Suzanne Owen
Biographic Data
| ID | 6552991 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Suzanne Owen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Suzanne |
| FAMILY NAME | Owen |
| SIGNATURE | OWEN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Leeds Trinity University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4774-6208 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 27 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Questions and Answers about the British Association for the Study of Religions (Basr)
The Association introduces you to the various guilds, societies, and organizations where scholars carry out their work. In this issue, we learned a bit about the British Association for the Study of Religion (BASR) from their secretary Suzanne Owen. Founded in 1954, BASR is a member association of the International Association for the History of Religions and of the European Association for the Study of Religions. Answers in our exchange were pro…
Critics Not Caretakers …The Public Study of Religion 20+ Years In
The topic of our conversation is Russell T. McCutcheon’s Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion (SUNY Press 2001). This provocative volume continues to be discussed and argued within the field, warranting an updated volume. With the release of its expanded second edition (Routledge 2024) release, the Bulletin’s editorial team thought readers would appreciate a broader conversation about the book’s impact, legacy, and po…
Testing Interdisciplinarity in the Field
The Interview connects Bulletin readers with scholars who have been shaping key aspects of our work in the field. Suzanne Owen at Leeds Trinity University in the UK takes some time to chat with us. Owen will be talking about her experiences in both U.S. and U.K. education systems, her path to the academy through Edinburgh courses, Canadian fieldwork, and the BASR. She and Newton also touch on the issues she sees in the UK Academy and where she ho…
Rethinking Indigenous Religious Traditions with Jace Weaver: A Discussion
This roundtable revolves around Jace Weaver’s article ‘“Either the Ball is Green, or the Ball is Not Green”’. Arguing that the field of Indigenous religious traditions has been both under-analyzed and under-theorized, Weaver rejects the facile statement that such traditions are those practiced by Indigenous groups or peoples. He sets forth seven definitional characteristics that create a rubric with which to test religious traditions. He then tes…
Book Forum: A Discussion of James L. Cox’s A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions
On 12 October 2022, a seminar was held in the University of Edinburgh to review, discuss and critique James L. Cox’s book, A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions: Theory and Practice (2022, Bloomsbury). This article contains revised papers from that event as prepared by the speakers, including Cox’s introduction and response to the presentations. The papers explore various themes, comprising a consideration of Religious Studies as a discipline, …
Etic/Emic Considerations in Horii's'Religion' and 'Secular' Categories in Sociology
UK Graduate Education in the Time of Covid-19
The Buzz examines scholarly topics in light of present-day concerns and challenges. This edition centers on the unique challenges of graduate education as a result of the restrictions of COVD-19. In issue 50.1 we heard from scholars working within the context of the US. In this issue, Suzanne Owen of Leeds Trinity University and the Bulletin Advisory Board offers a brief look at the situation in the UK
Persistence of the World Religions Paradigm: Response to Jacob Barrett’s “Critical Theory in World Religions: An Experiment in Course (re)Design”
When I came to Leeds Trinity University, my job title was “lecturer in World Religions” and two of the modules (courses) I was to teach were called World Religions 1 and World Religions 2. There was also a separate module on Method and Theory in the Study of Religion. I was discouraged from changing these in the first couple of years partly because of market expectations. I taught them in much the way as described in Jacob’s paper and in the chap…
Twenty Years After The Ideology of Religious Studies
The End of Religious Studies (as we knew it)
Fitzgerald’s The Ideology of Religious Studies was published the year before I started my Master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh and was brought to my attention by James Cox, my supervisor. It led me to question everything I had learned as a Religious Studies undergraduate and sparked my first essay (in 2001), titled “Religious Studies: What is it?” In it, I had seen the problem of “what is it?” as a methodological issue as well as a defi…
The Problem with Paganism in Charity Registration in England and Wales
Charity registration is one means by which a group can claim religious status in England and Wales. As groups must also prove their "religious" activities are for public benefit, it domesticates religion by forcing groups to conform to liberal Protestant Christian values. Examining how groups negotiate criteria for religion as defined by public bodies highlights both the problems with defining religion and how the state marginalizes groups that d…
Method and Theory in the U.K
In this review, I will bring in my own experiences and observations of teaching method and theory in the United Kingdom before responding to some of the papers in Theory in a Time of Excess
Response to Patrick Hart
This paper is a response to Patrick Hart’s article ‘Theory, method, and madness in religious studies’ and further interrogates the terms “theory” and “method,” the relationship between them, and their application to the study of religion, particularly at a pedagogical level, where there is some confusion about what is referred to by these terms. This paper argues that theory and method should be included explicitly in religious studies programs a…
Walking in Balance: Native American Recovery Programmes
This article reviews Native American ritual practices, frameworks and key concepts employed by several substance abuse treatments centres in the U.S. and Canada. It also examines the way Alcoholics Anonymous’ Twelve Step programme has been modified to attract and serve the needs of Native Americans and First Nations and its potential impact on the ritual practices. Native concepts of wellbeing are highlighted and linked to the idea of living in “…
The Necessity of Theory
Response to “Theses on Theory” by Jacqueline E. Gresham
The World Religions paradigm Time for a change
The teaching of religions has long relied on the World Religions paradigm to guide curricula throughout education, which has led to a widening gap, on the one hand, between what is taught in schools and in universities and, on the other, between research and teaching. While the World Religions paradigm has allowed the inclusion of non-Christian religions in education, it has also remodelled them according to liberal Western Christian values, infl…
The Appropriation of Native American Spirituality
Native Americans and Canadians are largely romanticised or sidelined figures in modern society. Their spirituality has been appropriated on a relatively large scale by Europeans and non-Native Americans, with little concern for the diversity of Native American opinions. Suzanne Owen offers an insight into appropriation that will bring a new understanding and perspective to these debates. This important volume collects together these key debates f…
The World Religions paradigm Time for a change
The teaching of religions has long relied on the World Religions paradigm to guide curricula throughout education, which has led to a widening gap, on the one hand, between what is taught in schools and in universities and, on the other, between research and teaching. While the World Religions paradigm has allowed the inclusion of non-Christian religions in education, it has also remodelled them according to liberal Western Christian values, infl…
The Appropriation of Native American Spirituality
Native Americans and Canadians are largely romanticised or sidelined figures in modern society. Their spirituality has been appropriated on a relatively large scale by Europeans and non-Native Americans, with little concern for the diversity of Native American opinions. Suzanne Owen offers an insight into appropriation that will bring a new understanding and perspective to these debates. This important volume collects together these key debates f…
Etic/Emic Considerations in Horii's'Religion' and 'Secular' Categories in Sociology
The Appropriation of Native American Spirituality
Native Americans and Canadians are largely romanticised or sidelined figures in modern society. Their spirituality has been appropriated on a relatively large scale by Europeans and non-Native Americans, with little concern for the diversity of Native American opinions. Suzanne Owen offers an insight into appropriation that will bring a new understanding and perspective to these debates. This important volume collects together these key debates f…
The World Religions paradigm Time for a change
The teaching of religions has long relied on the World Religions paradigm to guide curricula throughout education, which has led to a widening gap, on the one hand, between what is taught in schools and in universities and, on the other, between research and teaching. While the World Religions paradigm has allowed the inclusion of non-Christian religions in education, it has also remodelled them according to liberal Western Christian values, infl…
The Necessity of Theory
Response to “Theses on Theory” by Jacqueline E. Gresham
Walking in Balance: Native American Recovery Programmes
This article reviews Native American ritual practices, frameworks and key concepts employed by several substance abuse treatments centres in the U.S. and Canada. It also examines the way Alcoholics Anonymous’ Twelve Step programme has been modified to attract and serve the needs of Native Americans and First Nations and its potential impact on the ritual practices. Native concepts of wellbeing are highlighted and linked to the idea of living in “…
Response to Patrick Hart
This paper is a response to Patrick Hart’s article ‘Theory, method, and madness in religious studies’ and further interrogates the terms “theory” and “method,” the relationship between them, and their application to the study of religion, particularly at a pedagogical level, where there is some confusion about what is referred to by these terms. This paper argues that theory and method should be included explicitly in religious studies programs a…
Method and Theory in the U.K
In this review, I will bring in my own experiences and observations of teaching method and theory in the United Kingdom before responding to some of the papers in Theory in a Time of Excess
The Problem with Paganism in Charity Registration in England and Wales
Charity registration is one means by which a group can claim religious status in England and Wales. As groups must also prove their "religious" activities are for public benefit, it domesticates religion by forcing groups to conform to liberal Protestant Christian values. Examining how groups negotiate criteria for religion as defined by public bodies highlights both the problems with defining religion and how the state marginalizes groups that d…
Twenty Years After The Ideology of Religious Studies
The End of Religious Studies (as we knew it)
Fitzgerald’s The Ideology of Religious Studies was published the year before I started my Master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh and was brought to my attention by James Cox, my supervisor. It led me to question everything I had learned as a Religious Studies undergraduate and sparked my first essay (in 2001), titled “Religious Studies: What is it?” In it, I had seen the problem of “what is it?” as a methodological issue as well as a defi…
Persistence of the World Religions Paradigm: Response to Jacob Barrett’s “Critical Theory in World Religions: An Experiment in Course (re)Design”
When I came to Leeds Trinity University, my job title was “lecturer in World Religions” and two of the modules (courses) I was to teach were called World Religions 1 and World Religions 2. There was also a separate module on Method and Theory in the Study of Religion. I was discouraged from changing these in the first couple of years partly because of market expectations. I taught them in much the way as described in Jacob’s paper and in the chap…
UK Graduate Education in the Time of Covid-19
The Buzz examines scholarly topics in light of present-day concerns and challenges. This edition centers on the unique challenges of graduate education as a result of the restrictions of COVD-19. In issue 50.1 we heard from scholars working within the context of the US. In this issue, Suzanne Owen of Leeds Trinity University and the Bulletin Advisory Board offers a brief look at the situation in the UK
Rethinking Indigenous Religious Traditions with Jace Weaver: A Discussion
This roundtable revolves around Jace Weaver’s article ‘“Either the Ball is Green, or the Ball is Not Green”’. Arguing that the field of Indigenous religious traditions has been both under-analyzed and under-theorized, Weaver rejects the facile statement that such traditions are those practiced by Indigenous groups or peoples. He sets forth seven definitional characteristics that create a rubric with which to test religious traditions. He then tes…
Book Forum: A Discussion of James L. Cox’s A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions
On 12 October 2022, a seminar was held in the University of Edinburgh to review, discuss and critique James L. Cox’s book, A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions: Theory and Practice (2022, Bloomsbury). This article contains revised papers from that event as prepared by the speakers, including Cox’s introduction and response to the presentations. The papers explore various themes, comprising a consideration of Religious Studies as a discipline, …
Etic/Emic Considerations in Horii's'Religion' and 'Secular' Categories in Sociology
Questions and Answers about the British Association for the Study of Religions (Basr)
The Association introduces you to the various guilds, societies, and organizations where scholars carry out their work. In this issue, we learned a bit about the British Association for the Study of Religion (BASR) from their secretary Suzanne Owen. Founded in 1954, BASR is a member association of the International Association for the History of Religions and of the European Association for the Study of Religions. Answers in our exchange were pro…
Critics Not Caretakers …The Public Study of Religion 20+ Years In
The topic of our conversation is Russell T. McCutcheon’s Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion (SUNY Press 2001). This provocative volume continues to be discussed and argued within the field, warranting an updated volume. With the release of its expanded second edition (Routledge 2024) release, the Bulletin’s editorial team thought readers would appreciate a broader conversation about the book’s impact, legacy, and po…
Testing Interdisciplinarity in the Field
The Interview connects Bulletin readers with scholars who have been shaping key aspects of our work in the field. Suzanne Owen at Leeds Trinity University in the UK takes some time to chat with us. Owen will be talking about her experiences in both U.S. and U.K. education systems, her path to the academy through Edinburgh courses, Canadian fieldwork, and the BASR. She and Newton also touch on the issues she sees in the UK Academy and where she ho…
Sociology (16 works) · Philosophy (14 works) · Epistemology (12 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (9 works) · Religious studies (8 works) · Political science (7 works) · Study and Philosophy of Religion (6 works) · Law (5 works) · Religion, Society, and Development (4 works) · Anthropology (3 works)