Critical Approaches to Religion


Book Description

Critical Approaches to Religion: Race, Class, Sexuality, and Gender provides students with carefully selected readings that examine diverse cultural religious traditions, as well as the intersection of academic religious studies and the practice of religion throughout the world. The anthology explores both mainstream religious traditions and those that are marginalized, applying theories of feminism, sexuality, race, class, and gender across the board to offer readers a broad and comprehensive understanding of global religion. Through selections authored by prolific writers in the field, coupled with insights from the editors for additional context, students learn about critical approaches to religion, the various methods of studying religion, the concept of belief, the connection of myth to ritual, the idea of mysticism, how gender and sexuality factor into religious experiences, and more. Cross-disciplinary in nature, Critical Approaches to Religion is designed to serve as a supplementary text for foundational courses in religion, world religion, anthropology, sociology, and history. Nicole Goulet received her Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba, focusing her work on feminist and postcolonial approaches to colonial Hinduism. She is an assistant professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Religious Studies. Nixon Cleophat earned his B.A. in English and educational studies from Salem State University, his M.Div. in biblical studies and political theology from Harvard Divinity School, and his Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary. He is an assistant professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.




Religion, Theory, Critique


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.




Religion Today


Book Description

"Introduces students to key concepts in religious studies through a compelling problem-solving framework. This new textbook features the following: dynamic case studies opening each chapter that teach critical thinking skills and engage students in contemporary religious issues such as the intersection of science and religion; a wide range of examples from world religions throughout the text; clear introductions to classic and contemporary theories of religion, both Eastern and Western; [and] chapter summaries that include essential concepts, a list of key terms, and questions for individual reflection or class discussion. Religion today guides students in understanding the complex role that religion plays in the world, while also building a solid foundation in both religious studies and problem-solving skills"--




A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion


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.




Theory and Method in the Study of Religion


Book Description

This anthology provides students with a useful collection of theoretical essays concerning the nature of religion and the methodological means by which scholars analytically approach the subject. Organized in a point/counterpoint fashion, this volume will foster in-class discussion and the honing of a student's own critical perspectives.




Critical Terms for Religious Studies


Book Description

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.




The Ideology of Religious Studies


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 Impossibility of Religious Freedom


Book Description

The Constitution may guarantee it. But religious freedom in America is, in fact, impossible. So argues this timely and iconoclastic work by law and religion scholar Winnifred Sullivan. Sullivan uses as the backdrop for the book the trial of Warner vs. Boca Raton, a recent case concerning the laws that protect the free exercise of religion in America. The trial, for which the author served as an expert witness, concerned regulations banning certain memorials from a multiconfessional nondenominational cemetery in Boca Raton, Florida. The book portrays the unsuccessful struggle of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish families in Boca Raton to preserve the practice of placing such religious artifacts as crosses and stars of David on the graves of the city-owned burial ground. Sullivan demonstrates how, during the course of the proceeding, citizens from all walks of life and religious backgrounds were harassed to define just what their religion is. She argues that their plight points up a shocking truth: religion cannot be coherently defined for the purposes of American law, because everyone has different definitions of what religion is. Indeed, while religious freedom as a political idea was arguably once a force for tolerance, it has now become a force for intolerance, she maintains. A clear-eyed look at the laws created to protect religious freedom, this vigorously argued book offers a new take on a right deemed by many to be necessary for a free democratic society. It will have broad appeal not only for religion scholars, but also for anyone interested in law and the Constitution. Featuring a new preface by the author, The Impossibility of Religious Freedom offers a new take on a right deemed by many to be necessary for a free democratic society.




Thoreau's Religion


Book Description

Boldly reconfigures Walden for contemporary ethics and politics by recovering Thoreau's theological vision of environmental justice.




Critical Theory of Religion


Book Description

This volume brings together, in an exciting and original way, the major themes of critical social theory and feminist theology. Marsha Aileen Hewitt shows how critical themes emerge in the works of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Mary Daly, and Rosemary Radford Ruether, and how their work provides a starting point for a feminist critical theory of religion.