The Critical Study of Non-Religion

The Critical Study of Non-Religion PDF Author: Christopher R. Cotter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350095265
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
This book acts as a bridge between the critical study of 'religion' and empirical studies of 'religion in the real world'. Chris Cotter presents a concise and up-to-date critical survey of research on non-religion in the UK and beyond, before presenting the results of extensive research in Edinburgh's Southside which blurs the boundary between 'religion' and 'non-religion'. In doing so, Cotter demonstrates that these are dynamic subject positions, and phenomena can occupy both at the same time, or neither, depending on who is doing the positioning, and what issues are at stake. This book details an approach that avoids constructing 'religion' as in some way unique, whilst also fully incorporating 'non-religious' subject positions into religious studies. It provides a rich engagement with a wide variety of theoretical material, rooted in empirical data, which will be essential reading for those interested in critical, sociological and anthropological study of the contemporary non-/religious landscape.

The Critical Study of Non-Religion

The Critical Study of Non-Religion PDF Author: Christopher R. Cotter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350095265
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book acts as a bridge between the critical study of 'religion' and empirical studies of 'religion in the real world'. Chris Cotter presents a concise and up-to-date critical survey of research on non-religion in the UK and beyond, before presenting the results of extensive research in Edinburgh's Southside which blurs the boundary between 'religion' and 'non-religion'. In doing so, Cotter demonstrates that these are dynamic subject positions, and phenomena can occupy both at the same time, or neither, depending on who is doing the positioning, and what issues are at stake. This book details an approach that avoids constructing 'religion' as in some way unique, whilst also fully incorporating 'non-religious' subject positions into religious studies. It provides a rich engagement with a wide variety of theoretical material, rooted in empirical data, which will be essential reading for those interested in critical, sociological and anthropological study of the contemporary non-/religious landscape.

Religion and the New Atheism

Religion and the New Atheism PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004190538
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
This book brings together eminent and rising scholars from religious studies, science, sociology of religion, sociology of science, philosophy, and theology in order to engage the new atheism and place it in the context of broader debates in these areas.

Critical Terms for Religious Studies

Critical Terms for Religious Studies PDF Author: Mark C. Taylor
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226791734
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
A century that began with modernism sweeping across Europe is ending with a remarkable resurgence of religious beliefs and practices throughout the world. Wherever one looks today, from headlines about political turmoil in the Middle East to pop music and videos, one cannot escape the pivotal role of religious beliefs and practices in shaping selves, societies, and cultures. Following in the very successful tradition of Critical Terms for Literary Studies and Critical Terms for Art History, this book attempts to provide a revitalized, self-aware vocabulary with which this bewildering religious diversity can be accurately described and responsibly discussed. Leading scholars working in a variety of traditions demonstrate through their incisive discussions that even our most basic terms for understanding religion are not neutral but carry specific historical and conceptual freight. These essays adopt the approach that has won this book's predecessors such widespread acclaim: each provides a concise history of a critical term, explores the issues raised by the term, and puts the term to use in an analysis of a religious work, practice, or event. Moving across Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Native American and Mayan religions, contributors explore terms ranging from experience, territory, and image, to God, sacrifice, and transgression. The result is an essential reference that will reshape the field of religious studies and transform the way in which religion is understood by scholars from all disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, gender studies, and literary studies.

The Cambridge Companion to Religious Studies

The Cambridge Companion to Religious Studies PDF Author: Robert A. Orsi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521883911
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 443

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Book Description
Informative and provocative, this book introduces readers to debates in the contemporary study of religion and suggests future research possibilities.

A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion

A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion PDF Author: Craig Martin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315474395
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion introduces the key concepts and theories from religious studies that are necessary for a full understanding of the complex relations between religion and society. The aim is to provide readers with an arsenal of critical concepts for studying religious ideologies, practices, and communities. This thoroughly revised second edition has been restructured to clearly emphasize key topics including: Essentialism Functionalism Authority Domination. All ideas and theories are clearly illustrated, with new and engaging examples and case studies throughout, making this the ideal textbook for students approaching the subject area for the first time.

Being Godless

Being Godless PDF Author: Roy Llera Blanes
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 178533574X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
Drawing on ethnographic inquiry and the anthropological literature on doubt and atheism, this volume explores people's reluctance to pursue religion. The contributors capture the experiences of godless people and examine their perspectives on the role of religion in their personal and public lives. In doing so, the volume contributes to a critical understanding of the processes of disengagement from religion and reveals the challenges and paradoxes that godless people face.

Science, Belief and Society

Science, Belief and Society PDF Author: Jones, Stephen
Publisher: Bristol University Press
ISBN: 1529206944
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, one that has relevance to everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis of these subjects remains surprisingly scarce. This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific theories and practices. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, ‘science’ forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture.

The Ideology of Religious Studies

The Ideology of Religious Studies PDF Author: Timothy Fitzgerald
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195347153
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
In recent years there has been an intensifying debate within the religious studies community about the validity of religion as an analytical category. In this book Fitzgerald sides with those who argue that the concept of religion itself should be abandoned. On the basis of his own research in India and Japan, and through a detailed analysis of the use of religion in a wide range of scholarly texts, the author maintains that the comparative study of religion is really a form of liberal ecumenical theology. By pretending to be a science, religion significantly distorts socio-cultural analysis. He suggest, however, that religious studies can be re-represented in a way which opens up new and productive theoretical connections with anthropology and cultural and literary studies.

The Critical Analysis of Religious Diversity

The Critical Analysis of Religious Diversity PDF Author: Lene Kühle
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900436711X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
This book explores a selection of trans-contextual case studies within religious diversity scholarship to develop a series of theoretical and methodological considerations for scholars to utilize when they conduct their own studies of religious diversity.

(Un)Believing in Modern Society

(Un)Believing in Modern Society PDF Author: Jörg Stolz
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134800126
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
This landmark study in the sociology of religion sheds new light on the question of what has happened to religion and spirituality since the 1960s in modern societies. Exposing several analytical weaknesses of today's sociology of religion, (Un)Believing in Modern Society presents a new theory of religious-secular competition and a new typology of ways of being religious/secular. The authors draw on a specific European society (Switzerland) as their test case, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to show how the theory can be applied. Identifying four ways of being religious/secular in a modern society: 'institutional', 'alternative', 'distanced' and 'secular' they show how and why these forms have emerged as a result of religious-secular competition and describe in what ways all four forms are adapted to the current, individualized society.