Approaches to the Study of Religion

Module Description:

This course will give an overview of intellectual avenues to religion both as a phenomenon of human culture and as distinct traditions. It will cover classical texts as well as key contemporary authors from disciplines such as anthropology, history, cultural studies, philosophy, sociology and psychology.

Indicative Bibliography:

Eisenstadt, S.N., Comparative Civilizations and Multiple Modernities(Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2003).
Joas, H., Do We Need Religion? On the Experience of Self-transcendence (Boulder, CO/London : Paradigm Publishers, 2008).
Joas, H., The Genesis of Values (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001).
Joas, H. (ed.), Secularization and the World Religions (Liverpool : Liverpool University Press, 2009).
Riesebrodt, M., The Promise of Salvation: A Theory of Religion (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010).
Stausberg, M. (ed.), Contemporary Theories of Religion: A Critical Companion (London: Routledge, 2009).

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Identify key approaches in the development of the academic study of religion.
• Distinguish the methodologies of the disciplines investigating religion.
• Characterise classical positions and their foundational concepts.
• Relate the distinctions made in these approaches to historical religions.
• Discuss the changing relationship of religion to society in different eras.
• Distinguish contemporary theories of secularisation and individualisation and assess the diagnosis of contemporary society as postsecular.

Methods of Assessment and Student Workload:

Continually assessed.