The growth of various disciplines in the 19th century, notably psychology and sociology, stimulated a more analytic approach to religions, while at the same time theology became more sophisticated and, in a sense, scientific as it began to be affected by and thus to make use of historical and other methods. He illustrate the introduction of Phenomenology saying, a lot of opinions have been written about not only the physical interchange of races but;, also ethnical and cultural, and especially upon values, so what take place when religions and their tradition convene? Tylor, in his work Primitive Culture (1871), claimed that the essence of religion or the minimum defining property of religion, is the belief in Spiritual Beings, which he called animism. People often do truly unique things for their faith. No plagiarism, guaranteed! Approaches to Studying Religion (three courses): Three courses, one in each area, covering more than one major religious tradition; level II or level III courses may be used to fulfill this requirement; a general education course in . This article examines three anthropological theories explaining how religion has evolved and continues to evolve. Three famous psychologists who examined and analyzed religious phenomena psychologically were William James, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung. Corrections? Peter Connolly. Such distinctions, however, only serve to shore up the arbitrary power that the state has to demarcate the sphere of its own sovereignty. How can we best identify and protect the normative values which historically have underpinned freedom of religion, non-establishment and the like? The idea is that one who experiences financial success is blessed and is thus favored by God. But the historical process itself has to be investigated scientificallythat is, by considering the evidence, using the techniques of historical enquiry and other scientific methods. It may perhaps intensify your religious experience. Evolutionary Approaches. Psychology of religion is the application of the different psychological theories and methods to explain religious phenomena, which include the belief in God, religious experiences and behaviors, and spirituality. Nigerias 2023 Elections: Which Way Democracy? First, the practice of religion involves inner experiences and sentiments, such as feelings of God guiding the life of the devotee. Sociology of religion, on the other hand, studies religious beliefs, practices, and organizations using the theories and methods of the discipline of sociology. Such struggles were political through and through, and it is impossible to discern any common core or essence to all the world religions, as W. C. Smith pointed out in 1962. Third, the secular separation between a privatized, individualized sphere of religion and a public, social, rational sphere of politics has obscured the way in which the state, the nation, and the law operate as the modern sacred. Aquinas is famous for his five proofs for the existence of God: his arguments from causation, motion, necessity, design, and degrees of protection. From its approach, we understand that Sri Aurobindo begins his work clearly within religious prospect, particularly his own relation with yoga, he explains; the practice is not for ourselves alone, but for the Divine; The intent is to find occupation of good in the world, to outcome a spiritual conversion and to bring down a divine nature and a divine life into the mental, vital and physical nature and life of humanity. A participatory observation, deep interviews and documentations were employed to collect the data of this study. Religious rituals are behaviors or practices that are either required or expected of the members of a particular group, such as bar mitzvah or confession of sins (Barkan and Greenwood 2003). Contact. A criticism of Aurobindos view may be seen that it seeks to remain within religion itself, similar to that of Smart as they both emphasise the importance of the experience of religion, a personal contact with God or Gods, however within Marxism we can see a move away from this religious experience. The law does not describe and regulate the full experience of marriage: the fact that, in law, marriage is a contract does not mean that marriage is, or should be experienced as, a contract. Thus, the preliminary task of the student of religion must be to amass an inventory of kinds of religious phenomena. This is a legitimate perspective from the standpoint of faith. Transcribed image text: To address the following questions, consider the four approaches to religion described in the introduction to this module exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism and empathetic interest in other people. 2 The closer a country comes to having equal shares of the . "Feminist Approaches." In Approaches to the Study of Religions, edited by Peter Connolly, pp. For the last four decades universities and schools have been acting in response to a constant, steady demand for courses upon the study of religion. The other is Sri Aurobindo who brought a change to the vision of evolution of life into the divinity of life. For instance, Christian theologians explain the doctrines of Christianity, and their works constitute Christian theology. Thus, some political ideologies, such as communism and fascism, have been regarded as analogous to religion. Other religions are sourced in man's rebellion against God and/or demonic influence. Here religion involves subjectivity in the sense of individual experience. The gods play a merely subsidiary role, for example, in most phases of Theravada (Way of the Elders) Buddhism. But nor does it reduce the normative inscription of religion in the law to a narrow (often ethnocentric) set of concerns and values. In this article, I summarise and discuss basic principles for a study-of-religion(s) approach to religion education, adding arguments and perspectives from critical theories about education in general. 3 Phenomenological. Psychology is the study of human and animal behavior and how thinking processes operate. The method used was to compare the subjective experience with the intent of shaping the arrangement of religion itself from within the structure. The author will attempt to evaluate the strengths and weakness of two approaches to religion and try to compare the work of the two representations and their methodology .The first is Professor Ninian Smart as he wrote widely, regarding different topics in religions, with papers and articles appearing in a vast range of . The Practical and ritual dimensions (BBC.Religion). What may be the way forward in the teaching and definition of religion is to accept the singularity of each religion and each individuals faith and seek ways in which they can be accommodated within a safe international environment that moves away from empirical definitions. Sociologists are primarily interested in examining the effects of religion on society. Approaches to the Study of Religion. First, as religion is not a thing but a term of art, it is perfectly legitimateas suggested abovethat different dimensions of it are appropriated in different disciplines and areas of life. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Methodologies in religious studies are the interpretive models on which the analysis of religious phenomena and resources are discussed. Marrett (1866-1943) was, similar to Tylor, an anthropologist who studied religion and who adopted the evolutionary approach. It also depends heavily on the motives the researcher brings to his or her investigation of religious or worldview issues. This means, among others, that the philosophy of religion justifies claims by the strength and coherence of arguments. A theory of religion may be internal or external. Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified. The only appropriate scholarly stance towards this object is one that is critical and skeptical. The word anthropology means science of human beings or humanity. The book is a vast collection of rituals, myths, and religions organized by patterns and themes, which made extensive use of sources from primitive and folk cultures (Paden 2005, 213). II. Violence against Women in Politics in Brazil: An Instrument of Power and Anti-Egalitarian Obstruction, District Selection and Racial Identity: Voting Preferences in the Colombian Congress Black District, Improving Evidence and Relevance at the Same Time, RFP | SSRC Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal Fellowship, Understanding and undoing the far right: India and beyond, The Overlooked Spoilers Beclouding Nigerias 2023 Elections, A Goal-Means Analysis of Security in Political Parties Manifestos for Nigerias 2023 Presidential Election. So with Aurobindo is clear the goal is more directly mystical ,to became one with the divine . As we examine the different disciplinal approaches to the study of religion, we shall briefly touch on some of the external theories of religion. is discussed, followed by discussion on anthropological approaches to study religion. Still another difference is that while theology limits itself to its own internal theory of religion (its own account for its origins and functions), religious studies considers external theories of religion (accounts of the origins and functions of religion by other academic disciplines). A standard line of criticism against this egalitarian strategy has been to argue that it rests on a contested understanding of religion. So he is proposing a mystical goal and from his yogic teachings he guides,shows and achieves that. June 03, 2016. foster a respectful awareness of the significance of the beliefs and practices for the faith member. This approach is known as comparative religion. The journal is a very significant endeavor since, until we launched it, there was no journal in the study of religion that has focused exclusively on developing a critical approach. Religion may be defined as "any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power, whether that power be forces, gods, spirits, ghosts, or demons" (C. R. Ember, Ember, and Peregrine 2019, 500). The point has been made with particular acuity by legal scholar Winnifred Fallers Sullivan in her book The Impossibility of Religious Freedom. The first is that religion is (as Daniel Dubuisson once wrote) the Wests most characteristic concept, around which it has established and developed its identity. There is a deep and significant continuity between the Christian defense of the true religion and the nineteenth-century invention of world religions. The universalism of the concept masked an internally hierarchical classificatory scheme, which, as Tomoko Mazuzawa has shown, was crafted within the crucible of the missionary and colonial encounter. This distinction depends to some extent upon taking a projectionist view of religion as a human product. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Sociology is one such approach that this essay will be looking at through its founding fathers Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and Karl Marx. The study of religion emerged as a formal discipline during the 19th century, when the methods and approaches of history, philology, literary criticism, psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, and other fields were brought to bear on the task of determining the history, origins, and functions of religion. 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