The study of religion(s) in Western Europe (I): Prehistory and history until World War II

This essay discusses main features and developments of the study of religion(s) in Western Europe. It attempts a historical, geographical, and thematic synthesis. Part I sketches the general academic framework of the academic study of religion(s) in Western Europe and addresses the question of the (historical and conceptual) roots of this field of study. It then discusses some key dimensions of the academic institutionalization of the study of religion(s) from the 1870s to Fascism and National Socialism, addressing such issues as chairs, congresses, periodicals, textbooks and reviewing previous research. Parts II and III are to follow.     

The study of religion(s) in Western Europe (II): Institutional developments after World War II

This essay discusses main features and developments of the study of religion(s) in Western Europe. It attempts a historical, geographical, and thematic synthesis. Part II sketches institutional developments after World War II in several countries and the emergence of professional associations (international as well as national). In the post World War II growth of the field, social-scientific approaches to the study of religion(s) became increasingly prominent. The article sketches the institutional developments and main scholarly concerns of the psychology, sociology, and anthropology of religions respectively. It then moves on to consider the Eranos conferences as a specific forum for scholarship. The final sections discuss religious changes in Western Europe and their reflections in the study of religion(s).     

The study of religion(s) in Western Europe III: Further developments after World War II

This essay discusses main features and developments of the study of religion(s) in Western Europe. It attempts a historical, geographical, and thematic synthesis. Part III outlines post-World War II developments with regard to journals, textbooks, and survey works. It looks at national figureheads, disciplinary boundaries and the changing fortunes of the phenomenology of religion. The series concludes by addressing selected key areas of scholarly work and current issues and concerns.     

Religions in Europe

The breakdown of European society is changing rapidly, particularly in the field of religion. Culture is of vital importance to the presence of religion in all nations. Religions also have exerted a certain degree of political power, thus influencing the economy and other related spheres of life.The different religions in Europe exhibit a variety of attitudes towards religious pluralism. The religious differences between Western and Eastern Europe depend mainly on issues of national identity related to religious adherence.This essay provides an overview of religion and politics, or Church and state, in Europe. It will conclude with some reflections about possible future developments within religious traditions in Europe. New religious communities and religious organisations are reaching different parts of Europe, sometimes very far from their place of origin. Christianity (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism) is the most widespread religion in contemporary Europe. Catholic religion is well diffused in Europe, but there are substantial differences in belief, behaviour and practice within different Catholic communities. There are various branches of Orthodoxy in Europe, such as the distinct autocephalous churches. In general Orthodox religion is closely aligned with national culture. Islam is also present in Western countries, and its impact is evident.     

National identity and ethno-religious identity: A critical inquiry into Chinese religious policy,with reference to the Uighurs in Xinjiang

Abstract

On the basis of data from the survey of religion and values in Central and Eastern Europe Aufbruch – 2007 this article questions the applicability of the basic theoretical propositions about the relations between religion and modernity, such as theory of secularisation (classically understood) and rational choice theory, and the thesis about the vicarious nature of religion, to the religious situation in the traditionally Orthodox part of Eastern Europe (Romania, Moldova, Serbia, Bulgaria, Belarus' and Ukraine). Following Shmuel Eisenstadt's concept of multiple modernities and Grace Davie's thesis of the secular character of Western European societies, it explores the possibility of viewing the religious modernity/modernities in the postcommunist traditionally Orthodox area of Eastern Europe as an alternative to the (secular) modernity of Western Europe, and the region itself as an ‘other-worldly’ Europe. After an overview of the specific features of Orthodox Christianity enabling this traditional religion to respond successfully to the demands of modern society, the article turns to the survey data covering a range of standard and also less frequently researched aspects of religiosity. The analysis concludes with a summary of the challenges that Orthodox Europe presents to the basic theoretical propositions about religion and modernity and stresses the important role that religion (and traditional churches) play in the social and political life of this region – a role that should not be ignored.     

Religions and social capital. Theses on religion(s), state(s), and society(ies): With particular reference to the United Kingdom and the European Union

The article explores aspects of the relationship between social capital and religious organizations with particular reference to the United Kingdom and the European Union. It draws on guidance from the Local Government Association, a recent report on the interface between government and faith communities from the Faith Communities Unit of the Home Office, and the results of research for the Council of Europe. All this is explored through reference to seven theses on the relationships between religion(s), state(s), and societ(ies) and by using some of the thinking of Marc Luyckx (1994) on the position of religion in post-industrial and postmodern societies.     

‘Second generation’ Sikh autobiographies and authobiographical novels in European languages: Turning towards and away from traditions

ABSTRACT

The article analyzes autobiographies and autobiographical novels by Sikh authors who were born and grew up in Europe and North America as sources for understanding developments of Sikh religion. It uses the concepts panjabiat (Punjabi-ness), Sikh religion and modernity/Western society to understand the tensions and conflicts described in these books. The authors had to work out the differences between panjabiat, Sikh religion and modernity/Western society. They had to figure out what place the Sikh religion should have in their new identity and for this they were looking for similarities between the Sikh religion and Western society. In the autobiographies Sikh religion emerges as an ideology employed to criticize Punjabi culture and society and Sikh religion is reinterpreted and often comes to refer to some general principles that are compatible and supportive of Western modernity.     

The Application of Western Comparative Religious and Linguistic Approaches to the Qur'¯n in Turkey

In this study, in order to describe fully the impact of Western scholarship, we first explore the Western-oriented study of religion in Turkey. Secondly, by making special reference to the treatment of the foreign vocabulary of the Qur'¯n by Turkish intellectuals, we investigate the extent of Western influence in the first half of the twentieth century. Thirdly, considering an institutional attempt to understand Western academia, we discuss Zeki Velidi Togan and the Institute of Islamic Studies (established in 1953). Fourthly, we examine the relationship between Western-oriented studies of religion and the classical study of Islam in Turkey, explaining the polemical nature of these studies in Turkish academic circles. The Turkish treatment of the Bible and the Turkish evaluation of the Western treatment of the Qur'¯n will provide case studies. The last part of the work discusses recent developments in Turkish scholarship dealing with the application of modern critical and linguistic methods to the Qur'¯n.     

On Rooting Religious Studies: The Metaphysical Proposal of René Guénon

The present article problematizes current dominating approaches to method and theory in the study of religion by pointing to their inapplicability to theorists working outside secular worldviews. The first section of this article introduces decolonialist narratives by touching on important topics which are subsumed within larger discussions, such as secularism, positionality, and others. This is done by putting René Guénon (1886–1951) in conversation with other theorists, the foremost of whom is Bruce Lincoln. Section two introduces Guénon using Wael Hallaq's categorisation of him as a subversive author, and sections three and four elaborate on his subversion through touching on two key theories. The first relates to problematizations of the term ‘religion’ itself along with a treatment of Guénon's actual theory of religion. The second is Guénon's metaphysical method, which, contrasted against the historical, opens new avenues for our study of the past in manners unrestricted to materialism alone, expanding thereby the academic frameworks with which we come to the table in the academic study of religion.     

Secular Religion: A Discourse–historical Approach to Religion in Contemporary Western Europe

In many countries in Western Europe today, religion is an important factor in public debates. Contrary to most expectations, religion has not vanished or even become subordinate under the influence of secularism. While this phenomenon has put the general theory of secularization under pressure, an alternative model for explaining the place of religion in Western Europe is only slowly taking shape. The present article is a contribution to this discussion. Making use of discourse analysis as it has been developed in the sociology of knowledge and in historiography, the article problematizes and transcends the secular–religious divide. It is argued that the entanglement of religious and secular discourses has produced new meanings and new realities since the rise of secularism in the eighteenth century. Four perspectives on the reconfiguration of the religious fields of discourse are introduced that have shaped contemporary religious landscapes in Western Europe. These perspectives are discussed with special attention to the situation in the Netherlands.     

The study of American religion: looming through the glim

The study of American religion has been expanding to include new perspectives, previously neglected characters, and new geographic insights, driven by critical reflection on the assumptions and ideologies that historically have shaped the field, such as its focus on institutions, doctrines, and texts, its nationalistic westward-expansion historical narrative, and its Protestant biases. The past two decades have seen illuminating work emerge on race and gender, popular culture, class, and the marketplace. But we need to push beyond filling in gaps in the historical record to engage methodological and theoretical concerns in the academic study of religion. Exploring the development of theories of religion in the context of global networks of exchange shaped by 19^th-century seafarers is one example of how Tom Tweed's recent call in this journal for a geographic and temporal expansion of the study of religion in America might raise new questions and perspectives for the field.     

当代东方儒学兴起的背景——东方文化与东方哲学

儒学本是东方的一种古老的学术文化 ,其成为当代的话题并引起世人的关注 ,乃是 2 0世纪 80年代以后的事。 70年代东亚经济起飞 ,特别是 80年代以来东亚现代化的推进 ,显示出一种有别于欧洲的“集团主义人文类型”的现代化模式 ,不仅令西方经济界瞠目 ,而且使得许多西方人士意识到 :亚洲今天发生的种种革命性变革背后 ,有一个传承数千年的历史背景。今天 ,我们欲在世界历史进程中追寻儒学变化的踪迹 ,必须具备东西方文化对比的大视野。应该说 ,东方文化与东方哲学 ,即是我们了解东方儒学的大背景。     

American Psychology of Religion and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

It is doubtful whether there ever has been a rise‐fall‐rebirth of the psychology of religion. While the claim has marginal merit for American academic psychology, it has little application in other cultures or even within American psychology of religion outside mainstream psychology. The psychology of religion has always been and remains tied to key individuals who sustain the field. This historical fact is important in understanding the role of the JSSR in the field. Early psychologists of religion such as Hall and James set the pattern for two distinctively different approaches to the psychology of religion. Hall's approach was methodologically restrictive, inherently reductive, and came to dominate the academic psychology of religion. James ‘approach was methodological plural, receptive to the evidential force of religious experience, and quickly marginalized within American psychology. These opposing orientation continue to influence the psychology of religion in societies such as the SSR and its journal. A review of the psychologist editors of JSSR illustrates that the psychology of religion remains a marginal interest of mainstream psychology. It survives because of the interdisciplinary nature of the SSSR and its journal.     

HIGH SCIENCE AND NATURAL SCIENCES: GREEK THEOLOGIANS AND THE SCIENCE AND RELIGION INTERACTIONS (1832–1910)

What was science for the Orthodox Greek theologian of the nineteenth century? How did it feature in his (theologians were all men at the time) own work? This article is an attempt to describe the science and religion interactions by placing Greek Orthodox theologians of the nineteenth century in the center of the historical narrative, rather than treat them as occasional deuteragonists in the scientists’ historiography. The picture that emerges is far more complicated than one of antagonism, indifference, conflict, or coexistence. Greek theologians saw themselves as scientists and treated theology as a positive, rational science. They developed strategies to delineate their disciplinary borders and safeguard their identity as expert scholars by harnessing their university and academic credentials. For that reason, they had to invoke famous German and other Western theologians, while ensuring that they were seen as true defenders of Orthodox Christianity. The idea of science was an integral part of this achievement.     

Exploring the meso-levels of religious mappings: European religion in regional, urban, and local contexts

This is an introductory essay to a special issue on Local and Regional Perspectives on Religion in Western Europe. The introduction seeks to contextualize this special issue in the study of religion in Europe. Based on the articles of the special issue, the article introduces two meso-levels of investigation: regional and local studies, bridging the gap between the national level (the hitherto preferred level of aggregation) and the study of single groups.     

Social and Ideological roots of “science and religion”: A social-historical exploration of a Recent phenomenon

Abstract

Since the 1960s, there is a growing interest in interactions between religion and science. This article is an exploration of the roots of the contemporary field of “Science and Religion” (S&;R), by investigating some social and historical connections between the emergence of S&;R and modernizing trends in Western society. This article deals with three questions: (1) Is the emergence of the field of S&;R the response to a conflict between religion and science? (2) Is S&;R related to the process of modernization in Western society? (3) Whence the specific American interest in S&;R?     

A SCIENTIFIC BUDDHISM?

This essay endorses the argument of Donald Lopez's Buddhism and Science and shows how the general thesis of the book is consonant with other historical work on the “discovery” of Buddhism and on the emergence of Western conceptions of religion. It asks whether one of the key claims of Buddhism and Science—that Buddhism pays a price for its flirtation with the modern sciences—might be applicable to science‐and‐religion discussions more generally.     

Islam in the academic sphere in senegal: the case of Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (UCAD)

This paper discusses the changing socio-cultural landscape at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), Senegal. It shows how the growing influence of the religious phenomenon since the late 1970s has encouraged young students to develop an Islamic activism that tends to replace the revolutionary and secular traditions that had dominated the space since the founding of this Senegalese university in 1957. These transformations, which take the form of a “decomplexification” of religion and of a communitarisation of the academic sphere, are also a reflection of the ongoing transformations in Senegalese society marked by a citizenship in transition. This transition translates itself into a duality between a “national citizenship,” with a francophone and secular character, and a “cultural citizenship,” inspired by Islam and initially driven by an Arab-Islamic elite as it negotiates its place in the public and administrative spheres that have historically been dominated by francophone elites.     

Teaching the Devout Student: Faith and Scholarship in the Classroom

Increasing numbers of college students enrolling in religion courses in recent years are looking to develop their religious faith or spirituality, while professors of religion want students to use and appreciate scholarly tools to study religion from an academic perspective. Some scholars argue that it is not possible to satisfy both goals in the classroom, while authors in this journal have given suggestions on how to bridge the gap between faith and scholarship. I argue that such authors are correct and that, in my experience, historical‐critical methods can help devout students understand the original texts in their own religion better, comprehend why changes in interpretation have occurred over time, and appreciate the values in religions other than their own. Not all devout students are comfortable with an academic study of religion, but many can attain a more mature faith by such an approach.