(Not quite) Beyond belief

Intentionality and materialism in the study of religion

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12720910
AutoresJung H Lee (0000-0001-8568-8163, Northeastern University, autor correspondente)
Ano2010
Volume11
Fascículo2
Páginas147-162
Data de publicação2010-05-09
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCulture and Religion (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1475-5610 • E-ISSN: 1475-5629
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14755611003776335
OpenAlexW2138136018
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas27

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