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Theory of Religion and Historical Research. a Critical Realist Perspective on the Study of Religion As an Empirical Discipline

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Theory of Religion and Historical Research. a Critical Realist Perspective on the Study of Religion As an Empirical Discipline ZfR 2020; 28(2): 207–236 Hubert Seiwert* Theory of Religion and Historical Research. A Critical Realist Perspective on the Study of Religion as an Empirical Discipline https://doi.org/10.1515/zfr-2020-0001 Abstract: The article discusses the connection between theory formation and his- torical research in the study of religion. It presupposes that the study of religion is conceived of as an empirical discipline. The empirical basis of theories is provided primarily by historical research, including research in the very recent past, that is, the present time. Research in the history of religions, therefore, is an indispensable part of the study of religion. However, in recent discussions on the methods, aims, and theoretical presuppositions of the discipline, research in the history of reli- gions largely is ignored. To shed some light on this blind spot, the article builds on the philosophy of science of Critical Realism. While the first part deals with the role of historical research in theoretical discourses of the discipline, the second part explains fundamental ontological and epistemological positions of Critical Rea- lism and their implications for empirical research. On this basis, some methodolo- gical problems of theory formation in the study of religion are discussed in the third part. In particular, it is argued that it is impossible to validate empirically theories of religion that aim to explain what religion is. The concluding part sketches ways of theory formation in the study of religion that does not take reli- gion as the explanandum but as the theoretical perspective that guides research. Keywords: Methodology, Critical Realism, History of Religions, Theory of Religion Zusammenfassung: Der Artikel behandelt den Zusammenhang von Theoriebil- dung und historischer Forschung in der Religionswissenschaft. Dabei wird davon ausgegangen, dass Religionswissenschaft als empirische Wissenschaft verstan- den wird. Die empirische Basis religionswissenschaftlicher Theorien wird in erster Linie durch historische Forschung geliefert, einschließlich der Erforschung der als Gegenwart verstandenen jüngsten Vergangenheit. Obwohl religionsgeschich- tliche Forschung damit ein unverzichtbarer Teil der Religionswissenschaft ist, wird sie in neueren Diskussionen über Methoden, Ziele und theoretische Voraus- *Corresponding author: Dr. Hubert Seiwert, Universität Leipzig, Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe “Multiple Secularities – Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities”, Nikolaistraße 8-10, 04109 Leipzig, E-Mail: [email protected] 208 Hubert Seiwert setzungen der Disziplin weitgehend ignoriert. Der Artikel unternimmt es, diesen blinden Fleck zu beleuchten und stützt sich dabei auf die Wissenschaftstheorie des Kritischen Realismus. Im ersten Teil wird auf die Bedeutung historischer For- schung innerhalb der Religionswissenschaft eingegangen, danach werden im zweiten Teil grundlegende ontologische und epistemologische Positionen des Kri- tischen Realismus und ihre Implikationen für empirische Forschung erläutert. Auf dieser Basis werden im dritten Teil einige methodische Probleme religions- wissenschaftlicher Theoriebildung diskutiert. Es wird unter anderem argumen- tiert, dass es unmöglich ist, eine Religionstheorie empirisch zu begründen, deren Ziel es ist, zu erklären, was Religion ist. Im abschließenden Teil werden Möglich- keiten religionswissenschaftlicher Theoriebildung aufgezeigt, die Religion nicht als Explanandum, sondern als erkenntnisleitende theoretische Perspektive be- greift. Schlagwörter: Religionstheorie, Religionsgeschichte, Kritischer Realismus, Meth- odologie Historical research is a blind spot in more recent discussions on method and the- ory in the study of religion. In this article, I contend that the history of religions is an indispensable element of the discipline and that theory formation in the study of religion is not possible without reference to historical research. The argument rests on the assumption that the study of religion is an empirical discipline. In the first part, the empirical character of historical research and its contribution to theoretical issues in the study of religion are discussed. The second part explains ontological and epistemological presuppositions of empirical research against the backdrop of the philosophy of science of Critical Realism. The third part fo- cuses on the mutual relationship between historical research and theories in the study of religion. It is concluded that the aim of theories is not to explain what religion is but to explain social realities. 1 Historical Research in the Study of Religion To avoid any misunderstandings, I should highlight at the outset that I am using the terms “historical research (in the study of religion)” and “history of religions” as equivalents. Thus, by “history of religions” I do not mean “History of Reli- gions” as a particular theoretical approach in religious studies related to Mircea Eliade’s understanding of the discipline. The term “history of religions” here sim- ply refers to historical research focusing on religions. This need not be research on the remote past but applies as well to the recent past, that is, the present age. Theory of Religion and Historical Research 209 Hans Kippenberg (1997) has reconstructed in detail the emergence of the his- tory of religions and its intimate relationship with theories of religion and philo- sophy of history. As he argues, historical research and historiography always are interpretations of the past in the context of present experiences and, therefore, cannot be separated from theoretical thinking. In the formative phase of the study of religion as an academic discipline, theories of religion, as a rule, relied on his- torical research, and the history of religions therefore became the backbone of the discipline. This is reflected in its name, which in most countries was “history of religions” (histoire des religions, storia delle religioni, Religionsgeschichte), a name that is retained to this day by the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR). While in German-speaking academia the alternative name Reli- gionswissenschaft has long been established (Hardy 1898), the anglophone world nowadays is undecided about what to call the discipline, oscillating between “re- ligious studies” and “study of religion”.1 Although historical research continues to represent a significant part of the work done in the study of religion, it is no longer considered the core of the discipline. Instead, the critical reflection on cen- tral concepts, methods, and theoretical approaches moved to the centre. Accord- ingly, newer handbooks and introductions to the discipline mostly pay little, if any, attention to the history of religions and historical research (Kippenberg 2000; Rüpke 2011; Uehlinger 2006, 379 f.). As early as 2000, Kippenberg therefore diagnosed a “vanishing of ‘history’ in religious studies” (2000, 221). 1.1 Separation of Historical Research and Theoretical Discourses in the Study of Religion Ironically, the negligence of the history of religions in theoretical discussions on the aims, methods, and competences of the study of religion is paralleled by a significant increase in historical research. Historical knowledge about religions in such areas as China, Japan, South Asia, or the Middle East is much more detailed 1 In one of the earliest publications advocating a methodologically more reflexive understanding of the discipline then usually called “history of religions”, Penner and Yonan remarked that this designation was too narrow a translation of Religionswissenschaft and proposed the name “science of religion” (1972, 107, note 1), which had been introduced by Friedrich Max Müller (1882). Although in English-speaking academia “science of religion” is rarely used nowadays (there are, however, some cases, e. g. Honko 1979), I understand the study of religion as being no less “scientific” than, for instance, the social sciences, political science, or the cognitive science of religion. However, I here follow the linguistic conventions in the anglophone world. Nevertheless, in my view, metho- dological reflection in the study of religion cannot ignore discussions in the philosophy of science (there is no “philosophy of studies”), and the discipline, in this sense, is a scientific enterprise. 210 Hubert Seiwert and comprehensive today than it was in the days the discipline went under the name “history of religions”. Furthermore, most historians of religion have turned away from mainly studying religious texts and pay more attention to the entangle- ment of religious beliefs, practices, and institutions with other aspects of culture and society. Research in the history of religions, therefore, demands training and competence in the history of particular areas. Historians, in many cases, stand aloof from discussions centring around the concept of religion and its Western genealogy or explaining religion by cognitive algorithms without paying atten- tion to the full range of things studied in the history of religions. Conversely, the- oretical discourses in the study of religion largely ignore historical studies and fail to relate theory formation to historical research. Theoretical debates leave historians of religion in a somewhat uneasy posi- tion because what the latter do is often considered by theorists a somewhat naïve undertaking, which is criticised from various angles. From one side, historical studies are accused of being an unorganised compilation of data that resembles
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