DOCSLIB.ORG

BAJS 2015 Conference Booklet

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
BAJS 2015 Conference Booklet The British Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference 2015 Atheism, Scepticism and Challenges to Monotheism The Ethica of Spinoza © 2007 Shoshannah Brombacher, PhD. [email protected] PhD. Ethica ofThe Spinoza © 2007 Shoshannah Brombacher, 5-7 July 2015 The University of Manchester In cooperation with the Centre for Jewish Studies and the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at The University of Manchester, and the Institut für Jüdische Philosophie und Religion, Universität Hamburg www.britishjewishstudies.org ! BAJS Conference 2015 Atheism, Scepticism, and Challenges to Monotheism 5-7 July 2015, Manchester Meeting Place (formally Staff House), The University of Manchester ! SUNDAY 5 JULY 4.00-6.30pm Registration at The Pendulum Hotel (note: daily registration will also take place at the main conference venue, Manchester Meeting Place, from 8.30am) 5.00-6.30pm Rylands Library Judaica collection presentation with Peter Pormann (Director, John Rylands Research Institute) and Renate Smithuis (Lecturer in Medieval Jewish Studies), and Journal of Semitic Studies reception with George Brooke (co-editor of JSS) (optional) 6.30pm Dinner at Eastzeast restaurant (optional) MONDAY 6 JULY Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 9.00am, A. Bible, Ancient, Classical C. Modern and Contemporary D. Philosophy and Theology session 1 Chair: George Brooke Chair: Nathan Abrams Chair: Philip Alexander Satire, Monotheism, and Skepticism. Joshua L. Challenges to monotheism in a post-secular age: Idoloclasm: The First Task of Second Wave Jewish Moss, American Hebrew Academy, USA an analysis of religious-identity narratives of Feminist Theology. Melissa Raphael, University of Orthodox and previously Orthodox Israelis. Ari Gloucestershire What Shall We Do with Devout Idolaters? Engelberg, Hebrew University, Israel Jeremiah 44 Reconsidered. Ruth Fidler, The Textualism and Skepticism Post-modern University of Haifa, Israel When Rabbis Lose Faith: Twelve rabbis tell their Philosophy and the Theology of Text. Federico Dal stories about their loss of belief in God. Paul Bo, Berlin Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Germany Shrell-Fox, The Schechter Institute for Jewish 1! ! ! Studies, Israel Joseph Krauskopf’s Evolution and Judaism: One Reform Rabbi’s Response to Scepticism and Rejecting the Path but Grappling with the God: Materialism in 19th Century North America. Daniel The Resistance to Atheism in Women’s “Off-the- Langton, University of Manchester Derech” Memoirs. Karen E.H. Skinazi, University of Birmingham 10.30am, coffee break in The Hub 11.00am, A. Bible, Ancient, Classical F. Jewish Studies: Communicating knowledge D. Philosophy and Theology session 2 Chair: Charlotte Hempel Chair: Simon Mayers Chair: Alex Samely Atheism in Jewish antiquity. Sarah Pearce, Irish newspapers, journals and other popular From Monotheism to Scepticism. Kenneth Seeskin, University of Southampton press’ opinions on the 1948 Palestine War. Northwestern University, USA Stephen Oliver Murray, Trinity College Dublin, Sun and Angels Worship in eastern Jewish Ireland The Attenuation of God in Modern Jewish Communities of the Roman Empire: from Thought. Norman Solomon, Oxford Centre for Monotheism to Henotheism? Maureen Attali, The Common English Bible (2011) and the Limits Hebrew and Jewish Studies Paris IV, La Sorbonne University, France of Modern Bible Translation. Jonathan G. Campbell, University of Bristol Jewish Scepticism: The Status Quaestionis. Giuseppe Veltri, Hamburg University, Germany The Judaica Project: For a Laboratory Ethics (Dance). Ben Spatz, University of Huddersfield 12.30, lunch in The Mumford Restaurant 1.30pm, B. Medieval and Early Modern C. Modern and Contemporary E. Literature and Film session 3 Chair: Giuseppe Veltri Chair: Zuleika Rodgers Chair: Melissa Raphael "I command you, Do not engage yourself with Ritual, spirituality and secularization. Kate “Why the Geese Shrieked” - Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Logic": Reevaluation of Rabbi Hayya Gaon's Miriam Loewenthal, Royal Holloway, University Work between Mysticism and Scepticism. Khayke attitude toward Greek philosophy. Zvi of London Beruriah Wiegand, Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Stampfer, University of Cambridge Jewish Studies 2! ! ! Beit Shirah: Atheists and song in the "Too Grand a Scene to be Denied" - Jacob contemporary progressive Jewish synagogue Atheism and Skepticism in the Poetry of Paul Anatoli (c. 1194-1256) on Truth, Doubt and services. Barbara Borts, Rabbi of Darlington Celan. Dorit Lemberger, Bar-Ilan University, Israel Certainty in his Sermon on the Ten Hebrew Congregation Commandments. Renate Smithuis, University Stanley Kubrick's 'agnostic prayer': 2001: A Space of Manchester Odyssey. Nathan Abrams, Bangor University Doubting Abraham doubting God - The Call of Abraham in the Or ha-Sekhel. Benjamin Williams, JRRI, University of Manchester 3.00pm, coffee break in The Hub 3.30pm, Plenary session: Keynote Lecture by David Ruderman: Plenary room 4/5 (chair: Daniel Langton) 5.15pm, AGM: Plenary room 4/5 6.30pm, Conference dinner in The Mumford Restaurant (optional) TUESDAY 7 JULY Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 9.00am, B. Medieval and Early Modern D. Philosophy and Theology F. Jewish Studies: Panel on Antisemitism and the session 4 Chair: Renate Smithuis Chair: Kenneth Seeskin Constitution of Sociology. Chair: James Renton The Jews and their Doubts. Anti-Jewish Spinoza, Jewish Studies, and the Theology of Zygmunt Bauman, Postmodern Sociology, and the Polemics and Christian Apologetics in the Reading. Alex Samely, University of Manchester Ambivalence of Anti-Semitism. Jonathan Judaken, Fascicolo delle vanità giudaiche (1583) by Rhodes College, USA 3! ! ! Antonino Stabili. Martina Mampieri, University The Anti-Christ and the Anti-Moses: Nietzsche, of “Roma Tre”, Italy Spinoza and the Possibility of Sacrilegious Émile Durkheim’s Sociology and French Beatitude. Jeremy Fogel, Tel Aviv University, Antisemitism. Chad Alan Goldberg, University of Metatron Revisited: Binitarian Overtones in the Israel Wisconsin, USA Kabbalah of Nathan Neta Shapira of Krakow. Agata Paluch, The British Library Kaplan and Wittgenstein: atheism, Why the positivist attempt to save modernity from phenomenology and the use of language. Michael itself can mean bad news for the Jews. Marcel Scepticism and Politics in Simone Luzzatto’s T. Miller, University of Nottingham Stoetzler, Bangor University Discourse on the State of the Jews (Venice, 1638). Anna Lissa, University of Hamburg, Germany 10.30am, coffee break in The Hub 11.00am, B. Medieval and Early Modern Postgraduate masterclass with David Ruderman F. Jewish Studies: Jewish Law session 5 Chair: Ben Williams Chair: Daniel Langton Chair: Bernard Jackson Shim'i the Skeptical: Skeptical attitudes in early Breaking the Commandments of God for the Sake modern Jewish Anti-Christian polemical of Our Tradition: The Rabbinic ‘Supremacy Clause’ writings. Karoly Daniel Dobos, Pazmany Peter in Historical Perspective. Holger Zellentin, Catholic University, Hungary University of Nottingham The “If” of doubt, the “Maybe”: On some The Golden Rule(s) of Love: the Two or the One? expressions of epistemic uncertainty in Hebrew Alex Tal, University of Haifa, Israel poetry of the Baroque era. Yehoshua Granat, Hebrew University, Israel Challenges to Jewish Law in Times of Transition: Rethinking Parenthood Concepts. Avishalom Polytheism, syncretism and Judaism of the Jews Westreich, College of Law and Business, Ramat at Elephantine: Ashim and Kherem Betel as Gan, Israel secondary deities. Eulàlia Vernet, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain 12.30pm, lunch in the Mumford Restaurant 4! ! ! 1.30pm, C. Modern and Contemporary D. Philosophy and Theology F. Jewish Studies: Interfaith session 6 Chair: Holger Zellentin Chair: Maria Cioata Chair: Helen Spurling Unveiling the Christianity of European Is Apophatic Theology the same as Atheism? An Representations of Jews and Judaism in the Works Secularism; or, is a Jewish Secularism Possible? Answer from Judaism. Philip Alexander, of the Methodist theologian Adam Clarke (1762- Lucien Wolf, Sylvain Lévi and Leon Trotsky. University of Manchester 1832). Simon Mayers, University of Manchester James Renton, Edge Hill University Gershom Scholem: Scholar between Atheism and A comparison of recent Jewish critiques of the state "This is the time, not for psalms, but for arms". Secularism. Rosa Reicher, University of of Israel and Christian anti-Jewish polemic and its Atheism, messianism, and revolution in the Heidelberg, Germany implications for Jewish identity. William Evans, Pale. Piotr Laskowski, University of Warsaw, University of Birmingham Poland Secular theology as a challenge for Jewish Atheists. Avner Dinur, Sapir College, Israel Global conflict, local peace? Jewish-Muslim relations in the UK. Yulia Egorova, Durham University 3.00pm, coffee break in The Hub 3.30pm, C. Modern and Contemporary E. Literature and Film D. Philosophy, Theology, and Law session 7 Chair: Marcel Stoetzler Chair: Marton Ribary Chair: Jan Lorenz Yom Kippur in modern Israeli ‘Religious Agnosticism’: Judah L. Magnes between :ועל דעת הקהל :Philosophy, Science, Secularism and Hasidism the Tzemah Tzedek’s Sefer HaHakirah and its Hebrew literature . Tamar S. Drukker, SOAS Bertrand Russell and William James. David Barak- later echoes in Habad. Naftali Loewenthal, Gorodetsky, University of Haifa, Israel University College London Judaism and Atheism in the work of the Czech 20th century novelist Ivan Olbracht. Martin The Desirable Lenient Policy Concerning Reflections of an Atheist Jew. Leonard Mars, Borýsek,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • More Visible but Limited in Its Popularity Atheism (And Atheists) in Finland
    TEEMU TAIRA More visible but limited in its popularity Atheism (and atheists) in Finland his paper argues that atheism has become more atheism has become more visible in the public sphere, visible in Finland, but it is a relatively unpopular especi ally in the media. Some suggestions will be of­ Tidentity position. The relatively low popularity of fered as to why this is the case. This will be done by atheism is partly explained by the connection between using different kinds of data, both quantitative (sur­ Lutheranism and Finnishness. In public discourse athe- veys) and qualitative (mainly media outputs). ism has been historically connected to communism This paper proceeds as follows. First, surveys and the Soviet Union (and, therefore, anti-Finnishness). about Finnish religiosity and atheism will be exam­ However, atheism has slowly changed from being the ined in order to chart the modes and locations of other of Finnishness to one alternative identity among Finnish non­religiosity. This section is based on a many, although it has not become extremely popular. fairly detailed exploration of surveys, including an Recently, with the rise of the so-called ‘New Atheism’, examination of the popularity of religious beliefs, re­ atheism has become more visible in Finnish society and ligious behaviour, membership and identification in this development has led to a polarised debate between Finland. It demonstrates that atheism is relatively un­ defenders and critics of religion. Despite being a study popular in Finland, despite the low level of religious on locality, the aim is to develop a methodological ap- activity. In order to examine why this is the case, pub­ proach that can be applied to other contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction Godless People, Doubt, and Atheism
    IntroductIon Godless People, Doubt, and Atheism Ruy Llera Blanes and Galina Oustinova-Stjepanovic Abstract: In the introduction to this special issue, we set the agenda for researching the aspirations and practices of godless people who seek to thin out religion in their daily lives. We reflect on why processes of disengagement from religion have not been adequately researched in anthropology. Locating this issue’s articles in the anthropological literature on doubt and atheism, we argue for the importance of a com- parative investigation to analyze people’s reluctance to pursue religion. Keywords: atheism, disbelief, disengagement from religion, doubt, god- less people, non-religion, unbelief Being Godless In the current climate of false prophecies of secularism and numerous theories of the resurgence of religions, it is rather unusual to study a way of disengag- ing from religion. A bulk of recent ethnographies tell stories about technologies of self and the adept cultivation of religious dispositions (Mahmood 2005), learning to discern God (Luhrmann 2007), and enacting divine presences in physical rituals, speech acts, dream visions, or materials (Engelke 2007). Ritu- als of presencing the transcendent, the divine, or the immaterial (e.g., Orsi 2005) and well-rehearsed arguments about the resilience of religious spiritu- alities in politics (Bubandt and van Beek 2012) seem to be the order of the day. Building on the growing interest in researching how people demarcate the boundaries of religion and what falls outside (Engelke 2012b, 2014), this special issue suggests that ‘being godless’ is an important empirical reality that encompasses processes, aspirations, and practices that purposefully or inad- vertently lead to the attenuation of one’s religious life.
    [Show full text]
  • Orthodox Mission Methods: a Comparative Study
    ORTHODOX MISSION METHODS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY by STEPHEN TROMP WYNN HAYES submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject of MISSIOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Promoter: Professor W.A. Saayman JUNE 1998 Page 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the University of South Africa, who awarded the Chancellor's Scholarship, which enabled me to travel to Russia, the USA and Kenya to do research. I would also like to thank the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, of St Augustine, Florida, for their financial help in attending the International Orthodox Christian Mission Conference at Holy Cross Seminary, Brookline, MA, in August 1996. To Fr Thomas Hopko, and the staff of St Vladimir's Seminary in New York, for allowing me to stay at the seminary and use the library facilities. The St Tikhon's Institute in Moscow, and its Rector, Fr Vladimir Vorobiev and the staff, for their help with visa applications, and for their patience in giving me information in interviews. To the Danilov Monastery, for their help with accom­ modation while I was in Moscow, and to Fr Anatoly Frolov and all the parishioners of St Tikhon's Church in Klin, for giving me an insight into Orthodox life and mission in a small town parish. To Metropolitan Makarios of Zimbabwe, and the staff and students of the Makarios III Orthodox Seminary at Riruta, Kenya, for their hospitality and their readiness to help me get the information I needed. To the Pokrov Foundation in Bulgaria, for their hospitality and help, and to the Monastery of St John the Forerunner in Karea, Athens, and many others in that city who helped me with my research in Greece.
    [Show full text]
  • Modernity, Science, and the Making of Religion
    Modernity, Science, and the Making of Religion: A Critical Analysis of a Modern Dichotomy by Rodney W. Tussing A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved November 2014 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Linell Cady, Chair Joel Gereboff Owen Anderson ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY December 2014 ABSTRACT This project examines and challenges the West’s generally accepted two category approach to the world’s belief systems. That is, it will deconstruct the religion / science ‘paradigm’ that has developed over the past two centuries. It will argue that the dichotomy between the two categories was created by modernity for the purpose of establishing an exclusive view believed to be based on knowledge. This exclusive view, philosophical naturalism (science), was set in opposition to all alternative views identified as religion. As the exclusive view, though constructed on a defective foundation of knowledge, philosophical naturalism, nonetheless, became the privileged interpreter and explainer of reality in the academy of the Western world. As a work in the area of epistemology and the philosophy of religion, this project will challenge philosophical naturalism’s claim to knowledge. The approach will be philosophical and historical critically assessing both modernity’s and postmodernity’s basis for knowledge. Without a rational basis for exclusive knowledge the popular dichotomy dissolves. The implications of this dissolution for ‘religious studies’ will be addressed by offering an alternative
    [Show full text]
  • Scientism, Humanism, and Religion: the New Atheism and the Rise of the Secular Movement
    SCIENTISM, HUMANISM, AND RELIGION: THE NEW ATHEISM AND THE RISE OF THE SECULAR MOVEMENT STEPHEN LEDREW A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIOLOGY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO DECEMBER 2013 © STEPHEN LEDREW, 2013 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the New Atheism as a secular fundamentalism that is both a utopian ideology and a social movement. It situates New Atheist thought within the context of the historical development of atheist thought and outlines the features of the ideology it promotes. It also examines the New Atheism’s role in the secular movement through research on major movement actions, campaigns, and debates on goals and strategies. It argues that the New Atheism comes into conflict with two other movement discourses: secular humanism and libertarian rationalism. These ideological conflicts are propelling the movement away from the New Atheism’s aggressive critique of religion toward more a more accommodating and inclusive approach that emphasizes basic humanistic values. ii DEDICATION For the love and support they have given me all my life, I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Paul and Daphne LeDrew. In the final months of writing, during the most difficult time, they gave me what no one else could: the comfort of home. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks are due first and foremost to my supervisor, Ratiba Hadj-Moussa. Her contribution to this dissertation as a scholarly mentor cannot be measured, but just as importantly, without her support and guidance through the difficult times that emerge during the course of completing a graduate degree, I never would have achieved this goal.
    [Show full text]
  • Studies in Mysticism and Mystical Experience in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia
    STUDIES IN MYSTICISM AND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE IN SOVIET AND POST-SOVIET RUSSIA TATIANA MALEVICH Russian Academy of Sciences Abstract. The paper highlights the key perspectives on mysticism typical for Soviet and Post-Soviet religious studies. Recognizing the vagueness of the ‘mystical’, Soviet scholars interpreted it as a belief in ‘communication’ with ‘supernatural powers’. Furthermore, ‘mysticism’ was thought of as a multicomponent entity composed of (1) mystical experiences, (2) mystical beliefs, and (3) ‘mysticism’ as a ‘false ideology’. Such an understanding resulted from their epistemological settings, i.e. the reflection theory of dialectical materialism. In this light, mystical experiences and beliefs were distorted ‘reflections’ of objective reality in the human mind caused by factors both of an individual and a social nature. This understanding still defines the academic interpretations of the ‘mystical’ in Russia today. Mysticism and related phenomena were far from being the centrepiece of religious studies in the Soviet Union. However, beginning in the late 1950s they became a matter of keen and persistent, though not universal, interest for scholars of religion in the Soviet Union,1 who developed an understanding of them as part of their Marxian approach to the study of religion. This understanding seems to continue to shape the interpretations of the ‘mystical’ in religious studies in Russia today.2 1 For an overview of the works directly or indirectly devoted to the study of mysticism and mystical experience published in the Soviet Union, see I. V. Devina’s article, ‘Mysticism and Religion’ (Devina 1989). 2 It should be noted that this article deals with general theoretical interpretations of mysticism and related phenomena elaborated in the Soviet Union, and with the influence of those interpretations on the contemporary understanding of mysticism and mystical experience in Russian religious studies, rather than with an analysis of particular trends within different mystical and religious traditions.
    [Show full text]
  • General Introduction
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-60367-6 - The Cambridge Companion to Atheism Edited by Michael Martin Excerpt More information General Introduction The purpose of this volume is to provide general readers and advanced students with an introduction to atheism: its history, present social con- text, legal implications, supporting arguments, implications for moral- ity, and relation to other perspectives. This general introduction will set the stage for the chapters that follow. atheism, agnosticism, and theism The concept of atheism was developed historically in the context of Western monotheistic religions, and it still has its clearest application in this area. Applied, for example, to premodern non-Western contexts, the concept may be misleading. Moreover, even in the modern Western context “atheism” has meant different things depending on changing conceptions of God. Nevertheless, it will be assumed in this volume that, if applied cautiously outside its clearest historical context, the con- cept of atheism can be illuminating for contemporary Western readers. If you look up “atheism” in a dictionary, you will find it defined as the belief that there is no God. Certainly, many people understand “atheism” in this way. Yet this is not what the term means if one con- siders it from the point of view of its Greek roots. In Greek “a” means “without” or “not,” and “theos” means “god.”1 From this standpoint, an atheist is someone without a belief in God; he or she need not be someone who believes that God does not exist.2 Still, there is a popular dictionary meaning of “atheism” according to which an atheist is not simply one who holds no belief in the existence of a God or gods but is one who believes that there is no God or gods.
    [Show full text]
  • Ideology and Atheism in the Soviet Union Religion and Society 28
    Ideology and Atheism in the Soviet Union Religion and Society 28 GENERAL EDITORS Leo Laeyendecker, University of Leiden Jacques Waardenburg, University of Lausanne MOUTON DE GRUYTER • BERLIN • NEW YORK 1989 Ideology and Atheism in the Soviet Union by William van den Bercken MOUTON DE GRUYTER • BERLIN • NEW YORK 1989 Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague) in a Division of Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin. The vignet on the cover this book represents the symbol of the Agathos Daimon, the snake of the Good Spirit, known from Greek astrological and magical texts. As its Town God, the Agathos Daimon was believed to protect Alexandria, which was famous world-wide for its library with precious manuscripts and books. Translated from the Dutch by H.Th.Wake Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Bercken, William Peter van den, 1946- Ideology and atheism in the Soviet Union. (Religion and society ; 28) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Atheism- Soviet Union. 2. Ideology. I. Title. II. Series: Religion and society (Hague, Netherlands); 28. BL2747.3.B47 1988 211'.8'0947 88-28526 ISBN 0-89925-384-9 (alk. paper) Deutsche Bibliothek Cataloging in Publication Data Bercken, William van den: Ideology and atheism in the Soviet Union / William van den Bercken. [Transi, by H.Th.Wake]. - Berlin ; New York : Amsterdam : Mouton de Gruyter, 1988 (Religion and society ; 28) ISBN 3-11-011406-2 NE: GT © Printed on acid free paper. © Copyright 1988 by Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages.No part of this book maybe reproduced in any form - by photoprint, microfilm or any other means - nor transmitted nor translated into a machine language without written permission from the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • Tim Crane, the Meaning of Belief: Religion from an Atheist's Point Of
    Tim Crane, The Meaning of Belief: Religion from an Atheist’s Point of View. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017. 224pp. $25.50 (hbk). Samuel Filby University of Missouri - St. Louis The English translation of Martin Heidegger’s 1920-21 lectures on St. Paul saw publication during one of the more fascinating recent movements within the so-called “continental” tradition of philosophy: the rediscovery and reinterpretation of the aforementioned apostle by atheist political theorists. Alain Badiou, for instance, has maintained that Paul is worth engaging for the procedural structure of his politics rather than the content of his theological assertions. Similarly, Simon Critchley has more recently argued for a reading of Paul’s “inward” faith, one that relies not on the “abstraction of a metaphysical belief in God” but instead for “lived subjective commitment to an infinite demand,” whatever that means.1 Regardless of what one thinks of these interpretations of Paul, that atheist continental philosophers are continually engaging with Christian thought in seemingly constructive ways is something the analytic tradition ought to admire and aspire towards. There has been little of such interaction between atheism and religion in the analytic tradition, perhaps due to that tradition’s emphasis on metaphysical and epistemological issues about God and the rationality of belief rather than about religion as a phenomenon of human life. Unfortunately, there is little room in such debates for atheists and agnostics interested in the non- metaphysical aspects of religion to offer serious philosophical reflection. Tim Crane’s newest book, The Meaning of Belief: Religion from an Atheist’s Point of View, offers a sketch of what an atheist, analytic engagement with religion might look like.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study on Religion
    A Study on Religion Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives. While theology attempts to understand the nature of transcendent or supernatural forces (such as deities), religious studies tries to study religious behavior and belief from outside any particular religious viewpoint. Religious studies draws upon multiple disciplines and their methodologies including anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history of religion. Religious studies originated in the nineteenth century, when scholarly and historical analysis of the Bible had flourished, and Hindu and Buddhist texts were first being translated into European languages. Early influential scholars included Friedrich Max Müller, in England, and Cornelius P. Tiele, in the Netherlands. Today religious studies is practiced by scholars worldwide. In its early years, it was known as Comparative Religion or the Science of Religion and, in the USA, there are those who today also know the field as the History of religion (associated with methodological traditions traced to the University of Chicago in general, and in particular Mircea Eliade, from the late 1950s through to the late 1980s). The field is known as Religionswissenschaft in Germany and Sciences de la religion in the French-speaking world. The term "religion" originated from the Latin noun "religio", that was nominalized from one of three verbs: "relegere" (to turn to constantly/observe conscientiously); "religare" (to bind oneself [back]); and "reeligare" (to choose again).[1] Because of these three different meanings, an etymological analysis alone does not resolve the ambiguity of defining religion, since each verb points to a different understanding of what religion is.[2] During the Medieval Period, the term "religious" was used as a noun to describe someone who had joined a monastic order (a "religious").
    [Show full text]
  • Living Without God: Female Atheists and Stigma Management in the South of the United States
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Sociology Sociology 2015 LIVING WITHOUT GOD: FEMALE ATHEISTS AND STIGMA MANAGEMENT IN THE SOUTH OF THE UNITED STATES Jamie L. Pond University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Pond, Jamie L., "LIVING WITHOUT GOD: FEMALE ATHEISTS AND STIGMA MANAGEMENT IN THE SOUTH OF THE UNITED STATES" (2015). Theses and Dissertations--Sociology. 25. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/sociology_etds/25 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Sociology by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies.
    [Show full text]
  • Religious Skepticism, Atheism, Humanism, Naturalism, Secularism, Rationalism, Irreligion, Agnosticism, and Related Perspectives)
    Unbelief (Religious Skepticism, Atheism, Humanism, Naturalism, Secularism, Rationalism, Irreligion, Agnosticism, and Related Perspectives) A Historical Bibliography Compiled by J. Gordon Melton ~ San Diego ~ San Diego State University ~ 2011 This bibliography presents primary and secondary sources in the history of unbelief in Western Europe and the United States, from the Enlightenment to the present. It is a living document which will grow and develop as more sources are located. If you see errors, or notice that important items are missing, please notify the author, Dr. J. Gordon Melton at [email protected]. Please credit San Diego State University, Department of Religious Studies in publications. Copyright San Diego State University. ****************************************************************************** Table of Contents Introduction General Sources European Beginnings A. The Sixteenth-Century Challenges to Trinitarianism a. Michael Servetus b. Socinianism and the Polish Brethren B. The Unitarian Tradition a. Ferenc (Francis) David C. The Enlightenment and Rise of Deism in Modern Europe France A. French Enlightenment a. Pierre Bayle (1647-1706) b. Jean Meslier (1664-1729) c. Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (1723-1789) d. Voltaire (Francois-Marie d'Arouet) (1694-1778) e. Jacques-André Naigeon (1738-1810) f. Denis Diderot (1713-1784) g. Marquis de Montesquieu (1689-1755) h. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) B. France and Unbelief in the Nineteenth Century a. August Comte (1798-1857) and the Religion of Positivism C. France and Unbelief in the Twentieth Century a. French Existentialism b. Albert Camus (1913 -1960) c. Franz Kafka (1883-1924) United Kingdom A. Deist Beginnings, Flowering, and Beyond a. Edward Herbert, Baron of Cherbury (1583-1648) b.
    [Show full text]