RELIGIOUS METHODOLOGY

Different approaches to the study of religion

Introduction to Methodology

There are many different ways of studying religion. They all provide important insights into religious

studies. Today we are going to look at a few of the major

approaches to the study of religion: Theology Literary Criticism Historiography Anthropology Sociology Psychology Philosophy Phenomonology

Theology

Many people assume that Theology and Religious Studies are the same thing.

Theology is literally the study of God – but many religions do not have a concept of God.

Natural Theology is the study of God through the natural world. The Watchmaker – William Paley

Natural Atheology: the study of why nature shows that there is not a God. The Blind Watchmaker – Richard Dawkins

Literary Criticism

Most religions have some sort of sacred writing: Bible Qur’an Rig Vedas

Literary Criticism

The literary critic attempts to understand these texts by asking certain critical questions Who wrote this text? When was it written? Who was the audience? How close to the original text is this

manuscript?

Literary Criticism

Three tasks of the literary critic: Textual Criticism

Lower Documentary criticism

Higher Hermeneutics

Textual Criticism

Textual Criticism attempts different methods to try and determine if the text that we have is the most authentic version.

Textual Criticism

A few of the principles used in determining what is authentic: The harder reading is probably more accurate The shorter reading is probably more accurate Older manuscripts are given priority The harsher reading is more accurate

Famous Textual Critics: B.F. Westcott Fenton J.A. Hort

Example of Textual Criticism:

The Gospel of Mark Mark 16:9-20 includes the story of the

Resurrection of Jesus. The earliest manuscripts do not contain

this story but instead end with 16:8. The earliest manuscript that contains 9-

20 is from the lath 4th, early 5th century.

Mark 16

Mark 16:8 reads: “And they went out quickly, and fled from the

sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”

This is a harder reading than the resurrection story found in vs. 9-20

This ending is preferred because it is earlier, shorter and a harder reading.

Documentary Criticism

The Documentary Critic is trying to answer the questions: Who wrote this book? When was it written? Why was this book written?

Examples: Isaiah Genesis

Hermeneutics

The art of interpretation What is the correct means of interpreting

a text? Historical-Grammatical interpretation Allegorical interpretation Exegesis vs. Eisigesis

Historiography

Attempt to reconstruct what ‘really happened’ at the beginning of a religion’s development. What were the economic, social or

environmental factors that influenced this religion?

An example: Demythologization: The attempt to explain

away the miracles of a certain religion by taking into account the symbolic significance of the miracles.

Rudolf Bultmann

Anthropology

Study of human beings and societies – emphasis on culture.

How does the religion of a culture influence that culture?

Edward B. Tylor Emile Durkheim – Functionalism

What is the function of religion in a particular society?

Sociology

Social Behavior How does society effect religious belief

and how does religious belief effect society?

Max Weber (1864-1920) Known for his idea that social life reflects the

religious beliefs of a society

Psychology

Studies the psychological aspects of religious experience.

Also tries to understand psychological the origin of religion.

Freud William James Carl Jung

Philosophy

Philosophy is the love of wisdom Philosophy appeals to reason, logic and

meaning in order to understand the world.

Philosophy has always sought to understand religious claims Plato: Euthyphro

Philosophy

Hinduism has a deep heritage in philosophy The Samkhya school The oldest of the six orthodox schools in

Indian Philosophy Kapila – Inventor of Samkhya

Philosophy

One of the major debates is the difference between faith and reason.

Is religion reasonable? Are faith and reason contradictory ideas

and thus mutually exclusive? Is religion a blind, leap of faith? (Soren

Kierkegaard) Fideism

Philosophy

On Friday we are going to spend time discussing in more detail logical positivism

A philosophical approach to religion and religious truth claims: Antony Flew - Falsification A.J. Ayer - Verification

Flew – Theology and Falsification

Beginning Parable “A fine brash hypothesis may thus be

killed by inches, the death by a thousand qualifications.”

The claim that believers always qualify what they mean when they say ‘God is good’ or ‘God is love.’

Question: “What would have to occur or to have

occurred to constitute for you a disproof of the love of, or existence of God?”

Hare’s Response

Parable of the lunatic Blik

A blik is a belief that does not consist in an assertion or a system. There are not solid reasons for having a certain blik.

Example of someone who believes in pure chance No evidence would count against them i.e. Free Will/Determinism argument

Mitchell’s Response

Parable of the Stranger and War Mitchell says that belief in God is based

on trust because of an intimate counter with God.

Mitchell admits that the existence of evil in the world counts against the existence of God but is not sufficient to disprove the existence of God by itself.

Antony Flew - 2004

In 2004, Flew announced that he was no longer an atheist

He is now a deist – like Thomas Jefferson He believes that a God started the world,

but does not believe in an afterlife or that God answers prayers.

Famous Philosophers of Religion

Avicenna (c. 980 AD) – Muslim Philosopher

Adi Shankara (788-820 AD) – Indian Philosopher

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Al-Farabi (872-950)

Phenomenology

Seeks to describe religious experience not try to explain religious experience.

This is what William James was attempting to do – first describe and then explain.

Seeks to portray religious claim in their own terms.

Jean-Luc Marion (1946- ) Catholic phenomenologist