Rationality and the Study of Religion

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Marriage & Family, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy
Cover of the book Rationality and the Study of Religion by , Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781136480317
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: September 13, 2013
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781136480317
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: September 13, 2013
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Does rationality, the intellectual bedrock of all science, apply to the study of religion?
Religion, arguably the most subjective area of human behaviour, has particular challenges associated with its study. Attracting crowd-healers, conjurers, the pious and the prophetic alongside comparativists and sceptics, it excites opinions and generalizations whilst seldom explicitly staking out the territory for the discussions in which it partakes. Increasingly, scholars argue that religious study needs to define and critique its own field, and to distinguish itself from theology and other non-objective disciplines. Yet how can rational techniques be applied to beliefs and states of mind regarded by some as beyond the scope of human reason? Can these be made empirically testable, or comparable and replicable within academic communities? Can science explicate religion without reducing it to mere superstition, or redefine its truth in some empirical but meaningful way?
Featuring contributions from leading international experts including Donald Wiebe, Roger Trigg and Michael Pye, Rationality and the Study of Religion gets under the surface of the religious studies discipline to expose the ideologies beneath. Reopening debate in a neglected yet philosophically significant field, it questions the role of rationality in religious anthropology, natural history and anti-scientific theologies, with implications not only for supposedly objective disciplines but for our deepest attitudes to personal experience.
'Interesting and important. Religion has long been associated with irrationality, both by its defenders and its critics, and the topic of rationality has been unjustly neglected The book certainly deserves to be widely circulated.'
Greg Alles, Western Maryland College

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Does rationality, the intellectual bedrock of all science, apply to the study of religion?
Religion, arguably the most subjective area of human behaviour, has particular challenges associated with its study. Attracting crowd-healers, conjurers, the pious and the prophetic alongside comparativists and sceptics, it excites opinions and generalizations whilst seldom explicitly staking out the territory for the discussions in which it partakes. Increasingly, scholars argue that religious study needs to define and critique its own field, and to distinguish itself from theology and other non-objective disciplines. Yet how can rational techniques be applied to beliefs and states of mind regarded by some as beyond the scope of human reason? Can these be made empirically testable, or comparable and replicable within academic communities? Can science explicate religion without reducing it to mere superstition, or redefine its truth in some empirical but meaningful way?
Featuring contributions from leading international experts including Donald Wiebe, Roger Trigg and Michael Pye, Rationality and the Study of Religion gets under the surface of the religious studies discipline to expose the ideologies beneath. Reopening debate in a neglected yet philosophically significant field, it questions the role of rationality in religious anthropology, natural history and anti-scientific theologies, with implications not only for supposedly objective disciplines but for our deepest attitudes to personal experience.
'Interesting and important. Religion has long been associated with irrationality, both by its defenders and its critics, and the topic of rationality has been unjustly neglected The book certainly deserves to be widely circulated.'
Greg Alles, Western Maryland College

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Mamvu-Mangutu et Balese-Mvuba by
Cover of the book History of Contemporary Japan since World War II by
Cover of the book Religion and the Secular by
Cover of the book Environmental Justice and the Rights of Unborn and Future Generations by
Cover of the book Hima Jour V1:Sci Tra 1790-1877 by
Cover of the book Religion, Violence and Cities by
Cover of the book In Victory, Magnanimity, in Peace, Goodwill by
Cover of the book Reader's Guide to Military History by
Cover of the book Homes Fit For Heroes by
Cover of the book Iraq at the Crossroads by
Cover of the book Alternative and bottom-up peace indicators by
Cover of the book How Children Discover New Strategies by
Cover of the book Dead Letters to the New World by
Cover of the book Human Rights in World History by
Cover of the book Japanese Industry in the American South by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy