(Not quite) Beyond belief

Intentionality and materialism in the study of religion

Bibliographic Data

ID12720910
AuthorsJung H Lee (0000-0001-8568-8163, Northeastern University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume11
Issue2
Pages147-162
Publication date2010-05-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture and Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-5610 • E-ISSN: 1475-5629
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14755611003776335
OpenAlexW2138136018
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited27

This paper examines the recent debate on the value of ‘belief’ as a category of analysis in the study of religion. I begin with a critical appraisal of the critique of ‘belief’ in the current literature, examining what I take to be the most serious charges while also giving voice to the reasons why we find the category of belief so intuitively appealing. Conversely, this paper considers the problematic nature of Terry Godlove's approach to the identification and ascription of religious belief, particularly in regard to the ambiguity and contextual nature of intentional states. I then draw a distinction between what I call ‘actual’ and ‘possible’ intentionality to get at how religious agents, while perhaps not possessing the ‘right sort of self-understanding’, can still be indexed as ‘religious’ if we examine the broader discursive context of their dispositional grammar. This paper will end with a constructive proposal for a middle way between intentionality and materialism in the study of religion which draws on the work of Bourdieu and his concept of ‘habitus’

Ambiguity · Ascription · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Intentionality · Linguistics · Materialism · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Psychology · Study and Philosophy of Religion