Religious Studies and Comparative Methodology

Religious Studies and Comparative Methodology PDF Author: Arvind Sharma
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791483258
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Comparison is at the heart of religious studies as a discipline and foundational to the field's methodology. In this book, Arvind Sharma introduces the term "reciprocal illumination" to describe the mutual enlightenment that can occur when a comparison is made between one tradition and another, one method and another, or between a tradition and a method. Developing the concept of reciprocal illumination through historical, phenomenological, and psychological methods, Sharma demonstrates how to use comparison, while avoiding the pitfall of treating it as merely raw material for higher order generalizations.

Religious Studies and Comparative Methodology

Religious Studies and Comparative Methodology PDF Author: Arvind Sharma
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791483258
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description
Comparison is at the heart of religious studies as a discipline and foundational to the field's methodology. In this book, Arvind Sharma introduces the term "reciprocal illumination" to describe the mutual enlightenment that can occur when a comparison is made between one tradition and another, one method and another, or between a tradition and a method. Developing the concept of reciprocal illumination through historical, phenomenological, and psychological methods, Sharma demonstrates how to use comparison, while avoiding the pitfall of treating it as merely raw material for higher order generalizations.

Considering Comparison

Considering Comparison PDF Author: Oliver Freiberger
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019092912X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The comparative method is an integral part of religious studies. All the technical terms that scholars of religion use on a daily basis, such as ritual, hagiography, shrine, authority, fundamentalism, hybridity, and, of course, religion, are comparative terms. Yet comparison has been subject to criticism, including postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques. Older approaches are said to have used comparison primarily to confirm preconceptions about religion. More recently, comparison has been criticized as an act of abstraction that does injustice to the particular, neglects differences, and establishes a mostly Western power of definition over the rest of the world. In this book, Oliver Freiberger takes a closer look at how comparison works. Revisiting critical debates and examining reflections in other disciplines, including comparative history, sociology, comparative theology, and anthropology, Freiberger proposes a model of comparison that is based on a thorough epistemological analysis and that takes both the scholar's situatedness and his or her agency seriously. Examining numerous examples of comparative studies, Considering Comparison develops a methodological framework for conducting and evaluating such studies. Freiberger suggests a comparative approach - which he calls discourse comparison - that confronts the omnipresent risks of decontextualization, essentialization, and universalization. This book makes a case for comparison, arguing that it is indispensable for a deeper analytical understanding of what we call religion. The book is intended to enrich the practice of both aspiring and seasoned comparativists, stimulate much-needed further discussions about comparative methodology, and encourage more scholars to produce responsible comparative studies.

Considering Comparison

Considering Comparison PDF Author: Oliver Freiberger
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780190929107
Category : RELIGION
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"The comparative method is an integral part of religious studies. Scholars are interested in a religious phenomenon not only as situated in its particular historical context, but also as a variant of something that exists in other contexts and cultures. Comparison has been subject to criticism, however, including postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques. Older approaches are said to have used comparison to confirm preconceptions about religion. More recently, comparison has been criticized as an act of abstraction that does injustice to the particular, neglects the differences, and establishes a mostly Western power of definition over the rest of the world. In this book, Oliver Freiberger takes a closer look at how comparison works. Revisiting critical debates and examining reflections in other disciplines including comparative history, sociology, comparative theology, and anthropology, Freiberger proposes a model of comparison that is based on a thorough epistemological analysis and that takes both the scholar's situatedness and his or her agency seriously. Examining numerous examples of comparative studies, Considering Comparison develops a methodological framework for conducting and evaluating such studies. Freiberger suggests a comparative approach - which he calls discourse comparison - that confronts the omnipresent risks of decontextualization, essentialization, and universalization. This book makes a case for comparison, arguing that it is indispensable for a deeper analytical understanding of what we call religion. It is intended to enrich the practice of both aspiring and seasoned comparativists, stimulate much-needed further discussions about comparative methodology, and encourage more scholars to produce responsible comparative studies"--

How to Do Comparative Theology

How to Do Comparative Theology PDF Author: Francis X. Clooney
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823278425
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
For a generation and more, the contribution of Christian theology to interreligious understanding has been a subject of debate. Some think of theological perspectives are of themselves inherently too narrow to support interreligious learning, and argue for an approach that is neutral or, on a more popular level, grounded simply open-minded direct experience. In response, comparative theology argues that theology, as faith seeking understanding, offers a vital perspective and a way of advancing interreligious dialogue, aided rather than hindered by commitments; theological perspectives can both complement and step beyond the study of religions by methods detached and merely neutral. Thus comparative theology has been successful in persuading many that interreligious learning from one faith perspective to another is both possible and worthwhile, and so the work of comparative theology has become more recognized and established globally. With this success there has come to the fore new challenges regarding method: How does one do comparative theological work in a way that is theologically grounded, genuinely open to learning from the other, sophisticated in pursuing comparisons, and fruitful on both the academic and practical levels? How To Do Comparative Theology therefore contributes to the maturation of method in the field of comparative theological studies, learning across religious borders, by bringing together essays drawing on different Christian traditions of learning, Judaism and Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, the wisdom of senior scholars, and also insights from a younger generation of scholars who have studied theology and religion in new ways, and are more attuned to the language of the “spiritual but not religious.” The essays in this volume show great diversity in method, and also—over and again and from many angles—coherence in intent, a commitment to one learning from the other, and a confidence that one’s home tradition benefits from fair and unhampered learning from other and very different spiritual and religious traditions. It therefore shows the diversity and coherence of comparative theology as an emerging discipline today.

Comparative Methods in Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Comparative Methods in Law, Humanities and Social Sciences PDF Author: Adams, Maurice
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1802201467
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This cutting-edge book facilitates debate amongst scholars in law, humanities and social sciences, where comparative methodology is far less well anchored in most areas compared to other research methods. It posits that these are disciplines in which comparative research is not simply a bonus, but is of the essence.

How to Do Comparative Religion?

How to Do Comparative Religion? PDF Author: René Gothóni
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 9783110185720
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Sinceits founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.

Religious Worlds

Religious Worlds PDF Author: William E. Paden
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807012122
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
From Gods, to ritual observance to the language of myth and the distinction between the sacred and the profane, Religious Worlds explores the structures common to all spiritual traditions.

Comparative Theology

Comparative Theology PDF Author: Francis X. Clooney
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444356437
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Drawing upon the author’s three decades of work in comparative theology, this is a pertinent and comprehensive introduction to the field, which offers a clear guide to the reader, enabling them to engage in comparative study. The author has three decades of experience of work in the field of comparative theology and is ideally placed to write this book Today’s increasing religious diversity makes this a pertinent and timely publication Unique in the depth of its introduction and explanation of the discipline of ‘comparative theology’ Provides examples of how comparative theology works in the new global context of human religiosity Draws on examples specific to Hindu-Christian studies to show how it is possible to understand more deeply the wider diversity around us. Clearly guides the reader, enabling them to engage in comparative study

An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Religion

An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Religion PDF Author: F. B. Jevons
Publisher: Good Press
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
This book explores the beliefs, customs, and practices of various religions across the world. Originally delivered as the Hartford-Lamson Lectures, this book provides insights into topics such as immortality, magic, fetichism, prayer, sacrifice, morality, and Christianity.

How to do Comparative Religion?

How to do Comparative Religion? PDF Author: René Gothóni
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110922606
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
Well-known scholars in the study of religions bring up to date and elucidate the discussion on the three most debated approaches in comparative religion, namely, the hermeneutical approach, the explanatory or cognitivist approach, and the critical approach. The approaches and methods of studying religion are disputed in an outspoken and challenging way, critically and radically arguing pros and cons. This work is unique, unrivalled, and full of essential insights into the dialogue of today and of the challenges of tomorrow.