The Prospects and Pitfalls of “Just-So” Storytelling in Evolutionary Accounts of Religion

Bibliographic Data

ID12201878
AuthorsGabriel Levy (0000-0002-4317-2043, 1 Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology 7491 Trondheim Norway [email protected], corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume25
Issue4-5
Pages451-459
Publication date2013-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMethod & Theory in the Study of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0943-3058 • E-ISSN: 1570-0682
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/15700682-12341306
OpenAlexW2153614939
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited12

I discuss problems importing evolutionary language into the study of religion. It is not impossible to do, but it is difficult to carry out properly in practice. I suggest five criteria for scholarship in the study of religion to amount to good science when incorporating such language. They are 1) avoiding just-so storytelling as much as possible 2) the requirement to add a compelling level of explanation beyond the historical narrative 3) clearly distinguishing between proximate and ultimate forms of causation and explanation, and favoring proximate causes where possible 4) addressing the specific content of religion directly as part of the narrative 5) being explicit about the genre of scholarship undertaken, whether science-writing, humanistic exploration, or some mix of the two. Wiebe and Martin’s arguments do not end up rising to the challenge that they themselves have instigated to have a truly scientific study of religion

Causation · Epistemology · Humanism · Linguistics · Narrative · Political science · Proximate and ultimate causation · Scholarship · Sociology · Storytelling · Theology · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Law · Marriage and Sexual Relationships · Philosophy · Study and Philosophy of Religion

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