The Historicization of “Religion” and The Devastation of Study of Religion Departments
Siamese Twins or Contingent Acquaintances
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20207070 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Teemu Taira (0000-0002-8122-2494, University of Helsinki, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 291-308 |
| Publication date | 2020-08-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Implicit Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1463-9955 • E-ISSN: 1743-1697 |
| Publisher | Equinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1558/imre.40996 |
| OpenAlex | W3047534210 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
Two main arguments of Timothy Fitzgerald’s The Ideology of Religious Studies (2000) (IRS) are that religion is an analytically useless (and even harmful) category and that study of religion departments could be rearranged as departments of cultural studies, theoretically informed ethnographic studies or humanities that study the institutionalized values of specific societies. This article introduces Fitzgerald’s argument, examines the reception of Fitzgerald’s work, and then proceeds to argue that, contrary to the opinion of many commentators, Fitzgerald’s first criticism opens up important research possibilities for scholars of religion. However, this article takes a slightly more critical view on the second argument, despite agreeing with the necessity of interdisciplinary research. Finally, this article suggests that historicizing the category of religion can enliven study of religion departments, rather than representing a reason for their problems
Criticism · Epistemology · Ethnography · Ideology · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of religion · Anthropology · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Study and Philosophy of Religion
Postsynaptic action of Gaba in modulating sensory transmission in co‐cultures of rat carotid body via Gaba A receptors
Assembling Our Theoretical Toolboxes
Beyond Religious Freedom
A Modest Proposal on Method
The Ideology of Religious Studies
The Myth of Religious Violence
Religion as a Discursive Technique
Introduction
From religious studies to worldview studies
What's in a name
Marking Religion's Boundaries
Cultural Identity and Global Process
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |