Anthropology and Theology: An Awkward Relationship?

Robbins, Joel

doi:10.1353/anq.2006.0025

Cited by 143 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Fountain [2] proposes that engaging in and with theology could help anthropologists move towards a postsecular anthropology. This may not be as easy as it sounds, since anthropology's relationship with theology has, at best, been "awkward," with the result that theology's contributions to anthropology hardly goes beyond providing data [5]. Morton [48] argues that while anthropology rejected religiously inspired theology at an early stage as part of its dedication to secularism, it never actually managed to leave it behind.…”

Section: Towards a Reflexive Postsecularismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In spite of this, theology, even in its secular academic orientation, retained a religious and often Christian flavor and was thus largely ignored or frowned upon by secular anthropology. Since the postsecular turn brings the religious back to the secular, both Christian and secular anthropologists have become interested again in turning toward Christian theology, albeit with different objectives [2,5,13,48,51]. While in principle such a move may be valuable, we believe that it is important to engage with theology critically, since the discipline also shares the same Judeo-Christian heritage as anthropology, and thus has a distinctly Western and Christian intellectual and epistemological tradition.…”

Section: Towards a Reflexive Postsecularismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While we find ourselves in a challenging and sometimes uncomfortable position, it is also exciting and enriching. Drawing on this experience and various aspects of current anthropology, we seek to overcome the religious/secular dichotomy that has plagued anthropology as a discipline and has significantly contributed towards its "awkward relationship" [5] with theology. In order to achieve this, we propose that as anthropologists we consciously occupy what we call the ontological penumbra where we engage with various counterparts, both human and nonhuman, as part of the ethnographic encounter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupying the Ontological Penumbra: Towards a Postsecular and Theologically Minded Anthropology

Merz

2017

Religions

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Abstract:In the wake of the postsecular turn, we propose to reappraise both the religious as studied in anthropology and how anthropologists who have religious or spiritual interests can contribute to an emerging postsecular anthropology. Such an anthropology recognizes the failure of secularization theory to dissolve the dichotomy between the religious and the secular. We propose that as anthropologists we consciously occupy the ontological penumbra, an ambiguous and plural space in which we engage with various counterparts, both human and nonhuman. This means that we have to be open to the real possibility of the existence of gods, spirits, and other nonhuman entities. These should not only be treated as subjects of study, but also recognized as valid counterparts with whom we can engage in the ethnographic encounter. While this necessitates relinquishing the former privileged position of secular and Western epistemology, it opens up the discipline to a potentially unprecedented ethnographic productivity that is epistemologically and ontologically innovative. Without neglecting its secular heritage, such a theologically minded postsecular anthropology places anthropology in a better position to explore what it is to be human, especially in terms of understanding religious and spiritual experiences.

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Section: Towards a Reflexive Postsecularismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Towards a Reflexive Postsecularismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupying the Ontological Penumbra: Towards a Postsecular and Theologically Minded Anthropology

Merz

2017

Religions

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“…Moreover, it has allowed me to do so in conversation with religious believers who are hardly likely to grant me special authority, and who speak from within a tradition that has helped shape the vocabulary of social thought in which I work. (Keane 2007, p. 28) The relationship between Anthropology as a discipline and Christianity as an enterprise of missionary and theological exploration is startlingly close (Sahlins 1996;Davies 2002;Cannell 2005Cannell , 2006Robbins 2006; and from a different angle , Milbank 1990). Christianity is, perchance, the most recursive subject (apart from Anthropology) for Anthropology to study.…”

Section: Anthropology and Christianitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Theology as an Ethnographic Object: An Anthropology of Eastern Christian Rupture

Carroll¹

2017

Religions

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This paper draws upon over three years' research among Eastern Orthodox (principally Antiochian and Greek) communities in London and Mount Athos, Greece. This research came to engage theology quite heavily as part of the ethnographic facts of the fieldsites. This paper reviews some of the existing ways that theology (as both discipline and practice) relate to ethnographic enquiry, particularly as it has arisen in the dialogue with the Anthropology of Christianity and frames this in light of the historical development of Anthropology and its relationship to theology and Christianity. The paper then advances a methodological argument, in favour of further means of relation, specifically in terms of theology as a cultural artefact. Drawing on local practices of liturgical theology and Eastern Orthodox forms of allegorical interpretation, I argue for the inclusion of theological insight and practice within the social scientific study of religion. Working in an Orthodox setting requires the investigation of liturgical theology and brings to light important aspects of the relationship between temporal and sempiternal domains of action. Particularly as it relates to liturgical theology and the practices of interpretation, ethnographic enquiry into Orthodox theology asks for a reconsideration of social scientific methods of analysis and representation.

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“…Tambiah 1968;Miyazaki 2004;Bialecki 2014). A significant avenue would hence be to understand how theologies work in practice (Orsi 1985;Rubow 2000;Scott 2005;Robbins 2006) but also how ideas of efficacy work back upon ideas of theology.…”

Section: Probing Into the Worlds Of Prayermentioning

confidence: 99%

The social life of prayers – introduction

Bandak

2016

Religion

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Anthropology and Theology: An Awkward Relationship?

Cited by 143 publications

References 13 publications

Occupying the Ontological Penumbra: Towards a Postsecular and Theologically Minded Anthropology

Occupying the Ontological Penumbra: Towards a Postsecular and Theologically Minded Anthropology

Theology as an Ethnographic Object: An Anthropology of Eastern Christian Rupture

The social life of prayers – introduction

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