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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.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_studies
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.
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.
To read more about the academic study of religion, including some common misconceptions, pressing issues, and how to get started, see Why Study Religion, a comprehensive website sponsored by the American Academy of Religion and funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment.
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 ...
The academic study of religion must not depend upon or require of its researchers, teachers, or students any specific reli- gious belief or affiliation, race, culture, or gender.
Oct 21, 2021 · Religion is a tool we use to categorize (invidiously or not), thus to think and act: to ask new questions, more fully understand people, obscure and reveal, bend the arc of history toward. . . . Religion is what the academic study of religion studies. It is our employer.
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Dec 3, 2019 · "Unlike theology, the academic study of religion seeks to provide accounts of the world's religions from perspectives that have no confessional (religious) ground or agenda. As an empirical pursuit, it is concerned with understanding and explaining what people actually think and do without establishing or enforcing norms for that thought and ...
