Some religions do not have a deity; others are community-based rather than belief-based; and the boundary between them and secular ideologies such as nationalism is porous. 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. The dominant sense in which the contemporary study of religion is understood is the descriptive sense. Approaches to Studying Religion (three courses): Three courses, one in each area, covering more than one major religious tradition; level II or level III courses may be used to fulfill this requirement; a general education course in . The works of both Sri Aurobindo and Ninian Smart shows two drastic and completely different approaches to religion. The study of religion can roughly be divided between descriptive and historical inquiries on the one hand and normative inquiries on the other. Much of the interesting work done in anthropology, sociology, and religious studies departments, for example, draws on both the first and the second approach). n 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. This idea led Calvinists to engage in activities that would increase their wealth, paving the way for the development of capitalism. Here religion involves subjectivity in the sense of individual experience. By criticizing religion, I mean not the critique of the beliefs or practices of self-described religious individuals or groups but rather the critique of the concept of religion as a scholarly category. 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. During his time, Marx observed that the capitalists, in their pursuit of profits, eventually exploited the workers. These (and others) are all legitimate uses of the concept of religion. Sensory experience. We can say that there are different approaches that can be taken when studying religion. Marrett (1866-1943) was, similar to Tylor, an anthropologist who studied religion and who adopted the evolutionary approach. Three famous psychologists who examined and analyzed religious phenomena psychologically were William James, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung. The other is Sri Aurobindo who brought a change to the vision of evolution of life into the divinity of life. For Jung, religious experiences are manifestations of the archetypes in the collective unconscious in our own consciousness. Discussion about religion has been complicated further by the attempt of some Christian theologians, notably Karl Barth (18861968), to draw a distinction between religion and the Gospel (the proclamation peculiar to Christianity). In my opinion, the study of different approaches to the study and comprehension of religions is indeed an exciting and important topic. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. The findings that focus on the scientific study of religion, including the SSSR and the SSR units within the AAR, are especially highlighted, as are contrasts between sociological and psychological approaches in the academic study of religion. Freud viewed religion negatively. develop an informed understanding of the diversity of world religions. First of all we have to say that both, Smart and Aurobindo have not defined religion from objective point of view but rather to determine religion in terms of its own value. The term phenomenology also refers to the attempt to devise a typology, or classification, of religious phenomenareligious activities, beliefs, and institutions. 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. Global studies is a fresh and dynamic discipline area that promises to reinvigorate undergraduate and postgraduate education in the social sciences and humanities. Depending on the researcher's perspective, it is approached in various and often quite different ways. Summary: 1.Theology is a more biased discipline as it concentrates on the study of God and focuses more on the Protestant and Roman Catholic religious sectors. William James (1842-1910) focused on the psychological process that occurs in a religious conversion, when a nonreligious person becomes religious (Merkur 2005, 172). Approaches to the Study of Religions. Furthermore, if theology studies a particular religion always from the inside, religious studies study different religions mostly from the outside. Religious studies, also known as the study of religion, is an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. Sociology studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserve and change them. Yet we may wonder whether analogizing religion with conceptions of the good is satisfactory. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. O . Defining the line between what is "supernatural" and "natural" is sometimes difficult, especially since some . describing how religion is experienced by practitioners. A field study was conducted to achieve the objective of this research. Kujenga Amani facilitates the exchange of ideas about diverse aspects of peacebuilding in Africa. Not surprisingly, religion-making quickly became a tool of colonial and neo-colonial governance. There are many different approaches to finding truth. As we examine the different disciplinal approaches to the study of religion, we shall briefly touch on some of the external theories of religion. Religion and 'The Study of Religions' has many approaches which try to investigate the core of what religion is and what it means to the people who practice it. 3.7 Robert Marrett and Animatism. 10. If theology focuses on a particular religion, religious studies examine the different religions of the world. Will the globalization lead to a kind of universal religion, as prediction might lead, or it will be turned in a lively variety of many different beliefs? 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. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. 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. Sociologists today employ three primary theoretical perspectives: the symbolic interactionist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the conflict perspective. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. He regarded the belief in God as a childish and neurotic illusion which rational and realistic persons ought to abandon. The stage from man to super being is the next which depends from the approach of the achievement on the evolution on earth. From the belief in human souls grew the belief in other spirits, like those that inhabit nature and those venerated as gods. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. On the one hand, some view psychology of religion as a program that reduces religious phenomena believed to be real to mere psychological phenomena. (Peter Connolly,pp1-2Approche to the Study of Religion,Biddles L.T.D.) The term phenomenology refers first to the attempt to describe religious phenomena in a way that brings out the beliefs and attitudes of the adherents of the religion under investigation but without either endorsing or rejecting the beliefs and attitudes. 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. 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. Sociology in general looks at people's . 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 . APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION 109 like, the students were asked to read Marx, Freud, Durkheim. Introduces students to the study of religion, world religious traditions and ethics through an exploration of death and dying. by Cristina Echeverri-Pineda and Mateo Villamizar-Chaparro. Sociology is one such approach that this essay will be looking at through its founding fathers Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and Karl Marx. A number of specific program design strategies increase the possibility that students of all backgrounds will have positive . b.) Ontology. Chapter 1 in the The gods play a merely subsidiary role, for example, in most phases of Theravada (Way of the Elders) Buddhism. Each perspective uniquely conceptualizes society, social . And it may well be true that there is no single essence to the concept of religion, no core defining feature that all conceptions of religion share. The History of Religion as a Sociological Concept Philosophy of Religion (3) Investigate metaphysical and rational categories of religion. Religious devotees are divided on their reactions to psychology of religion. How can we best identify and protect the normative values which historically have underpinned freedom of religion, non-establishment and the like? Lesson Transcript. the civilized races. To some extent the emphasis on neutral description arises in modern times as a reaction to committed accounts of religion, which were for long the norm and which still exist among those who treat religion from a theological point of view. Approaches to Religious/Worldview Studies 1 Sociological. In this regard, Marx described religion as the opium of the masses.. Thus, some political ideologies, such as communism and fascism, have been regarded as analogous to religion. Consequently, the systematic study of the doctrines of Buddhism and Hinduism, for instance, are respectively called Buddhist philosophy and Hindu philosophy, and not Buddhist theology and Hindu theology. Furthermore, if theology focuses on a particular religion always from the different approaches to the study of religion in human grew. Would increase their wealth, paving the way for the development of capitalism one. The functionalist perspective, the study of religion 109 like, the students were asked to Marx. 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