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Religious studies, alternately known as the study of religion, is an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives. While theology attempts to understand the nature of transcendent or supernatural forces (such as deities), religious studies tries to study religious behavior and belief from outside any particular religious viewpoint. Religious studies draws upon multiple disciplines and their methodologies including anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history of religion. Religious studies originated in the 19th century, when scholarly and historical analysis of the Bible had flourished, and Hindu and Buddhist texts were first being translated into European languages. Early influential scholars included Friedrich Max Müller, in England, and Cornelius P. Tiele, in the Netherlands. Today religious studies is practiced by scholars worldwide. In its early years, it was known as Comparative Religion or the Science of Religion and, in the USA, there are those who today also know the field as the History of religion (associated with methodological traditions traced to the University of Chicago in general, and in particular Mircea Eliade, from the late 1950s through to the late 1980s). The term "religion" originated from the Latin noun "religio", that was nominalized from one of three verbs: "relegere" (to turn to constantly/observe conscientiously); "religare" (to bind oneself [back]); and "reeligere" (to choose again). Because of these three different potential meanings, an etymological analysis alone does not resolve the ambiguity of defining religion, since each verb points to a different understanding of what religion is. During the Medieval Period, the term "religious" was used as a noun to describe someone who had joined a monastic order (a "religious"). The religious studies scholar Walter Capps described the purpose of the discipline as to provide "training and practice... in directing and conducting inquiry regarding the subject of religion". At the same time, Capps stated that its other purpose was to use "prescribed modes and techniques of inquiry to make the subject of religion intelligible." Religious studies scholar Robert A. Segal characterised the discipline as "a subject matter" that is "open to many approaches", and thus it "does not require either a distinctive method or a distinctive explanation to be worthy of disciplinary status." Different scholars operating in the field have different interests and intentions; some for instance seek to defend religion, while others seek to explain it away, and others wish to use religion as an example with which to prove a theory of their own. Some scholars of religious studies are interested in primarily studying the religion to which they belong. Scholars of religion have argued that a study of the subject is useful for individuals because it will provide them with knowledge that is pertinent in inter-personal and professional contexts within an increasingly globalised world. It has also been argued that studying religion is useful in appreciating and understanding sectarian tensions and religious violence.
References
- Capps 1995, p. xviii.
- Herling 2016, p. 37.
- Smart 1998, pp. 22–26.
- Herling 2016, p. 36.
- Hinnells 2005, p. 2.
- McCutcheon 2001, p. 10.
- Capps 1995, p. xv.
- King, Ursula (4 August 2005). "Obituary: Geoffrey Parrinder". Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170710093222/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/aug/05/guardianobituaries.religion. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- Inc., Gallup,. "Religiosity Highest in World's Poorest Nations". Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170823202612/http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-poorest-nations.aspx. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- Inc., Gallup,. "Religion Provides Emotional Boost to World’s Poor". Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170912113232/http://www.gallup.com/poll/116449/religion-provides-emotional-boost-world-poor.aspx. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- Kevin M. Schultz and Paul Harvey, "Everywhere and Nowhere: Recent Trends in American Religious History and Historiography," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 78 (March 2010), 129–62.
- Newberg, Andrew (2001). Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief. New York: Ballantyne Books. ISBN 0-345-44033-1.
- Kevin J. Christiano, et al., (2nd ed., 2008), Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN:978-0-7425-6111-3
- Berger, Peter L. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (1967). Anchor Books 1990 paperback: ISBN:0-385-07305-4
- Gregory S. Paul, "Cross-national correlations of quantifiable societal health with popular religiosity and secularism in the prosperous democracies," Journal of Religion & Society (2005) 1#1 pp 1-17 online . http://globalhealth.washington.edu/docs/Bezruchka%202.pdf
- Vogel, Howard J. (1983). "A Survey and Commentary on the New Literature in Law and Religion". Journal of Law and Religion 1 (1): 79–169.
- John Witte, "The Study of Law and Religion in the United States: An Interim Report," Ecclesiastical Law Journal (2012) 14#3 pp: 327-354.
- Norman Doe, Law and Religion in Europe: A Comparative Introduction (2011)
- W. Cole Durham, and Brett G. Scharffs, eds. Law and religion: national, international, and comparative perspectives (Aspen Pub, 2010).
- John Witte Jr. and Frank S. Alexander, eds., Christianity and Law: An Introduction (Cambridge U.P. 2008)
- John Witte Jr, From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition (1997)
- John Witte, Jr., The Reformation of Rights: Law, Religion and Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism (2008)
- Elizabeth Mayer, Ann (1987). "Law and Religion in the Muslim Middle East". American Journal of Comparative Law 35 (1): 127–184.
- Alan Watson, The state, law, and religion: pagan Rome (University of Georgia Press, 1992)
- Wright 2007, p. 16.
- Wright 2007, p. 13.
- Wright 2007, p. 14.
- Segal 2006, p. xiii.
- Ryba 2006, p. 119.
- Peter Connolly (2001). Approaches to the Study of Religion. A&C Black. p. 19. https://books.google.com/books?id=A0PUAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19.
- David Hall, "Lived Religion In America: Toward A History Of Practice", Princeton University Press (1997), p. vii
- John M. Riddle (2008). A History of the Middle Ages, 300-1500. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 291. https://books.google.com/books?id=rhWpPr93KjMC&pg=PA291.
- Daniel Dubuisson. "Exporting the Local: Recent Perspectives on 'Religion' as a Cultural Category." Religion Compass 1.6 (2007), pp. 787-800.
- Marshall Eidson, "Electronic journals in religious studies: Theological libraries prepare for the digital future." Journal of Religious & Theological Information 3.3-4 (2001): 45-67.
- Kate L. Ganski, "Accessibility of E-resources from Theological Library Websites." Theological Librarianship 1.1 (2008).
- Gerber, Kent T. K. (2016). "Getting Involved With the Digital Humanities in Theology, Biblical Studies, and Religious Studies". Theological Librarianship: An Online Journal of the American Theological Library Association 9: 1.
- See "Journal Rankings on Religious Studies" SJR http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=1212
- See website http://www.creighton.edu/jrs
- See website http://archives.gcah.org/xmlui/handle/10516/30
