Making space for discursive study in religious studies

Abstract

This article demonstrates the potential relevance of a discursive study of religion for Religious Studies. It outlines the main assumptions, questions, materials and methodical guidelines of a discursive study of religion and argues that the implementation of a discursive approach -its ways of constructing the approach, the research object and area of expertise -is a relevant step forward in the study of religion. However, the organisation of Religious Studies departments and the job market according to the so-called World Religions paradigm has been a major challenge in making space for discursive studies despite the intellectual criticism that has been directed towards paradigms based on religious traditions or World Religions.

Problems of ‘Religion’ in Japan: Part 1

“…This version of ‘discursive study of religion’ is ‘critical’ in the sense that it questions power. As Taira (2013, p. 34) points out, ‘the use of the word “religion” has functioned as a discursive technique’. The term ‘religion’ is ‘an empty signifier’ (Taira, 2013, p. 26; von Stuckrad, 2013, p. 17) which must be activated with definitions, meanings and communicational practices.…”

“…As Taira (2013, p. 34) points out, ‘the use of the word “religion” has functioned as a discursive technique’. The term ‘religion’ is ‘an empty signifier’ (Taira, 2013, p. 26; von Stuckrad, 2013, p. 17) which must be activated with definitions, meanings and communicational practices. Importantly, specific constructions of ‘religion’ as a power category authorise and naturalise certain norms and values.…”

Historicizing the category of “religion” in sociological theories: Max Weber and Emile Durkheim

“…According to her, the goal of “critical religion” is “to build an argument for curtailing the use of the category of ‘religion’” (Goldenberg, 2013: 40). It is important to stress that the category “religion” is “an empty signifier in the sense that it is historically, socially and culturally constructed and negotiated in various situations” (Taira, 2013: 26). “Emptiness” is the very nature of any social category, so that it “can be activated with definitions, meanings, and communicational practices” (Struckrad, 2013: 17).…”

“Muslimness” and multiplicity in qualitative research and in government reports in Canada

“…6 This “discursive approach” positions religiosity for an empty signifier that it is historically, socially, and culturally constructed (see Taira, 2013). These constructions are real insofar as they produce effects on human lives and societies (Beckford, 2003: 24) in a way that includes stable expressions based on texts but also, following Marsden and Retsikas (2013: 25), “sensibilities, skills, dispositions and aptitudes.” Charting multiplicity in Islam is not meant to be a theological position.…”