Field Of Religious Studies Research Articles

From the Editors

Montreal, December 2019 Dear Readers: The Council for Research on Religion (CREOR) is pleased to announce the first edition of its E-Journal, The Journal of the Council for Research on Religion. This first issue deals with the theme of “Religion and Violence,” a SSHRC funded colloquium that took place on April 17th - 20th, 2018. The colloquium was a collaboration between members of McGill and Concordia University, further details concerning the colloquium can be found on the following site: https://creorgraduate.wordpress.com/religion-and-violence-colloquium/CREOR is Montreal's first academic research council in the field of Religious Studies. The Council is an inter-disciplinary and inter-university entity drawing on the expertise and research interests present in the city of Montreal. It consists of members from the disciplines of Religious Studies and other disciplines within Arts, as well as from Education, Law and Medicine, and other disciplines, such as Management and Music. CREOR is based in Montreal and collaborates with researchers from Montreal based universities and colleges and from around the world. Editorial Team for the Religion and Violence Vol. 1Chief Editors: Dr. Gerbern S. Oegema Dr. André Gagné Graduate Student Editors: Amanda Rosini Elyse MacLeod David Anthony Basham

Transgression and Countercultural Gnosticism: A Review Essay of April DeConick’sThe Gnostic New Age

This review essay presents and critically engages April DeConick’s The Gnostic New Age, thereby elucidating a series of theoretical problems currently facing the study of Gnosticism and ancient religion more broadly. Notably, a post-theoretical shift—identified as pervasive in the field of religious studies in the 2010s—has emerged in recent Gnostic studies, a shift that has failed to embrace the critical insights offered by Michael Williams (1996) and Karen King (2003) and is on the rise in Gnostic studies. In addition, a historical “mapping” (in the sense offered by J. Z. Smith) of ancient religion into dichotomies leaves us with a romanticized ”Gnosticism” and a caricatured understanding of ancient religion and ancient Christianity. On the positive side, however, DeConick illustrates a rising interest in studying the experiential in Gnosticism while advocating the application of cognitive science of religion.

Valores em conflito: contribuições do pluralismo de Isaiah Berlin ao estudo das relações entre “religioso” e “secular” no debate público contemporâneo

O debate público contemporâneo é permeado por variados desafios à vida social, especialmente em virtude da pluralidade de grupos e convicções que se articulam nas instâncias de decisão. Nas sociedades ocidentais, devido ao processo de secularização, não há mais sistemas de valores exclusivos que sejam capazes de conferir sentido total à experiência humana comunitária. Desse modo, as tensões que dizem respeito à relação entre os domínios “religioso” e “secular” têm ganhado novos contornos na discussão pública e ensejado estudos acadêmicos. A partir do contexto de diversidade de crenças e valores, esta dissertação introduz no campo das Ciências da Religião o pensamento do filósofo e historiador das ideias russo-judeu Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997), que desenvolveu uma doutrina do pluralismo de valor. Para Berlin, notável defensor do liberalismo e um dos principais intelectuais do século XX, o pluralismo é um princípio de importância crucial para a sociedade contemporânea, à medida que postula a coexistência de diferentes sistemas de valores morais e concepções do bem, sem tentar escapar do inevitável conflito entre tais valores e concepções. A formulação de Berlin, situada na interseção da filosofia política com a história das ideias, indica que valores morais podem ser igualmente válidos e, ainda assim, incompatíveis e incomensuráveis, o que resulta em conflitos que não admitem resolução sem referência a contextos particulares de decisão. Assim, a partir de uma abordagem teórica de natureza conceitual e analítica, busca-se interpretar a noção pluralista de Isaiah Berlin na tentativa de encontrar possíveis contribuições do corpo teórico desenvolvido pelo autor ao estudo das relações entre “religioso” e “secular” no debate público contemporâneo. Desse modo, o pluralismo de valor desponta como sistema teórico válido para enriquecer as abordagens acadêmicas concernentes aos conflitos de valores no seio das sociedades plurais.

Corpo e lamento funebre Alcune riflessioni sulla traduzione dell’Agiavilāpa dell’indologo Giuseppe Turrini (1826-1899)

Ernesto De Martino’s theorization and the considerations on the ‘crisis of presence’ represent a milestone in the field of Religious Studies. The crisis reveals itself in the daily events of the human being, such as death. Starting from the methodological frames provided by de Martino’s studies on the lament in ancient world, and the recent attention dedicated to the bodies, this article will analyse one of the most famous episode of kāvya literature as translated by nineteenth-century Italian Indologist Giuseppe Turrini: King Aja’s lament (vilāpa) upon his wife Indumatī, and particularly the stanza of Raghuvaṃa 8.43. The Italian translation reveals some element related to the Western opposition between body and soul, which challenge the original attention paid by Kālidāsa and the ancient Greek literature to the physiological effects produced by suffering.

Qur’anic terminology, translation, and the Islamic conception of religion

ABSTRACTA key question in the field of religious studies is the extent to which ‘religion’ as a concept ‘translates’ in various cultural contexts, with some arguing that it is a purely Western and academic construct. In this article, I argue that the Islamic understanding of religion as a universal category of human experience with various, distinct manifestations is similar to the concept of religion widely operative in the academic discipline of comparative religion; for this reason, Islamic terms related to religion can easily be translated into terminology broadly found in the study of religion, including the term ‘religion’ itself. I argue, however, that the apparent ease with which one can translate Islamic religious terminology may obscure some important nuances in the Islamic conception of religion that make it both distinct and internally coherent with its broader view of human nature and of its own particular religious system relative to others. Attentiveness to the semantic range and usage of some key terms in Qur’anic and Islamic terminology regarding religion yields a distinctly Islamic conception of religion that is independent of Western, academic theories of religion.

Introduction to “Religious Experience in the Hindu Tradition”

This special issue of Religions brings together a talented group of international scholars who have studied and written on the Hindu tradition. The topic of religious experience is much debated in the field of Religious Studies, and here we present studies of Hindu religious experience explored from a variety of regions and perspectives. They are intended to show that religious experience has long been an important part of Hinduism, and we consider them to be important and relevant. As a body of scholarship, these articles refine our understanding of the range and variety of religious experience in Hinduism. In addition to their substantive contributions, the authors also show important new directions in the study of the third-largest religion in the world, with over one billion followers. This introduction will discuss some relevant issues in the field of Indology, some problems of language, and the difficulties faced in the study of religious experience. It will also give a brief sketch of the religious experiences described by our authors in some major types of Hinduism.

Dialogue of Heart: Interreligious Dialogue through Rumi’s Poetry

Living in harmony is required in a society which is characterized by cultural and religious diversity. It requires dialogue skills in various aspects of life during the day for allowing a sense of appreciation among humans and can be embedded within each other. Interreligious dialogue is a part of the disciplines covered in the field of religious studies. Indeed, the approach of interreligious studies is among the alternative mechanism in dealing with defamation of conflict between Islam and non-Islamic religions. This case needs to be dived so that alternative approaches are scattered in applying the dialogue between religions. Rumi (Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi) is a famous name of Muslim mystics and great Sufi scholar with many adherents. He has written many books, especially in poetry. The way Rumi universally see religion and humankind through his poetry is exciting to be understood as a dialogue of heart. In order to reasoning, this paper will use the help of reading by Swidler and Pruitt. This paper uses literature review toward Rumi’s book entitled Mathnawī. From the findings and discussion, it can be concluded that mysticism introduced interreligious dialogue through poetry, and put heart or soul as the tool to perform interreligious dialogue.

Introduction: A Comparative Study on Notions of the Secular in the Debate on Thought for the Day in the United Kingdom and the Nepali Debate on Secularism

The joint introduction explores the history of academic understanding of “the secular” within the field of Religious Studies. We also introduce our two case studies.

Leksykograficzne wędrówki pąci i peregrynacji

The article presents a lexicographical history of two word families: pąć and peregrynacja. It has been demonstrated how these families evolved quantitatively at various periods of the development of the Polish language, how the semantics of lexemes functioning in these aggregates changed. The analysed material has been excerpted from historical and modern general language dictionaries and etymological dictionaries of Polish as well as from expert publications in the field of religious studies.

Transdisciplinaridade, o campo das Ciências da Religião e sua aplicação ao Ensino Religioso

O Ensino Religioso pode desempenhar um papel importante na construção de culturas pluralistas e sociedades democráticas, desde que aprofunde seus fundamentos e desenvolva metodologias apropriadas. Procurando colaborar nesse sentido, o presente ensaio demonstra que uma postura transdisciplinar ajuda a criar conteúdo dialógico no campo das Ciências da Religião e a traduzir pedagogicamente, em processos de aprendizagem libertários, tais conhecimentos religiosos para o Ensino Religioso laico, plural e republicano. A área de conhecimento das Ciências da Religião surgiu para interpretar as experiências de sagrado, de forma aberta à complementariedade das disciplinas científicas e alicerçada sobre uma epistemologia das controvérsias. Em uma linha de desenvolvimento da metodologia interdisciplinar, a transdisciplinaridade pode desenvolver esses fundamentos científico-culturais, construindo conhecimentos através e além das ciências, engendrando uma atitude transcultural e transreligiosa em nossos estudos de religião, que é muito apropriada para sua aplicação ao Ensino Religioso

A Woman of Many Parts

This article seeks to demonstrate the wide-ranging nature of Professor Ursula King’s research and intellectual interests within the field of religious studies. It highlights her personal engagement not only with issues in science, ecology and religions, Hinduism, education, spirituality, feminist and gender studies on an international stage, but also her involvement dialogically with the people whose work and religious lifeways she has encountered. It shows a continuing and remarkable vitality and freshness in an arena of interests across both local, personal and global issues.

Feminisms and Challenges to Institutionalized Philosophy of Religion

For my invited contribution to this special issue of Religions on “Feminisms and the Study of ‘Religions,’” I focus on philosophy of religion and contestations over its relevance to the academic field of Religious Studies. I amplify some feminist philosophers’ voices—especially Pamela Sue Anderson—in corroboration with recent calls from Religious Studies scholars to diversify philosophy of religions in the direction of locating it properly within the current state of Religious Studies. I want to do this by thinking through two proposals in productive tension: first, any philosophy of religions worthy of the name is intrinsically feminist; second, any philosophy of religions worthy of the name is intrinsically traditional. I want to use the productive tension between these two to illuminate ways calls for broadening the field can be enhanced when such calls are seen as both feminist and traditional. I proceed as follows. First, I note three instances of explicitly feminist work in philosophy of religions that do not suffer from the same narrowness as so-called “traditional” philosophy of religion. Religious Studies critics of philosophy of religion overstate the case in claiming feminist philosophy of religion is too narrow. Second, I develop a useful distinction between the concepts of “tradition” and “institution” to locate forces of oppression more precisely in dynamics of institutionalization so that we might rehabilitate tradition as a resource for combating institutionalized oppressiveness. I do this in response to the hegemony of current philosophers of religion who claim to speak about “the traditional god.” And third, I briefly coordinate four topics in religions from diverse feminist perspectives to help refine paths of inquiry for future philosophy of religions that is both feminist and traditional. My hope is that these clarify a philosophy of religions renewed through feminisms—moving from fringe to normative topics in institutionalized philosophy of religion, maintaining focus on actually existing human beings rather than hypothetically existing transcendent entities. I turn our attention to technical issues surrounding the status of mae chis, Buddhist laity who seek monastic recognition in Theravada. I turn our attention to struggles over fitting criteria for leadership between Mary Magdalene and Peter in early Christian contexts. I have us listen to Muslim women who seek to speak for themselves, many of whom describe Muhammad as a feminist. I have us listen to Anderson’s criticism of arguments about the (non)existence of a god and her promotion of human yearning as guided by regulative ideals as a pointed challenge to institutionalized philosophy of religion. In all these ways and more, feminist challenges to institutionalized philosophy of religion further contribute to diversifying field.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Research on religious management based on big data

With the rapid development of science and technology, the era of big data has come. Big data technology will bring new changes to the innovation of social governance, including the management of religious affairs. Big data is of great significance to the successful implementation of the future decision making and the successful implementation of the guarantee decision. Big data will promote the management of religious affairs more scientifically, promote the improvement of the level of the management of religious affairs and promote the improvement of the management ability of religious emergency events. At present, big data has attracted the attention of relevant countries, organizations and research institutions. In the field of religious studies in our country, this new thing needs to be further studied. The government should start from the establishment of religious databases, data platforms and systems, and train big data talents, and constantly promote the role of big data in the field of religious affairs management, and promote the innovation of religious affairs management. Based on the induction and analysis of the definition, characteristics and essence of big data, this paper discusses the possible impact of big data on the development and dissemination of religion, the formulation and implementation of religious policies, the religious management and the theoretical research of religion, and the corresponding coping strategies.

Jesus as Healer: A Gospel for the Body by Jan-Olav Henriksen and Karl Olav Sandnes

Reviewed by: Jesus as Healer: A Gospel for the Body by Jan-Olav Henriksen and Karl Olav Sandnes Frederick Gaiser jan-olav henriksen and karl olav sandnes, Jesus as Healer: A Gospel for the Body (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016). Pp. x + 273. Paper $35. In the introduction to this valuable book, Jan-Olav Henriksen and Karl Olav Sandnes explain, among other things, what they mean by their subtitle, "A Gospel for the Body," that is, to "recognize in what ways God may be seen to have a healing presence in the world" (p. 5). They will do this both through NT studies that have moved beyond much of historical criticism's rationalist approach to texts and through a systematic theology that is more open to both empirical studies and the field of religious studies (p. 3). Early on S. provides a simple, yet highly valuable contribution: charts categorizing all Jesus's healing stories in terms of NT book, sickness/diagnosis, healing method, and outcome. He goes on to provide a thorough assessment of Jesus as healer in NT scholarship. At the end of this forty-page overview he offers a conclusion that is actually a statement of a position that H. and S. will seek to challenge directly, namely, the prevailing notion that Jesus's healings are caused exclusively by natural reasons. Prevailing NT scholarship, says S., "attempts to explain away the wondrous in these stories, that which is said to have caused the amazement of the spectators" (p. 63). Although S. does not reject the view that natural causation was a factor in Jesus's cures, it alone cannot explain why or how Jesus was regarded as extraordinary when compared to other healers of the time. S. does not neglect the hard issues, including a discussion of raising the dead (pp. 64-69). Here he challenges the position of John Dominic Crossan that the resurrection stories are metaphors or allegories. Indeed, writes S., "in [NT] perspective, a mythic, fictitious, or parabolic interpretation is unable to account for these texts" (p. 69). Needless to say, S. and H. are not biblical literalists, but they are willing to let the NT speak on its own terms. After thoroughly examining such issues as Jesus as healer in the Gospels, Jesus still a healer through his disciples, and healing in the early church, S. concludes his section of the book with a chapter entitled "Toward a Theology of Jesus as Healer." The final paragraphs of this section raise the question of whether the NT regards Jesus as the exclusive healer: "Were [Jesus's healings], and their perpetuation among his followers, the only option for remedying sickness?" (p. 125). This question is important because much of the tradition has responded affirmatively. S., however, after carefully working through the relevant texts, answers his own question in the negative, concluding that "Jesus is at work as a healer in a way that encapsulates both creation and redemption" (p. 130). Similar to S.'s overview of NT scholarship on healing, H. provides a review of both classical and recent discussion about miracles, an invaluable summary for the reader. Of course, these reviews by both authors cannot be exhaustive, but they are a very helpful index to the material. Before this, H. devotes a chapter to the question "What Is Healing?" Rejecting an attempt at a brief definition, he hopes "to interpret and clarify the phenomenon of healing from the point of view of psychology, science, and theology" (p. 136). This is but one more example of how seriously the authors take significant questions and how carefully they look for appropriate responses. In the following chapter, H. cites favorably Lars Lindström's definition of Christian healing: "the full salvation of the entire man, body, mind, and spirit through the re-integration of a life founded on a new relationship to God as a loving Father" (Lindström, Christian Spiritual Healing: A Psychological Study. Ideology and Experience [End Page 337] in the British Healing Movement [Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Psychologia et Sociologia Religionum 7; Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 1992] 170). Once again, this holistic approach describes what H. and S. are about throughout their book. In the chapter entitled...

Editor’s Note

The Journal of the American Academy of Religion publishes top scholarly articles that cover the full range of religions together with provocative studies of the methods and theories by which these are explored. In my interpretation of the JAAR’s charge, this last purpose is the most important one: to raise provocative questions about the ways we do religious studies, to study and therefore challenge ourselves. The journal serves as a space for the free and critical exercise of what is a necessary skill for the study and analysis of religions, cultures, people, and behaviors. That is the skill of reflexivity, a person’s intellectual ability to step out of herself and her society and reflect critically on how she is thinking or how she is not thinking but inheriting and perpetuating the assumptions of her culture and society, including her intellectual traditions and institutions, such as the field of religious studies or the American Academy of Religion. In the act of reflexivity, we think about our own thinking and so free ourselves from the grip of convention.

Structure Was Good

In the field of Religious Studies, old lenses applied to old texts open up the possibility for new interpretations. The school of Structuralism calls for two foundational methods of studying texts to find more meaning: syntagmatic and paradigmatic. Albeit, historically, scholars have employed these two approaches against each other, this article illustrates that using the tools of structuralism in the first biblical creation account provides new insight into the narrative.

MENELITI AGAMA DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN MIXED METHODS

Using mixed methods has not been widely discussed in the field of religious studies in Indonesia. This paper is presented to acomodate the use of this method in the study of religion in the region empirically. There are a number of strategies of mixed methods that can be used in studying religion, namely sequential mixed method, mixed method, and transformative concurrent mixed method. Each strategy is subdivided into several variants of strategies. All of these strategies can be used in studying the phenomenon of religion in accordance to the condition of the object, purpose of research and selection of researchers. Religious researchers can use this method if they want to understand religious phenomena simultaneously.

MENELITI AGAMA DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN MIXED METHODS

Using mixed methods has not been widely discussed in the field of religious studies in Indonesia. This paper is presented to acomodate the use of this method in the study of religion in the region empirically. There are a number of strategies of mixed methods that can be used in studying religion, namely sequential mixed method, mixed method, and transformative concurrent mixed method. Each strategy is subdivided into several variants of strategies. All of these strategies can be used in studying the phenomenon of religion in accordance to the condition of the object, purpose of research and selection of researchers. Religious researchers can use this method if they want to understand religious phenomena simultaneously.

Psychoanalysis And Religion In The 21St Century: Examining The Possibility OfIntegration

Using Ian Barbour's fourfold typology of the relationship between religion and science—Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, and Integration—this article examines how the relationship between religion and psychoanalysis has increasingly moved from being one of perceived irreducible Conflict to one in which Dialogue and—even in some cases— Integration are attempted and valued. Examination of the evolving relationship between religion and psychoanalysis allows for corollary discussion of how the effects of religion on modernity may be understood via a psychoanalytic lens. Although sociopolitical models are often used in studying secularism and the implications of modernity and postmodernity for religion, psychoanalytic investigation offers an alternative perspective on how modern individuals experience religion. Further, this article aims to demonstrate how the epistemological changes that have affected religion and the field of religious studies have also contributed to the reinterpretation and reconstruction of the classical psychoanalytic view of religion.

The Religious Studies Aspect of Forensic Evaluation in Cases Involving Offense to Religious Beliefs and Sensibilities

The paper discusses the phenomenon of offense to religious beliefs and its social and cultural context from the perspective of religious studies. It corroborates the idea that public acts that demonstrate obvious disrespect towards a religion, and “premeditated public desecration” of religious objects lead to distortion of the meaning of religious notions and beliefs, rather than offending religious sensibilities as such. A forensic expert working on cases involving offense to religious beliefs and sensibilities needs to be competent in the field of religious studies in order to address three objectives: to investigate the religious meaning of desecrated objects; to determine the intentional nature of the resulting transformation of religious ideas; and to describe the religious and cultural context and the direction of the transformation, which in turn helps to define the social implications of such transformation.