Alexander Van Der Haven
Biographic Data
| ID | 1204665 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alexander Van Der Haven |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alexander |
| FAMILY NAME | Van Der Haven |
| SIGNATURE | VAN DER HAVEN A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bergen |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6195-0083 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 6 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 6 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Religion as a Social Kind
This essay critically discusses Stanley Stowers’s History and the Study of Religion (2024) as a bold criticism of antirealist and constructivist approaches and therefore a contribution to a realist turn in the study of religions. It interrogates the validity of its theoretical cornerstone of “religion as a social kind” and its distinction of religious “subkinds”. Moreover, the essay highlights the methodological strengths of Stowers’s critique of…
Religious Minorities at Risk, written by Matthias Basedau, Jonathan Fox, and Ariel Zellman
A Normative Turn in the Study of Religions
In his book Why Study Religion? ethicist and philosopher Richard B. Miller criticizes the discipline of religious studies for being negligent about the fundamental goal of its academic pursuits. In this review essay, the authors challenge Miller’s diagnosis by arguing that scholars of religion do share a common goal and that the state of affairs bemoaned by Miller is healthier than he admits. The essay raises doubts concerning his selection of si…
A Jewish Qur'an
This essay places the Washington Library of Congress Heb. Ms 183, a Hebrew Qur'an translation from eighteenth-century Cochin, in its South Indian context. After pointing out important general differences between early modern European and South Asian inter-religious cultures and attitudes to translation, this essay analyzes three salient differences between Ms 183 and its Dutch source. Then, the essay scrutinizes three relevant and interrelated co…
The Earliest Footprint of a Messianic Queen
A record from 1 November 1655 of a donation to a certain Sarah from Poland is probably the first documented historical appearance of Sarah the Ashkenazi, future wife of messiah Shabbetai Tzevi. Individually recorded donations by the Sephardic community to Polish refugees were quite unusual in these years, but, according to later biographical sources, the future messianic bride Sarah displayed a great talent for persuading others, and this explain…
Predestination and Toleration
The toleration of Jews in early modern Dutch society is commonly seen as predicated on the maintenance of a clear social and religious separation between Jews and Christians. I argue that this view is incomplete and misleading. Close analysis of the only judicial persecution of Jews in the Dutch Republic’s history, the trial of three Jewish proselytes in the anti-Calvinist city of Hoorn in 1614–15, yields a more complex picture. Comparison of the…
A Normative Turn in the Study of Religions
In his book Why Study Religion? ethicist and philosopher Richard B. Miller criticizes the discipline of religious studies for being negligent about the fundamental goal of its academic pursuits. In this review essay, the authors challenge Miller’s diagnosis by arguing that scholars of religion do share a common goal and that the state of affairs bemoaned by Miller is healthier than he admits. The essay raises doubts concerning his selection of si…
Predestination and Toleration
The toleration of Jews in early modern Dutch society is commonly seen as predicated on the maintenance of a clear social and religious separation between Jews and Christians. I argue that this view is incomplete and misleading. Close analysis of the only judicial persecution of Jews in the Dutch Republic’s history, the trial of three Jewish proselytes in the anti-Calvinist city of Hoorn in 1614–15, yields a more complex picture. Comparison of the…
The Earliest Footprint of a Messianic Queen
A record from 1 November 1655 of a donation to a certain Sarah from Poland is probably the first documented historical appearance of Sarah the Ashkenazi, future wife of messiah Shabbetai Tzevi. Individually recorded donations by the Sephardic community to Polish refugees were quite unusual in these years, but, according to later biographical sources, the future messianic bride Sarah displayed a great talent for persuading others, and this explain…
A Normative Turn in the Study of Religions
In his book Why Study Religion? ethicist and philosopher Richard B. Miller criticizes the discipline of religious studies for being negligent about the fundamental goal of its academic pursuits. In this review essay, the authors challenge Miller’s diagnosis by arguing that scholars of religion do share a common goal and that the state of affairs bemoaned by Miller is healthier than he admits. The essay raises doubts concerning his selection of si…
A Jewish Qur'an
This essay places the Washington Library of Congress Heb. Ms 183, a Hebrew Qur'an translation from eighteenth-century Cochin, in its South Indian context. After pointing out important general differences between early modern European and South Asian inter-religious cultures and attitudes to translation, this essay analyzes three salient differences between Ms 183 and its Dutch source. Then, the essay scrutinizes three relevant and interrelated co…
Religious Minorities at Risk, written by Matthias Basedau, Jonathan Fox, and Ariel Zellman
Religion as a Social Kind
This essay critically discusses Stanley Stowers’s History and the Study of Religion (2024) as a bold criticism of antirealist and constructivist approaches and therefore a contribution to a realist turn in the study of religions. It interrogates the validity of its theoretical cornerstone of “religion as a social kind” and its distinction of religious “subkinds”. Moreover, the essay highlights the methodological strengths of Stowers’s critique of…
Philosophy (5 works) · History (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Religious studies (3 works) · Theology (3 works) · Historical and Linguistic Studies (2 works) · Islamic Studies and History (2 works) · Judaism (2 works) · Philosophy (2 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (2 works)