The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Essentialism or an Anthropological Approach: The Role and Function of the Scientific Study of Religion in a Historical Perspective

På svenska

Author

Summary, in English

The study of religion has its historical origin in the confessional education of religious functionaries, which has influenced the structuring of the study. The order of the topics studied has been, as a rule, first, languages relevant for the study of the normative texts, then the interpretation of these texts, followed by the historical development within the religion, its doctrines (systematic theology), and its practical application (ethics, practical theology). This order of the study is very relevant for priests, pastors, and preachers. It has a certain normative purpose. But it is problematic when the same structure is followed in the empirical study, description, and analysis of how religious tradition is selected and functions in the contemporary, modern, globalized society. A more appropriate structuring is a combination of psychological, sociological, and political approaches, taking into account that religions constitute very changing phenomena, that religious belonging is only one of an individual's many "identities," and that religious leaders and their pronouncements are not very representative for the actual functions of religion for the individual, the society, and the political life. The problematic is illustrated by a number of doctoral dissertations from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Pages

301-320

Publication/Series

Numen

Volume

62

Issue

2-3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Brill

Topic

  • Philosophy, Ethics and Religion

Keywords

  • accommodation
  • authority
  • comparative religion
  • discourse
  • essentialism
  • flow
  • function of religion
  • ideology
  • knowledge
  • norms
  • perception
  • prognostic value
  • Schleiermacher
  • societal changes
  • structure of the
  • study of religion

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0029-5973