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Religious studies, also known as the study of religion, is the scientific study of religion. There is no consensus on what qualifies as religion and its definition is highly contested. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing empirical, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.
- Assumption 1. “Religion” Is A Stable Category
- Assumption 2. One Must Be A Religious Adherent in Order to Study Religion
- Assumption 3. Religious Studies Markets Religions
- Conclusion
One of the first questions a student in an entry level Religious Studies class, such as REL 100, investigates is “What is Religion?” Students soon realize that defining religion is not an easy task, for they discover that opinions differ widely as to what practices, beliefs, and institutions get to count as religious. For example, it is clear that ...
Another misconception that is widespread regarding the study of religion is that one must be religious in order to study or know about religion. This assumption comes from the fact that many people believe religion to be a word that names a collection of privileged–that is, beyond critique–beliefs and behaviors. On the contrary, religion, as it is ...
When people learn that I am a Religious Studies major, it is common for them to ask me, “What religion are you?” People most likely pose such a question because they assume that Religious Studies markets different religions to its students so that they can each pick one from the list and become an adherent. In the same vein, Religious Studies is no...
With these common assumptions on the table, one can now see what the student pursuing a degree in Religious Studies strives towards: studying the who’s, when’s, what’s, where’s, and why’s of that set of data referred to as religion. By asking these questions with the methodology of a scholar such as Bruce Lincoln, the student of religion sees his o...
Study of religion, the intellectual academic attempt to understand the various aspects of religion. It emerged during the 19th century, when the approaches of history, philology, literary criticism, and various social sciences were used to examine the history, origins, and functions of religion.
The academic study of religion as we know it today can be traced to the 19th century encounter of Western scholars and theologians with non-Western cultures. In the United States, departments of Religious Studies began to emerge in public universities beginning in the late 1950s and 1960s.
general academic study of religion by arguing that the study of religion is the study of data that are distinctively uniquely religious. A definition of the essence of religion. function for the academic study of religion, it might be. something like doctrine or a statement of faith.
The academic study of religion is fundamentally an anthropological enterprise. That is, it is primarily concerned with studying people (anthropos is an ancient Greek term meaning “human being”; logos means “word” or a “rational, systematic discourse”), their beliefs, behaviors, and institutions, rather than assessing “the truth ...
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Nov 22, 2022 · Religious studies, alternately known as the study of religion, is an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.
