Towards increasing diversity in the study of religion

Day, Abby

doi:10.1080/0048721x.2019.1681086

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…In some countries, like Brazil, religious studies has expanded considerably, but compared with other disciplines-including the sociology of religion and other related disciplines (see Spickard 2017;Day et al 2022)-non-Western scholarship has not received much attention in the canonical literature such as textbooks and handbooks; our curriculum has hardly begun to become de-colonized and inclusive, and maybe certain versions of postcolonialism have "hampered the globalization of the field, by its ignoring of the agency and intellectual cultures of the colonized" (Van der Haven 2023). Even though diversity has increased in some ways (see above, #5), it is considered insufficient in terms of epistemology by some (Day 2020). Transregional studies, where religion is taught from non-Western perspectives, such as from Africa, have been called for (Meyer 2020).…”

Section: Religion In the Context Of Globalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Happening to Religious Studies? Six Narratives

Stausberg

2024

Religious Studies Review

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The starting point of this essay is the assumption that religious studies (or the study of religion\s, as I prefer to call it) are topically defined, that is, that our work somehow relates to religion or religions, to "religion" or "religious" features; religion establishes our "disciplinary horizon" (Smith 2004, 194). As scholars of religion/"religion," we are endlessly fascinated by it. There may be good theoretical and pragmatic reasons to abandon this key notion and opt for more promising onesmaybe spirituality (Hanegraaff 2020) or worldview (Taves 2020)-but until we have agreed on such proposals, our fate is tied to that of religion, or "religion." So, what is the fate of religion, or rather, how do we tell it? A while ago, Jim Spickard argued that "sociologists of religion are no longer arguing over a single account of religion's place in the contemporary world" (Spickard 2006, 14). Instead, he held that we can best "comprehend our current disciplinary conflict as a clash between six distinct stories about 'What is happening to religion?' today and in the years to come" (Spickard 2006, 14). In this essay, in a recursive move, I will reflect on "What is happening to religious studies" by using Spickard's six narratives as signposts. 1 Of course, as critical readers will not fail to observe, I will need to allow myself a good dose of hermeneutic liberty to make the exercise of analogous thinking work. Space does not allow me to unpack any of these six narratives or tropes, so I will need to allude to potential stories that could be told and leave the rest to the readers' imaginations. I hope the reader will forgive me for this conceit and for referring to some of my own earlier work as examples of some of the trends I mention in this essay.

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Section: Religion In the Context Of Globalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Happening to Religious Studies? Six Narratives

Stausberg

2024

Religious Studies Review

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“…Applied to the teaching about Jesus, it involves considering the imagery used to teach about Jesus and recognising the dominant theme in European and American art of Jesus and others depicted as “light skinned Europeans” (Radford Ruether, 2012 , p. 102) and actively seeking to use imagery from a diverse range of sources to reflect diverse Christian communities. It includes considering viewpoints for teaching about Jesus that are not dominant, such as “minority groups and rural populations” (Thorani, 2020 , 20) and considering whether the teaching of RE is focused on content that is influenced by “white men of the global North” (Day, 2020 , p. 46). Changing this is about “rethinking, reframing and reconstructing the current curriculum in order to make it better, and more inclusive” (Keele University, Manifesto, 2020 , p. 1).…”

Section: Decolonising Re and The Teaching About Jesusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decolonising the teaching of Jesus in English primary schools

Ball

2022

j. relig. educ.

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This article argues that the teaching about Jesus in English primary schools urgently needs to include scholarship in Religious Education (RE) about teaching religion through the principles of Religion and Worldviews research and scholarship in Religious, Biblical and Theological Studies about decolonising the curriculum. RE teachers from the beginning of a child’s first lessons should present a Jesus who is Jewish with a context which is located within Judaea two thousand years ago. In addition, the artwork and imagery used in the teaching about Jesus should be as carefully chosen as the content of lessons to avoid the dominance of Jesus being depicted as the White Western Christ of tradition. As the historical Jesus and the Christ of faith is of interest to many communities, both within the Christian church and in other religions, this article shows that this is not fully reflected in the imagery and teaching about Jesus in the classroom. The research for this has been around for over thirty years in RE, but has become much more urgent with the focus on decolonising the curriculum. The teaching about Jesus needs to be at the centre of decolonisation in RE because Christianity is the one specified religion that schools must teach and it is the dominant religion in curriculum time. Presenting varied imagery from the UK and around the world and teaching about the historical Jewish person of Jesus is crucial to allow children from all backgrounds to engage with discussions and ensure all voices are heard in the classroom. This approach references anti-racist approaches to education and years of research about Jesus which are currently not reflected in all primary teaching.

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“…Asumsi ini didasarkan pada bangunan SAA itu sendiri sebagai cabang dari ilmu pengetahuan yang memiliki bangunan epistemologi yang baku. Filsafat Ilmu sebagai cabang keilmuan yang mengkaji the body of knowledge menjelaskan bahwa dalam sebuah ilmu pengetahuan terdapat tiga aspek utama, yakni ontologis, epistemologis, dan aksiologis (Day, 2020;Laack, 2020). Ketiga aspek ini membawa implikasi pada SAA.…”

Section: Pendahuluanunclassified

Gagasan Studi Agama Terapan Dalam Bingkai Kampus Merdeka: Perspsektif Sosiologi Pengetahuan

Muttaqin

Hamsah

2021

J.Soc.Rel

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One of the big questions frequently asked by Senior High School Students who were interested in studying Religious Studies is about the career opportunity of the department’s alumni. Unlike other applied sciences that have a clear path of the alumni’s career, religious studies seem to vague in providing jobs for its alumni due to its pure/basic science characteristic. This paper proposes the possibility to develop applied religious studies to answer such a question. The author traces characteristics of religious studies from a sociology of knowledge perspective and then proposes eight fields of applied religious studies, which from a sociological perspective, meets the need for the implementation of “Freedom to Learn, Independent Campus” (Merdeka Belajar- Kampus Merdeka, MBKM), a policy from Ministry of Education and Culture, the Republic of Indonesia.

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Towards increasing diversity in the study of religion

Cited by 4 publications

References 26 publications

What Is Happening to Religious Studies? Six Narratives

What Is Happening to Religious Studies? Six Narratives

Decolonising the teaching of Jesus in English primary schools

Gagasan Studi Agama Terapan Dalam Bingkai Kampus Merdeka: Perspsektif Sosiologi Pengetahuan

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