This document outlines different academic approaches to studying religion, including theology, literary criticism, history of religion, anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and phenomenology. Each discipline studies religion through a specific lens, such as theology examining religious teachings, history exploring religious origins and influences, and phenomenology solely describing religious phenomena without interpretation. The document discusses how an insider or committed believer may understand religion differently than an outsider observer and emphasizes that the academic study of religion provides complementary perspectives for both.

1. Ways of Studying
Religion

2. The Academic Study of Religion
- Assumptions -
 One religion is neither better nor worse than
another religion; they are simply different
 There are core similarities that are shared by all
religions
 There are differences between, within and
among all religions
 Religion is a powerful influence on a person’s
approach and response to life experiences
 All individuals have the right to be respected for
their religious heritage
 Not all people are religious – they too have the
right to be respected

3. The Academic study of religion
 “is a secondary activity that attempts to
discover, describe, and explain the
primary expressions of the religious life of
a community…”
 “requires the use of many disciplines and
methods…”

4. Theology
 “words about [study of] God”
 Generally done from within a [theistic] religious
tradition (e.g. Christian theology)
 To describe and transmit the teachings of a
particular religious tradition or community
Discuss: difference between studying religion in
church vs. in the classroom
But religion is more than just thinking about God

5. Literary Criticism
 Asks questions regarding sacred texts
or scriptures:
– Who is the author?
– When was this text composed?
– Where was it written and to what audience?
– What was the author’s reason for writing this?
– What type of literature is used?
– How has this text been received, edited, interpreted?
But religion is more than just what is contained in
a sacred text

6. History of Religion
click link to see 5000 years of religion play out in 90 seconds
 Historians seek to find out “what really
happened” – the facts about a given
religion
 Explores how social, economic, cultural or
environmental factors may have
influenced a religion’s:
– Beginnings, development, spread
 Using “tools” such as:
– Archaeology, geography, demography,
population statistics

7. The Anthropological Study of
Religion
 “words about human beings” and human
societies…
 as both creators and creations of cultures
 Religion, as a part of human culture, is
thus studied by anthropologists as a
“powerful factor in any culture”
 Edward B. Tylor
(1832 – 1917)

8. Sociology of Religion
 “words about social behavior”
 Generally concerned with the life of
modern , developed, literate societies (in contrast to
anthropology)
 Explores the social origins and function of religion in
human society
 The sociologist studies “the way religion interacts
with other dimensions of our social experience”
– How human social life changes religion
– How religion transforms human social behavior
 Max Weber (1864-1920)
But religion is more than just a fact of social life

9. Psychology of Religion
 “words about the psyche [mind]”
 The psychologist explores the psychological
dimensions of religious phenomena
 William James (1842-1910)
 Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
– “religion is an infantile dependency, a neurosis”
 Carl Jung (1875-1961)
– religion is a projection of “archetypes of the
unconscious”
But religion is more than just a fact of psychic life

10. Philosophy of Religion
 “Love of wisdom”
 Philosophers of religion reflect on the logic,
meaning and truth value of religious stories and
beliefs
 Analyzing religious language
 Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) (theologian)
 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
But religion is more than just ideas to be analyzed
and often goes beyond the limits of logic

11. Phenomenology
 “words about phenomena” – that which
appears
 Concerned only with description
 Goal: to portray religion in its own terms
rather than reduce or explain it in terms of
some other discipline
 Edmund Husserl (1859-1938)
 Mircea Eliade (historian of religion)

12. The Phenomenologist
 suspends judgment, does not seek to
explain (as do the other disciplines)
 must remain detached and impartial to
avoid explaining, interpreting or judging
what he or she studies
 remains skeptical of explanatory theories
that claim to completely account for the
complex origins or nature of religion itself,
or of any religious tradition

13. The relationship between the disciplines
Literary Criticism
Philosophy History
Theology
Phenomenolgy
Religion
Psychology Anthropology
Each discipline studies Sociology Phenomenology
religion from a limited studies the whole,
perspective as it is

14. “insiders” vs. “Outsiders”
 Hermeneutics: how we “interpret”
 The “inside” believer and the “outside” observer
understanding of religion will differ
 Either may be a partial, distorted or even wrong
understanding
 These different scholarly disciplines are not
mutually exclusive; they may be complementary –
each providing insight to both “insiders” and
“outsiders”
What can the academic study of religion do for you?

15. If religion were a house…
The one who lives inside the
house (the committed
Are you an “insider” believer) will know all the
nooks and crannies - the
(a committed believer) details up close
or an “outsider”?
How might your
position affect your
One has to be outside the study of religion?
house to see it as a whole
- to see the big picture

16. Review Questions
 Who studies God? •The anthropologist
 Who studies sacred texts?
 Who studies the facts within the • The historian
larger context of history?
 Who studies religion as a part of •The literary critic
human culture? •The phenomenologist
 Who studies the way religion interacts
with other dimensions of our social •The philosopher
experience?
 Who explores the psychological •The psychologist
dimensions of religious phenomena
•The sociologist
 Who reflects on the logic, meaning
and truth value of religious stories •The theologian
and beliefs?
 Who merely describes, without trying to explain,
interpret, or judge religion?
Which discipline might appeal most to you? (why?)