Theory, Method and Implicit Religion

Abstract

An essay reviewing Theory in a Time of Excess: Beyond Reflection and Explanation in Religious Studies Scholarship and its relevance to the study of implicit religion. The edited volume presents a collection of papers from the 2015 North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR) conference that explore how the methods and theories used within the study of religion can be made more critical and rigorous. Perspectives from anthropology, literary theory, the cognitive science of religion and philosophy are discussed. Readers are encouraged to systematically rethink their approaches to the study of religion(s) and the use of a broad range of critical methodologies and theoretical frameworks is advocated. It is suggested that these insights and criticisms are particularly relevant to the study of implicit religion and that the use of more critical approaches is required to advance our understanding of implicit religiosity.