Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion

Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion PDF Author: Sarah J. Bloesch
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350023752
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
This is the first book to provide an introduction to contemporary cultural approaches to the study of religion. This book makes sophisticated ideas accessible at an introductory level, and examines the analytic tools of scholars in religious studies, as well as in related disciplines that have shaped the field including anthropology, history, literature, and critical studies in race, sexuality, and gender. Each chapter is written by a leading scholar and includes: · the biographical and historical context of each theorist · their approaches and key writings · analysis and evaluation of each theory · suggested further reading. Part One: Comparative Approaches considers how major features such as taboo, texts, myths and ritual work across religious traditions by exploring the work of Mary Douglas, Phyllis Trible, Wendy Doniger and Catherine Bell. Part Two: Examining Particularities analyzes the comparative approach through the work of Alice Walker, Charles Long and Caroline Walker Bynum, who all suggest that the specifics of race, body, place and time must be considered. Part Three: Expanding Boundaries examines Gloria Anzaldúa's language of religion, as well as the work of Judith Butler on performative, queer theories of religion, and concludes with Saba Mahmood, whose work considers postcolonial religious encounters, secularism, and the relationship between “East” and “West.” Reflecting the cultural turn and challenging the existing canon, this is the anthology instructors have been waiting for. For primary texts by the theorists discussed, please consult The Bloomsbury Reader in Cultural Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Sarah J. Bloesch and Meredith Minister.

Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion

Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion PDF Author: Sarah J. Bloesch
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350023752
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is the first book to provide an introduction to contemporary cultural approaches to the study of religion. This book makes sophisticated ideas accessible at an introductory level, and examines the analytic tools of scholars in religious studies, as well as in related disciplines that have shaped the field including anthropology, history, literature, and critical studies in race, sexuality, and gender. Each chapter is written by a leading scholar and includes: · the biographical and historical context of each theorist · their approaches and key writings · analysis and evaluation of each theory · suggested further reading. Part One: Comparative Approaches considers how major features such as taboo, texts, myths and ritual work across religious traditions by exploring the work of Mary Douglas, Phyllis Trible, Wendy Doniger and Catherine Bell. Part Two: Examining Particularities analyzes the comparative approach through the work of Alice Walker, Charles Long and Caroline Walker Bynum, who all suggest that the specifics of race, body, place and time must be considered. Part Three: Expanding Boundaries examines Gloria Anzaldúa's language of religion, as well as the work of Judith Butler on performative, queer theories of religion, and concludes with Saba Mahmood, whose work considers postcolonial religious encounters, secularism, and the relationship between “East” and “West.” Reflecting the cultural turn and challenging the existing canon, this is the anthology instructors have been waiting for. For primary texts by the theorists discussed, please consult The Bloomsbury Reader in Cultural Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Sarah J. Bloesch and Meredith Minister.

Theories in Culture and Religious Studies

Theories in Culture and Religious Studies PDF Author: Chesosi Bonface Kimutai, Kakeeto Rogers, Richard Tanto Talla, Siwoku-Awi, Catherine Akinyi Sewe, Matthew Omoruyi Otasowie
Publisher: Cari Journals USA LLC
ISBN: 9914746837
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
TOPICS IN THE BOOK Factors Influencing Vocation to Brotherhood in Holy Cross Congregation District of East Africa Indigenous Culture and Western Christianity: An Assessment of Wimbum Experience with the Baptist Mission, 1927-2008 Philosophy of Religion and Religious Pluralism from Biblical Perspective and Their Implications for Christian Education The Nexus between Traditional African Belief and Pandemics: The Manifestation of Nyawawa Spirits amidst the Spread of Corona Virus in the Lake Victoria Basin, Kisumu, Kenya Oral Theology: An Alternative Theological Model for African Theology Spirit Possession in Evangelism

Theory for Religious Studies

Theory for Religious Studies PDF Author: William E. Deal
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415966382
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Religion, Theory, Critique

Religion, Theory, Critique PDF Author: Richard King
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231518242
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 558

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Book Description
Religion, Theory, Critique is an essential tool for learning about theory and method in the study of religion. Leading experts engage with contemporary and classical theories as well as non-Western cultural contexts. Unlike other collections, this anthology emphasizes the dynamic relationship between "religion" as an object of study and different methodological approaches and openly addresses the question of the manifold ways in which "religion," "secular," and "culture" are imagined within different disciplinary horizons. This volume is the first textbook which seeks to engage discussion of classical approaches with contemporary cultural and critical theories. Contributors write on the influence of the natural sciences in the study of religion; the role of European Christianity in modeling theories of religion; religious experience and the interface with cognitive science; the structure and function of religious language; the social-scientific study of religion; ritual in religion; the phenomenology of religion; critical theory and religion; embodiment and religion; the impact of colonialism and modernity; theorizing religion in terms of race and ethnicity; links among religion, nationalism, and globalization; the interplay of gender, sex, and religion; and religion and the environment. Each chapter introduces the topic, identifies key theorists and issues, and respects the pluralistic nature of the scholarship in the field. Altogether, this collection scrutinizes the explicit and implicit assumptions theorists make about religion as an object of analysis.

Mental Culture

Mental Culture PDF Author: Dimitris Xygalatas
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317546091
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Why is the set of human beliefs and behaviours that we call "religion" such a widespread feature of all known human societies, past and present, and why are there so many forms of religiosity found throughout history and culture? "Mental Culture" brings together an international range of scholars - from Anthropology, History, Psychology, Philosophy, and Religious Studies - to answer these questions. Connecting classical theories and approaches with the newly established field of the Cognitive Science of Religion, the aim of "Mental Culture" is to provide scholars and students of religion with an overview of contemporary scientific approaches to religion while tracing their intellectual development to some of the great thinkers of the past.

Converging on Culture

Converging on Culture PDF Author: Delwin Brown
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195343824
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Theologians are increasingly looking to cultural analysis and criticism, rather than philosophy, as a dialogue partner for cross-disciplinary studies. This book explores the importance of this shift by bringing together scholars from a variety of theological perspectives to analyze different contemporary theories of culture and cultural movements. The essays here examine the theoretical relationship between theology and cultural studies and then discuss a series of controversial topics that cry out for theological reflection.

Understanding Theories of Religion

Understanding Theories of Religion PDF Author: Ivan Strenski
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118457722
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Featuring comprehensive updates and additions, the second edition of Understanding Theories of Religion explores the development of major theories of religion through the works of classic and contemporary figures. • A new edition of this introductory text exploring the core methods and theorists in religion, spanning the sixteenth-century through to the latest theoretical trends • Features an entirely new section covering religion and postmodernism; race, sex, and gender; and religion and postcolonialism • Examines the development of religious theories through the work of classic and contemporary figures from the history of anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and theology • Reveals how the study of religion evolved in response to great cultural conflicts and major historical events • Student-friendly features include chapter introductions and summaries, biographical vignettes, a timeline, a glossary, and many other learning aids

Postmodernism and the Revolution in Religious Theory

Postmodernism and the Revolution in Religious Theory PDF Author: Carl A. Raschke
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813933064
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
While the academic study of religion has increased almost exponentially in the past fifty years, general theories of religion have been in significant decline. In his new book, Carl Raschke offers the first systematic exploration of how the postmodern philosophical theories of Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, Alain Badiou, and Slavoj Zizek have contributed significantly to the development of a theory of religion as a whole. The bold paradigm he uses to articulate the framework for a revolution in religious theory comes from semiotics--namely, the problem of the sign and the "singularity" or "event horizon" from which a sign is generated.

Contemporary Evolutionary Theories of Culture and the Study of Religion

Contemporary Evolutionary Theories of Culture and the Study of Religion PDF Author: Radek Kundt
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474232272
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
Radek Kundt compares the notion of evolution in cultural evolutionary theories with neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory to determine the value of the biological concept for studying culture. Contemporary Evolutionary Theories of Culture and the Study of Religion surveys the historical background of cultural evolution as used in the study of religion, pinpointing major objections to classical nineteenth-century theories. Radek Kundt argues that contemporary theories of cultural evolution do not repeat the same mistakes but that when they are evaluated in terms of fitting the core requirements of neo-Darwinian natural selection, it is clear that they are not legitimate extensions of neo-Darwinian theory. Rather, they are poor metaphors and misleading analogies which add little to conventional cause-and-effect historiographical work. This book also introduces an alternative evolutionary approach to the study of culture which does not claim that the principles of neo-Darwinian evolution should be applicable outside the biological domain. Radek Kundt shows that this alternative evolutionary approach nevertheless provides a deeply enriching line of enquiry that incorporates both biological evolutionary history as shaping cultural change and culture as a force acting on the gene.

Tradition and Tradition Theories

Tradition and Tradition Theories PDF Author: Thorsten Larbig
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 9783825851835
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Recently, cultural and religious traditions have raised new broad and intensive attention in different areas of scholarship. This is especially true with reference to two important theoretical and practical questions: (1) How do cultural and religious traditions work and develop in the context of modern societies? and (2) How do they work and develop in the context of globalization when they are forced to meet each other in a radical new way? The main goal of this volume is to present a representative survey of the international discussion on a theory of cultural and religious traditions, in order to stimulate interdisciplinary and international collaboration. Representatives of all relevant disciplines and approaches have contributed to this volume. Siegfried Wiedenhofer is professor of systematic theology at the University of Frankfurt, Department of Catholic Theology.