These different reasons might lead to different approaches to the study of religion. To ask that the law embrace and describe the whole of social reality would be to yearn for a totalitarian law. On the other hand, comparative religion refers to a branch of religious studies that is concerned with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices of two or more particular religions. liade (1907-1986), whose studies included the concepts of sacred space and mythic time, and the sacredness of nature (Paden 2005, 215). Consider an analogy with marriage. Religious studies, also known as the study of religion, is an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. The term phenomenology also refers to the attempt to devise a typology, or classification, of religious phenomenareligious activities, beliefs, and institutions. Such distinctions, however, only serve to shore up the arbitrary power that the state has to demarcate the sphere of its own sovereignty. a complex continuum of resemblances and differences, Hindutva and the shared scripts of the global right, Normalizing nationalism through social media in transnational Jain communities. The stage from man to super being is the next which depends from the approach of the achievement on the evolution on earth. There are doubts about how far there can be neutrality and objectivity in the study of religion. London and New York, 1999. First, the practice of religion involves inner experiences and sentiments, such as feelings of God guiding the life of the devotee. *You can also browse our support articles here >. Author of, Robert Segal, Chair in Religious Studies, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland. Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified. 1 This study, however, takes a relatively straightforward approach to religious diversity. These theologians, through their works, systematically explain the main doctrines of their own respective religions. This course introduces students to the variety of academic approaches to the study of religion and to the procedures and sources used in writing academic papers in religious studies. It looks at the percentage of each country's population that belongs to eight major religious groups, as of 2010. Durkheim argued that "religion happens . Approaches to the Study of Religion. Like most abstract concepts, the concept of religion is a construction projected onto the world, but one consequence of this large-scale projection may well be that our world has genuinely come to exhibit it. Since becoming aware of our unconscious makes us a whole person (a fully realized Self), religion is thus seen by Jung as something positive (Merkur 2005, 177). Describe a friend, acquaintance, or relative whose approach to religion is different than yours. For egalitarian theorists of religious freedom (as I call them), there is nothing special about religion as such. According to William Cavanaughs provocative thesis, the fact that Christianity is construed as a religion, whereas nationalism is not, ensures that the Christians public and lethal loyalty belongs to the nation-state. The law does not describe and regulate the full experience of marriage: the fact that, in law, marriage is a contract does not mean that marriage is, or should be experienced as, a contract. For example, a religious (or spiritual) approach to cancer treatment can be more effective than a secular approach (Croucher & Harris, 2012), religious attendance promotes healthier living, and people with HIV/AIDS often turn to religion for comfort as well. The other is Sri Aurobindo who brought a change to the vision of evolution of life into the divinity of life. Thus, some political ideologies, such as communism and fascism, have been regarded as analogous to religion. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! J.F. Approaches to the Study of Religions. 3 Phenomenological. For instance, Christian theologians explain the doctrines of Christianity, and their works constitute Christian theology. For the last four decades universities and schools have been acting in response to a constant, steady demand for courses upon the study of religion. Some theologians also engage in philosophy of religion to show that what is believed by faith can also be demonstrated by reason. Both methods tried to avoid the phenomenological approach. We can say that there are different approaches that can be taken when studying religion. The apologetic approaches to the study of religion is pro-religion in that it defends religion and attempts to prove that religion is true, right, or good. But because they wanted to know who would eventually be saved and enter heaven, they thought that financial success was one good indicator. 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. Aurobindo offers no guidance upon other religions as his account is purely personal. Anthropology of religion, on the other hand, explores the ways religious practices are embedded in specific forms of sociality, regimes of power, historical struggles, and modes of production (Lambek 2008, 5). To him, sacred meant extraordinarysomething that inspired wonder and that seemed connected to the concept of "the divine.". We can confirm that the method of study that Smart used in his approach comprehend both external and internal analysis of religion, characterized by phenomenological perspectives. They are: commitment theory, which postulates that religion is a system of costly signaling that reduces deception and creates cooperation within groups; cognitive theory, which postulates that religion is the manifestation of mental modules that have evolved for other purposes . So he is proposing a mystical goal and from his yogic teachings he guides,shows and achieves that. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. How can we best identify and protect the normative values which historically have underpinned freedom of religion, non-establishment and the like? There are many different approaches to finding truth. Psychology of religion involves the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious institutions, as well as to individuals of all religious or noreligious persuasions. Global studies is a fresh and dynamic discipline area that promises to reinvigorate undergraduate and postgraduate education in the social sciences and humanities. The etymological meaning of the word theologybased on its Greek origin, namely theo, which means God, and logos which means discourse or study,is study of God. Theology, however, is not just limited to the study of the nature ofGod, for it also studies in a systematic way the main doctrines of a particular religion. For this reason, let us examine the ideas of another pioneering anthropologist of religion, namely Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917). The idea is that one who experiences financial success is blessed and is thus favored by God. A more promising method would seem to be that of exhibiting aspects of religion that are typical of religions, though not necessarily universal, such as the occurrence of the rituals of worship. These different approaches disagree about the essence of religion, but all three camps operate within a shared account of the human. Freud viewed religion negatively. 47. Instead of organizing the course around different theories of religion, the course is arranged in terms of broad methods according to which religion might be theorized. 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. Methodologies in religious studies are the interpretive models on which the analysis of religious phenomena and resources are discussed. (Ninian Smart,pp10-12,Dimension of the sacred an anatomy of the worlds beliefs ,Harper Collins Publisher 1196) We see from Smarts classifactory account, Smarts perspective in sustaining a phenomenological perception to the methodology of approach to the study, is far different from the approach that Sri Aurobindo use. In the Australian context, the interdisciplinary pedagogy that defines global studies is gaining wider acceptance as a coherent and necessary approach to the study of global change. Mysticism. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. It may well be true that the boundaries between religion and other cognate concepts such as tradition, culture, ideology, faith, reason, and so forth are porous and fuzzy. R.R. Even if an inventory of kinds of belief and practice could be gathered so as to provide a typical profile of what counts as religion, some scholars would maintain that the differences between religions are more significant than their similarities. Other researchers of religion, such as Cornelius Petrus Tiele (1830-1902), preferred the term ' comparative religion '. Hence the proposed shift from an analogizing to a disaggregating strategy. APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION 109 like, the students were asked to read Marx, Freud, Durkheim. Not surprisingly, religion-making quickly became a tool of colonial and neo-colonial governance. Not surprisingly perhaps, the work of those scholars who have most influenced the critical religion school, such as Asad and Mahmood, explicitly aims to provide a thick anthropological description of the complexity and diversity of religious experienceit brings out, for example, the distinctive modes of Muslim religious subjectivity. (Scott London ,the future of religion an Interview with Ninian Smart June 1999 issue ofThe Witnessmagazine. ) Network analysis applied to such data may provide insight into real-life mixtures . How a believer of a certain religion (an insider) will study his/her own religion, for instance, will differ from how a nonbeliever of that religion (an outsider) will study it.Their motivations and methods will be different. The second ground for skepticism is that religion has served to define the western idea of the secular, and remains deeply entangled with it. 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. Approaches to Religious/Worldview Studies 1 Sociological. We will discuss religious studies as an . SSRC activities span more than 80 countries on 6 continents, Apply for research opportunities across the globe, Contributions fund research and scholarship worldwide. T here are many ways of studying religions. Third, the secular separation between a privatized, individualized sphere of religion and a public, social, rational sphere of politics has obscured the way in which the state, the nation, and the law operate as the modern sacred. 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. It is an illusion because it is just a product of the human imagination. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. An alternative approach is to select central themes of inquiry and to investigate how the religions engage with each theme. 2.Religious studies has a bigger scope because it analyzes the different world religions. In my opinion, the study of different approaches to the study and comprehension of religions is indeed an exciting and important topic. How would a strategy of disaggregating religion help here? Instead, I shall merely sketch an alternative strategy. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. So critics confuse an empirical inquiry (describing what religion is) with a normative inquiry (accounting for its status in the law). Yet the strategy of disaggregating religion has a further, more portentous implication for normative political theory. Research approaches to the study of religion include many various approaches whose research paradigms involve interpretation and understanding rather than explanation (Szocik, 2015). As a social institution, religion is a pattern of social action organized around the beliefs and practices that people develop to answer questions about the meaning of existence. the myths of a religion. This suggests that the works of these thinkers cut across the disciplines of sociology and anthropology. Nor does the origin of a concept in itself discredit its uses: the concept may well have been forged in the crucible of missionary and colonial encounters, but its meanings and uses have further proliferated in non-colonial and post-colonial settings, in ways that escaped, distorted, and subverted the original discourse. Sociology in general looks at people's . The Comparative Study of Religions World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery, Fourth Edition, considers one religion at a time, chapter by chapter. People often do truly unique things for their faith. Religion should be disaggregated into a number of different values which relate to the law of the liberal state in different ways. study of religion, attempt to understand the various aspects of religion, especially through the use of other intellectual disciplines. Epistemology. )Of course the phenomenological approach employed by Smart can be interpreted as an attempt of taking into consideration the individual experience of religion a at the same time trying to separate from it. Religion is a concept created by modern scholars and superimposed on a variety of different phenomena for a variety of motives. O . the civilized races. 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