four approaches to religion described in the introduction to this module exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism and empathetic interest in other people. Can we categorize all religions within Ninian Smart definitions? It is present in varying forms in the religions of the lower races up to the civilized races of mankind. Department of Religion Pearson 211 Swarthmore College 500 College Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081-1397 Email: religion@swarthmore.edu Phone: (610) 328-8045 Fax: (610) 328-7687 Another reason is that questions about the origins and functions of religion have often been conflated with questions about the truth of religion, and this has led to controversies that tend to hinder the development of common concepts, methodologies, and problems. There are many ways of studying religions. In my opinion, the study of different approaches to the study and comprehension of religions is indeed an exciting and important topic. They argue, for example, that exemptions from general laws can be justified on the ground of conscience; and that what the state should not establish are conceptions of the good. Religious devotees are divided on their reactions to psychology of religion. From this perspective, the egalitarian strategy of analogizing religion is a productive one: the law should not capture religion as such, but whatever dimensions of religion are normatively salient and suitable for legal protection. Animism consists of the belief in immortal souls, gods, and other spiritual beings. Required fields are marked *. Critics have pointed out thatby analogizing religion with individual conscience or conceptions of the goodliberalism reveals its Protestant, individualistic bias, and is unable to capture the fullness of the religious experience. Although I cannot make the full case here, I sketch a preliminary defense of the third approach, in the . Although I cannot make the full case here, I sketch a preliminary defense of the third approach, in the context of recent debates in political theory. Thus, the bracketing means forgetting about beliefs of ones own that might endorse or conflict with what is being investigated. R.R. Some of these theories may be controversial, or questionable, for some people; nonetheless, knowing them broadens our understanding of the meaning and nature of religion. Methodologies in religious studies are the interpretive models on which the analysis of religious phenomena and resources are discussed. The interrelations of the various disciplines in relation to religion as an area of . An alternative approach is to select central themes of inquiry and to investigate how the religions engage with each theme. Religious studies, also known as the study of religion, is an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. Accordingly, Calvinists believed in predestination, the view that God has already decided on who will enter heaven or not. It may well be, for example, that, in their exclusive focus on the claims of individual conscience, egalitarian theorists have neglected the normative importance of other dimensions of lived religion, such as the centrality of traditional collective rituals to the moral lives of believers. While theology attempts to understand the transcendent or . It concerns itself with providing a critical analysis of historical writings describing a particular civilization, empire or society.Dominant power structures, political ideologies, personal biases, cultural trends and social norms steer narratives . This article examines three anthropological theories explaining how religion has evolved and continues to evolve. Sociology is one such approach that this essay will be looking at through its founding fathers Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and Karl Marx. Sociology of religion, on the other hand, studies religious beliefs, practices, and organizations using the theories and methods of the discipline of sociology. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives. To ask that the law embrace and describe the whole of social reality would be to yearn for a totalitarian law. The modern sovereign state is grounded in a distinctive political theology that mobilizes the structural categories of metaphysics and theology to bolster and consolidate the higher identity of secular citizenship. She shows that the First Amendment Free Exercise clause is quite incapable of capturing the popular, unruly, ritualized religiosity that she sees at work in the baroque funerary displays in a Florida cemetery. (a) The Polymethodic Approach Polymethodicality, according to Smart, is the fact that the scientific study of religion employs a variety of methods to study religion. First, the secular state defines what religion is; religion is privatized as a faith whose object is the supernatural, and differentiates it from the natural and the rational which are the jurisdiction of the state. In light of these considerations, our approach in examining the different world religions in the subsequent chapters mainly falls under religious studies. Looking for a flexible role? Carl Jung (1875-1961) was the founder of analytic psychology, the name given to Jungs psychological-therapeutic system which divides the unconscious mind into the personal and the collective. Religion can be said to be subjective in at least two senses. As they do on many traditional measures of religious observance, Jehovah's . But what the capitalists gave back to the workers as payment for their labor were merely their subsistence wages that were just enough for the workers to survive. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. TTh 2:40-4:00. For our purposes, we shall examine certain approaches to the study of religions that are based on certain academic disciplines. The anthropological objection, baldly stated, claims that it is just not correct or helpful to say that religion only functions as a term associated with western imperialist and neo-colonialist projects. It fosters innovative research, nurtures new generations of social scientists, deepens how inquiry is practiced within and across disciplines, and mobilizes necessary knowledge on important public issues. The works of both Sri Aurobindo and Ninian Smart shows two drastic and completely different approaches to religion. The method used was to compare the subjective experience with the intent of shaping the arrangement of religion itself from within the structure. This approach can be better understood in his ritual dimension, involvement with worshipping, meditations, pilgrimages, sacrifices and healing activities .Of course doctrinal and philosophical dimension is to be taken in consideration without living behind the experimental and emotional dimension and the important ethical and legal dimension. In this post, I briefly set out three distinct approaches to the study of religion: criticizing religion, upholding religion, and disaggregating religion. Related to Freuds concept, the personal unconscious mind contains all our personal experiences that we are not aware of (because we have suppressed them); whilethe collective unconscious mind contains universal experiences of mankind and the archetypes (the basic universal images that recur in various forms in different cultures) which we have inherited from our ancestors. Approaches to the Study of Religions. Phone: 212-377-2700 Fax: 212-377-2727. Most of the major thinkers recognized in this area are also those recognized in the sociology of religion like Durkheim and Weber. But the historical process itself has to be investigated scientificallythat is, by considering the evidence, using the techniques of historical enquiry and other scientific methods. This suggests that the works of these thinkers cut across the disciplines of sociology and anthropology. As a belief system, religion shapes what people think and how they see the world. The adherent of a faith is no doubt authoritative as to his own experience, but what of the communal significance of the rites and institutions in which the adherent participates? SSRC activities span more than 80 countries on 6 continents, Apply for research opportunities across the globe, Contributions fund research and scholarship worldwide. the myths of a religion. Religion should be disaggregated into a number of different values which relate to the law of the liberal state in different ways. There are many different approaches to finding truth. The worry here is the hard-won liberal right to religious freedom will not elicit much respect if the existence of religion itself is radically questioned. 3.Theology requires its learners to have some degree of faith whereas religious studies does not . The distinction, however, is not an absolute one, for, as has been noted, descriptions of religion may sometimes incorporate theories about religion that imply something about the truth or other normative aspects of some or all religions. Each of these approaches can be applied to the study of religious diversity. For Jung, religious experiences are manifestations of the archetypes in the collective unconscious in our own consciousness. For egalitarian theorists of religious freedom (as I call them), there is nothing special about religion as such. Thus in principle it is the study of all religions from a viewpoint not isolated within any one of them. The SSRC is an independent, international, nonprofit organization. Tylor cited the association of morality with animism which was little represented in the lower races but became an integral part of the religions ofthe civilized races. No consensus among scholars concerning the best way to study religion has developed, however. The second ground for skepticism is that religion has served to define the western idea of the secular, and remains deeply entangled with it. Morgan, Sue. The study of religion may thus come to have a reflexive effect on religion itself, such as the manner in which modern Christian theology has been profoundly affected by the whole question of the historicity of the New Testament. People often do truly unique things for their faith. Ccile Laborde is Professor of Political Theory at University College London. Given this, we, however, also use other approaches especially comparative religion and philosophy of religionwhich we will discuss next. It is the opium of the people (Contribution to Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right). The author will attempt to evaluate the strengths and weakness of two approaches to religion and try to compare the work of the two representations and their methodology .The first is Professor Ninian Smart as he wrote widely, regarding different topics in religions, with papers and articles appearing in a vast range of . Free resources to assist you with your university studies! Durkheim argued that "religion happens . To a large extent and outside the main trend in social science, these approaches were mostly oriented toward meaning, symbolism, language and discourse.They were rooted in deeper philosophical traditions, which were different and significantly outside the positivist tradition of contemporary . If theology focuses on a particular religion, religious studies examine the different religions of the world. Approaches to ReligionSpring 2010REL 111. The belief in the soul as something separate from the body though residing in the body resulted from dealing with certain biological questions such as those concerning the difference between a living body and a dead one; the causes of waking, sleep, trance, disease, and death; and the origin of dreams and visions involving human images. (James L.Cox,p.159.A guide to the Phenomenology of religion .key figure ,formative influence and subsequent debate. June 03, 2016. Box No. For our purposes, we shall . A theory of religion may be internal or external. These different reasons might lead to different approaches to the study of religion. Is religion a valid category of scholarly inquiry? He is not final. Ontology. The study of religion emerged as a formal discipline during the 19th century, when the methods and approaches of history, philology, literary criticism, psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, and other fields were brought to bear on the task of determining the history, origins, and functions of religion. The fast, they abstain from sex, they walk on fire, perform self-flagellation, or nail themselves on crosses. Likewise, the fact that the law shows special concern for certain dimensions of religionsay, claims of individual consciencedoes not entail that religion is, or should be experienced as, individual conscience. Nevertheless, common to all these different terms and their respective definitions of approach was the motivation to dispense with theologically orientated normative constructions in the study of religion. An internal theory of religion is a particular religions account of its own origins and functions (e.g., Christianitys own account of the origins and functions of the Christian religion); while an external theory of religion is an account of the origins and functions of particular religions, or religion in general, using the methods of certain academic disciplines. The normative objection is slightly different. Other religions are sourced in man's rebellion against God and/or demonic influence. Bonferroni correction compensates for multiple . From the belief in human souls grew the belief in other spirits, like those that inhabit nature and those venerated as gods. Influential sociological theories of religion came from Karl Marx (1818-1893), Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), and Max Weber (1864-1920). 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