Top Research Papers on Religion

Religion is alive and well in the modern world, and the social-scientific study of religion is undergoing a renaissance. For much of this century, respected social theorists predicted the death of religion as inevitable consequence of science, education, and modern economics. But they were wrong. Stark and Bainbridge set out to explain the survival of religion. Using information derived from numerous surveys, censuses, historical case studies, and ethnographic field expeditions, they chart the full sweep of contemporary religion from the traditional denominations to the most fervent cults. Thi...

This article discusses the relevance of Critical Religion to the sociology of religion. Critical Religion argues that the category of “religion” is a Western concept that through colonialism and imperialism has been superimposed over non-Western societies. In contrast, it offers a critical theory of or critical sociology of religion, which evaluates the positive and negatives aspects of what we call religion. The article provides a summary of key proponents of critical religion then uses it to discuss the secularization debate which runs through the classics and the old and new paradigms in t...

and then considers carefully the sociological and methodological problems raised by these phenomena. This could be seen as an extension and application of his classic paper with Lazarsfeld on qualitative research; and the whole book leads on from Barton's work on property space and organizational measurement. Barton considers some of these sociological problems in detail-for instance, individual behaviour in the emergency social system. As he puts it, 'any large unfavorable change in the inputs of a social system disrupts its normal flow of activities and threatens the satisfactions and values...

Part i A Method for Viewing Film as Religion:Existing Approaches to Religion and FilmThe Definition of Religion Myths about Myth Rituals and Morals The Religion-Film Dialogue as Interreligious Dialogue Part ii Genre and Film Analyses Westerns and Action Movies:Die Hard (1988) Gangster Films The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather, Part II (1974) Melodrama, Tearjerkers, and "Women's Films":Titanic (1997) Romantic Comedies:When Harry Met Sally (1989) Children's Films and Fantasy E.T., The Extraterrestrial (1982) Science Fiction:The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) The Origi...

Until now, there has been no comprehensive study of religion in Athens from the end of the classical period to the time of Rome's domination of the city. Jon D. Mikalson provides a chronological approach to religion in Hellenistic Athens, disproving the widely held belief that Hellenistic religion during this period represented a decline from the classical era. Drawing from epigraphical, historical, literary, and archaeological sources, Mikalson traces the religious cults and beliefs of Athenians from the battle of Chaeroneia in 338 B.C. to the devastation of Athens by Sulla in 86 B.C., demons...

I am convinced that every one who has beheld this magnificent concourse of the world's religions has become profoundl' conscious of the universality of divine inspiration and the immortal strength of religious conviction.

This issue of Liturgy borrows its title from a course taught by religion professor, M. Cooper Minister. In this course, Minister invites students to consider everyday rituals and practices that might not normally be recognized as acts of religion. When imagining religious activity, many Christians will think of prayers and rituals that are overtly theistic and come from the rich traditions of Christian communities. However, liturgical scholars have long pointed out that the liturgical practices of Christianity are rooted in the materials and activities of mundane life. While lacking overt thei...

In this article, I would like to see how a religion function one’s mind. In order to do so, I will begin with reviewing Freud and Kohut’s thoughts on religion. Although their emphasis on the function of religion would be different, it can be said that the religion affects people’s minds both positively and negatively. Religious addiction can be an example of a negative side of religion; religion has a positive function in that it gives hope and comfort to human beings. Having said that, I wonder how religion would function in the psyche of Korean Christian women when facing domestic violence b...

Abstract. This article discusses the marketing of religion and how religion is marketed in the digital world. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach with a library research method to This article discusses the marketing of religion and how religion is marketed in the digital world. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach with a library research method to find out about the development of the religious market and how it is marketed in society. The study found that Religion is a product subject to the desires and changes of an unregulated market where the benefits to...

We use the elements of a macroeconomic production function—physical capital, human capital, labor, and technology—together with standard growth models to frame the role of religion in economic growth. Unifying a growing literature, we argue that religion can enhance or impinge upon economic growth through all four elements because it shapes individual preferences, societal norms, and institutions. Religion affects physical capital accumulation by influencing thrift and financial development. It affects human capital through both religious and secular education. It affects population and labor ...

The editors of What Is Religion? Debating the Academic Study of Religion asked seventeen leading scholars of religion to finish the statement “Religion is . . .” in a sentence or two, at most a paragraph. Their answer then went to another contributor to write an essay based on it (whether as a reply, a critique, or an application), to which the original author of the paragraph then responded in a brief essay. The result is a collection of scholarly conversations among a wide range of scholars selected to represent the breadth of the current field. To this collection the editors have attached a...

Focusing on places, objects, bodies, narratives, and ritual spaces where religion may be found or inscribed, the authors reveal the role of religion in contesting rights to places, to knowledge and to property, as well as access to resources. Through analyses of specific historical processes in terms of responses to socio-economic and political change, the chapters consider implicitly or explicitly the problematic relation between science (including social sciences and anthropology in particular) and religion, and how this connects to the new religious globalization of the twenty-first century...

With 85% of this planet’s population adhering to a religion, faith communities are the largest transnational civil society actors in the world. This accords them a major role in societal processes, aincluding current global challenges as spelled out in the 17 SDGs, the core of the Agenda 2030. After decades of neglect, recent years have seen a rise in interest in the role of religion in the public agenda. Academics, policymakers and practitioners alike increasingly acknowledge the significance of faith actors for the SDGs. Key terms such as “Common Home”, shared by faith and secular actors, al...

1. Introduction Jeffrey Haynes Part 1: 'The World Religions and Politics' 2. Buddhism and Politics Peter Friedlander 3. Christianity: Protestantism Paul Freston 4. The Catholic Church and Catholicism in global politics Allen Hertzke 5. Confucianism, from above and below Michael Barr 6. Hinduism James Chiriyankandath 7. Sunni Islam and politics Andrea Teti and Andrea Mura 8. Shiism and politics Mohammad Nafissi 9. Judaism and the state Shmuel Sandler Part 2: 'Religion and Governance' 10. Secularisation and Politics Steve Bruce 11. Religious fundamentalisms Jeffrey Haynes 12. Religion and the St...

Die Differenzkategorie „Religion“ hat sich in den letzten Jahren im europäischen und auch deutschsprachigen Diskursraum zu einer medial, wissenschaftlich und politisch wirkmächtigen Kategorie entwickelt. Sie hat sich als soziales Differenzierungsmerkmal auch im Bildungsbereich etwa zur Kennzeichnung einiger Schüler*innen in den schulischen Sprachgebrauch, in die Statistik oder in die Organisation und die Praktiken der Bildungssysteme Eingang gefunden. Dieser Beitrag setzt sich letztlich aus rassismuskritischer Perspektive mit der Frage auseinander, in welcher Weise „Religion“ als Mechanismus d...

observations of other historians. To paraphrase Charles Melville, writers of history were patronized by rulers but read by other chroniclers (Melville 2012b, 205–207). The resulting works are rather, to use his term, self-referential. But the courtly environs seem a rather narrow audience for the grandiose ideological claims Kamola finds in Rashid al-Din’s works. If Oljeitu really was a universal sovereign, why would he need to be told that? If he were merely pretending to universal sovereignty, then how would the arcana of Mongol genealogy, however magnificently presented, really help him? Wh...

It is shown that if the study of religion is considered primarily an act of classification, it can be aided by narrow artificial intelligence that excels at classification and prediction, and Bruno Latour and actor–network theory are turned to.

Religion makes unique claims (e.g., the existence of supernatural agents) not found in other belief systems, but is religion itself psychologically special? Furthermore, religion is related to many domains of psychological interest, such as morality, health and well-being, self-control, meaning, and death anxiety. Does religion act on these domains via special mechanisms that are unlike secular mechanisms? These could include mechanisms such as beliefs in supernatural agents, providing ultimate meaning, and providing literal immortality. We apply a critical eye to these questions of specialnes...

Throughout his career, Heidegger explored the religious sides of life in ways that had far-reaching impacts on the thought of his contemporaries and successors. This Element examines three important stops along Heidegger's ways of thinking about religion as the risky performance of life in new spaces of possibility. Section 1 examines Heidegger's 1920–1921 lectures on Paul, while Section 2 turns to the darker period of the late 1930s, exploring how Heidegger reconfigures religion in the context of his “new inception” of thought beyond metaphysics. Finally, Section 3 takes up Heidegger's challe...

fact that religious experiences and institutions can also broaden our horizons and deepen our understanding of rights and dignity. This role of religions does not really shine within the book. Admittedly, the book’s approach replicates the general narrative that promotes the reconciliation between rights and religions; therefore, Salama and Wiener should not be blamed too much for replicating it. The imbalance between rights and religions makes the volume only partially useful, however; it can serve environments where religions could learn from human rights, but it is probably of little use wh...

In this paper we seek to understand how religion influences discretion in a developing fragile society: Palestine. Drawing on a recent review of the religion and public administration literature and the theory of representative bureaucracy, we ask: Does active representation on behalf of a religious identity exist? And if so, what does it look like? We explore four different possible manifestations, including none at all. In other words, this is a study of how religiosity influences civil servant behaviour in instances of discretion. Using original small-n in-person survey data, we find active...

This study explores the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and loneliness in the United States, using the 2018 General Social Survey to assess their interactions against a backdrop of declining traditional religious affiliation and a rise in “spiritual but not religious” identification. It examines religion and spirituality’s capacity to counteract loneliness, a condition with significant health implications. The analysis uncovers complex relationships between aspects of religious life and loneliness, showing no mitigating role of spirituality when controlling for other factors, w...

By equating the traditional mindset with traditional beliefs (in magic, ritual, superstitions, etc.), several studies have consistently shown that such beliefs significantly influence people's political behavior and preferences. While these studies have highlighted the political consequences of a traditional mindset in several countries from the Global South, they nevertheless have little to say as to whether holding superstitious beliefs (e.g., believing in fortune tellers, horoscopes, or lucky charms) has certain political implications for countries in the Global North. In this article, we e...

ABSTRACT In journalism, issues of religion are increasingly reported by nonspecialists or specialists in other fields. This poses obvious challenges. This study explores the narrative frames employed by gaming journalists in reporting about religion in video games. This was done through semi-structured interviews with gaming journalists (n = 17) and an exploration of their produced gaming reviews (n = 116) in relation to games with religious narratives. The study argues that journalists largely did not identify much regarding religion in their own content–even more explicit religious presentat...

ABSTRACT Denmark offers a unique context for exploring patterns of religion among the majority population. In the research of contemporary religion in Europe, many concepts have been developed in the attempt to capture a complex pattern of affiliation, practices, and beliefs among the majority populations in Western Europe. In a Scandinavian setting, however, one such concept, ‘cultural religion’, has appeared in several situations with various foci and emphases. This article analyses the use of ‘cultural religion’ and, more specifically, cultural Christianity through three different inquiries...

A study of religion in Roman Britain which uses a wide range of archaeological evidence to shed light on oriental cults, such as Mithraism and other Eastern religions, Roman religion in all aspects of life, and the relationship between paganism and Christianity. First published in 1992.

Patin, but seems unaware that the passage is, in fact, Hippocratic. Mori responds by suggesting recourse to a possible precautionary rhetorical device by Patin himself. Nathan, instead, proposes two critical observations: (1) TR does not use Patin’s own copy of Jean Bodin’s Colloquium Heptaplomeres; and (2) TR quotes a passage from Joseph Justus Scaliger tacitly inserted in a text by Patin, but attributes it to Patin himself. Mori counters by observing that most of the quotations from Bodin’s Colloquium are to be found in the third treatise (which is the most “Naudean” part of the manuscript) ...

This article describes the chronology of recognition of formal religion and marginalization of local religion in Indonesia. Formally, the Indonesian government recognizes the formal religion based on the policy or the constitution in Indonesia. That is Presidental Decree number 1 the year 1965 and Constitution Number 5 the year 1969. According to the constitution, the formal religions are Islam, Christian, Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. But Confucianism was marginalized on the new order of Indonesia based on the decree of the Ministry of Home Affairs year 1974. Because of this...

The ideas of Friedrich Schleiermacher contributes hugely to the understanding of the concept of religion. Many scholars have published on the significance of Schleiermacher for theology, philosophy and hermeneutics. In response to the Enlightenment thought, Schleiermacher constructed a reappraisal of what religion is. His emphasis on intuition and feeling, steered away from the rational interpretation of religion which placed human cognition at the centre of religion. For Schleiermacher religion should indicate a self-transcendence and a feeling of dependence. In the current era of technocracy...

The disease burden of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a definitive public health challenge. The quality of life of children with ASD depends on how the cultural environment fits their special needs, including religious and spiritual factors. Does ASD predict low religiosity, and if not, what is the significance for clinical care? To answer this question, we reviewed the literature on the cognitive models of ASD and religious beliefs. We found that the cognitive models of ASD and religious beliefs substantially overlap, which is particularly important from a developmental psychological perspe...

Robert A. Yelle’s Sovereignty and the Sacred: Secularism and the Political Economy of Religion explores the apparent convergence between “the central categories of politics and religion respectively, based on their shared qualities of rupture, singularity, and antinomianism” (18). Contemporary secular political economy rests, he argues, on something like religion. But to make good on this claim, Yelle must confront a challenge: modern polity and economy seek to legitimate themselves through the disavowal and erasure of precisely those antinomian impulses on which, according to Yelle, they in f...

How the internet and religion are transformed in the move from offline to online contexts into digital deities and technoshamanism is explored, with consequences for both conventional religious organizations and the larger cultural environment.

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Although the populism-religion relationship is increasingly recognized in the literature, the focus has predominantly been on Western cases. This article proposes analytical tools for global comparisons. First, drawing on the ideational, performative, and strategic approaches to populism, the authors articulate how populists deploy religion in each category. Existing works have not engaged with these dimensions conjointly. Second, the authors employ this tridimensional conception to operationalize the “covert” and “overt” modes of religious populism identified in the literature. They hold tha...

ABSTRACT Judith Muskett’s analysis of metaphors employed to characterise Anglican cathedrals draws attention to the inclusivity of these locations within secular and religiously diverse societies. They are positioned as places where sacred space and common ground collide and coalesce. Drawing on Edward Bailey’s discussion of implicit religion and civic religion, alongside explicit religion, the present study reports on an analysis of the 43 websites of Anglican cathedrals in England and the Isle of Man to map how these cathedrals orchestrated their response to the coronation of King Charles II...

Legislative Affairs Program Objectives Upon completion of the Master’s degree in Legislative Affairs, students will: 1. Gain both theoretical and practical knowledge related to the U.S. Congress, general issues in the legislative arena, and how to effectively advance legislation; 2. Hone their oral and written communication skills in both theoretical and technical aspects of legislative affairs; 3. Be able to conduct cutting-edge research and engage in effective problem solving by learning critical thinking skills; 4. Learn how to work effectively with others, the value of collaborative work, ...

To quote this article: Hardy, Edmund. 2023. “What is the Science of Religion? A Contribution to the Methodology of Historical Research on Religion.” Transl. by Oliver Krüger / Graeme Currie. AЯGOS 2 (2) Special Issue Hardy 125, 37-54. DOI: 10.26034/fr.argos.2023.4429. Licence by AЯGOS and the translators. Visit https://www.journal-argos.org. The term “Science of Religion” [Religionswissenschaft] has been used in different ways by different authors. Some even avoid this expression altogether, claiming that only the designation “history of religion” [Religionsgeschichte] is valid. To the extent ...

Drawing on ethnography with police officers in the United States, this article explores the policing of Africana, Afro-Latinx, and diaspora religions. This article demonstrates how state secularism is involved in the simultaneous gendering and racializing of African diaspora religions as criminal and deviant. It illuminates the white-Christian Protestantism underlying the police state’s secularism. By exploring how police officers who secretly practice African diaspora religions see themselves as being “in the closet” to their departments, it demonstrates how white-Christianity and heteronor...

This Element introduces Afro-Brazilian religions and underscores the necessity for an expanded methodological framework to encompass these traditions in the philosophy of religion. It emphasizes the importance of incorporating overlooked sources like mythic narratives and ethnographies while acknowledging the pivotal role of material culture in cognitive processes. Furthermore, it advocates for adopting an embodiment paradigm to facilitate the development of a philosophy of religious practice. The Element illustrates this approach by examining phenomena often neglected in philosophical discuss...

Although seals are very mobile items and often reused, and although they can be regarded as mass media products given their large distribution in time, space, and different social classes, they are often used by scholars as a tool to map political, cultural, and religious borders. This contribution aims at reassessing the validity of using religious iconography on seals from the first-millennium BCE southern Levant for the study of ancient religion(s) from three aspects: that religion is thematized beyond ethnic borders; that religious motifs are studied beyond the quest of their origin; and t...

Contents: Introduction Nationalism and Ethnicity: Introduction From ethnicity to nationalism and back again Ethnicity in Eastern Europe Nineteenth-Century Manifestations: Introduction The problems of nationalism in Eastern Europe: past and present Government and minorities in Austria-Hungary - different policies with the same result Austria-Hungary and the Balkan crisis: an ingenious improvisation Interaction with Politics and Religion:Introduction Continuity and change in Eastern European authoritarianism:autocracy, fascism and communism Fascism in interwar Eastern Europe: the dichotomy of po...

Masyarakat digital lahir dari proses perkembangan teknologi informasi yang telah membentuk dunia baru atau komunitas baru yaitu antara dunia nyata dan dunia maya (cyber). Fenomena tersebut telah menggambarkan tentang beralihnya fungsi guru spiritual yang kini tergantikan dengan sosok virtual dan lahir istilah cyber Religion sebagai pengetahuan tentang agama yang disebarluaskan melalui media online atau dunia maya. Tulisan ini memaparkan fenomena cyber religion atau online yang meniscayakan jaringan internet sebagai medianya. Secara lebih jauh memaparkan imajinasi tentang tuhan dan spiritualita...

Based on a literature review, this paper addresses how political science and sociology incorporate religion in their theories and research. A particular focus is placed on how both sciences theorise the relationship between religion and politics. The paper argues that political science and sociology struggle with incorporating religion into their main theories, which reflect different views on religion’s importance and its overall role in contemporary societies. Some key concepts, such as ‘politicisation’ and ‘religionisation’, are also discussed. A brief overview of the scholarship of religio...

Contents: Preface The universities of the Renaissance and Reformation How to get a degree in fifteen days: Erasmus' doctorate of theology from the University of Turin Students of the schools and students of the university What Piero learned in school: 15th-century vernacular education Italian schools and university dreams during Mercurian's generalate The attempts of the Jesuits to enter Italian universities in the 16th and 17th centuries The Piarists of the pious schools Renaissance humanism, schools and universities Man is almost a God: Fra Battista Carioni between Renaissance and Catholic R...

Turkey and its recent ethno-religious transformation have had a strong impact on the state identity and country’s relation to the Balkan Peninsula. This book examines Turkey’s ethno-religious activism and power-related political strategies in the Balkans between 2002 and 2020, the period under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), to determine the scopes of its activities in the region. This study illuminates an often-neglected aspect of Turkey’s relations with its Balkan neighbours that emerged as a result of the much discussed ‘authoritarian turn’ – a broader shift in Turkish ...

Following Jonathan Z. Smith’s influential work, scholars in the academy have affirmed that religion (as a demarcated object) is a Western construct that did not exist prior to the European Enlightenment. This analysis argues that scholars have neglected data that refutes this conclusion. Perhaps informed by a Eurocentric bias, scholars have neglected premodern Muslim demarcations of religion or, in other instances, reduced the matter to a debate over how to translate the Arabic term dīn. This analysis remedies these errors and proceeds beyond the issue of translation. Rather, it emphasizes dat...

This article builds on Worldview – A Multidisciplinary Report (Benoit, Hutchings and Shillitoe, 2020), a publication commissioned by the RE Council of England and Wales to outline the academic history of the study of worldviews. We focus on three particularly significant questions for the future of Religious Education (RE) / Religion and Worldviews (R&W) arising from our report. First, what is the relationship between worldview and religion? Second, does worldview present a valuable approach to the study of non-religion? And third, can worldview be deployed effectively in the classroom? We con...

Migratory movements have thoroughly transformed the 'religious landscapes' of many European countries. This textbook provides systematic and applied knowledge on the interplay between religion and migration from a religious studies perspective. It offers conceptual frameworks of religious change in the diaspora and integration in the light of religious pluralisation. Specific thematic perspectives cover mosque building conflicts, interreligious dialogues, digitalisation and matters of religious literacy. The book targets students of religious studies and related subjects (e.g. ethnology, socio...

Thomas Aquinas emerges as a remarkable figure whose significant literary contributions have had a profound impact on our understanding of religion. Drawing inspiration from both the Greco-Roman philosophical and legal traditions, particularly the influential works of Cicero and the rich Christian tradition, notably Augustine, Aquinas presents a comprehensive and nuanced approach to the multifaceted concept of ‘religion’. While his analysis often situates ‘religion’ within the moral framework of justice, highlighting its inherent concern with the relationship between humanity and the divine, Aq...

The present study analyzes the role of religion reporting with the journalistic field. Personnel cuts within newsrooms and the development of “religion reporters” operating from religious institutions necessitate a re-exploration of the changing field. At stake is the coverage of religion, a topic particularly pertinent to residents in the United States, nearly 77% of which identify as religious to some degree. Simultaneously, the majority of the United States tends to think journalists cover religion poorly. Through the lens of field theory, this study analyzes 20 interviews with U.S.-based r...