Religion as scientific object from a definitional approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24220/2447-6803v48a2023e8607Keywords:
Definitional approach, Definicional anomie, Science of Religion, Definition of religion, Hypertextual modelAbstract
The article addresses the definitional question of the religion object, initially, from three postures frequently observed in the Science of Religion: 1) it is impossible or unnecessary to define religion; 2) a definition can be given in relative form and 3) a definition of our object of study is necessary. After delineating the three perspectives, we consider the problem taking into account the main moments of the discipline throughout its history of just over a century and a half: the classical Science of Religion, particularly with the “founding fathers” (Max Müller, Petrus Tiele, and Chantepie de la Saussaye), the phenomenological branch, and finally, its most significant recent development, Cognitive (and Evolutionary) Science of Religion. In the last section, we argue for the need for a scientifically established concept of religion, suggesting a definitional approach as a methodological starting point and discussing some of its challenges. In conclusion, we highlight the overcoming of this central issue as a condition for the systematic knowledge of our object of study with scientific relevance and progressiveness.
Downloads
References
Alimi, T. Lactantius’s “modern” conception of religio. Journal of Religious History, v. 47, n. 3, p. 1-23, 2023. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.12928
Asad, T. A construção da religião como uma categoria antropológica. Cadernos de Campo, v. 19, n. 19, p. 263- 284, 2010.
Bainbridge, W. S. Sacred algorithms: exchange theory of religious claims. In: Greil, A. L.; Bromley, D. G. (org.). Defining Religion. Amsterdam: JAI, 2003. p. 21-37.
Baird, R. D. Category formation and the History of Religions. With a new preface. 2. ed. New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1991. (Religion and Reason 1).
Baird, R. D. Interpretative categories and the History of Religions. History and Theory, v. 8, n. 8, p. 17-30, 1968.
Barrett, J. L. Exploring the natural foundations of religion. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, v. 4, n. 1, p. 29-34, 2000. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01419-9
Barrett, J. L.; Keil, F. C. Conceptualizing a nonnatural entity: anthropomorphism in God concepts. Cognitive Psychology, v. 31, n. 3, p. 219-247, 1996.
Barrett, N. Ciencia Cognitiva de la Religión. In: Vanney, C. E.; Silva, I.; Franck, J. F. (ed.). Diccionario Interdisciplinar Austral. Buenos Aires: Instituto de Filosofía Universidad Austral, 2016. Disponível em: http://dia.austral.edu.ar/ Ciencia_cognitiva_de_la_religión. Acesso em: 20 mar. 2023.
Berger, P. L. O dossel sagrado: elementos para uma teoria sociológica da religião. São Paulo: Paulus, 1985.
Borg, M. B. ter. What is religion? In: Platvoet, J. G; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999. p. 397-408.
Boyer, P. The naturalness of religious ideas. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
Boyer, P. Religion explained. London: William Heinnemann, 2001.
Brand, M. Introduction: Historians in the Study of Religions. Journal of Religious History, v. 46, n. 4, p. 617-631, 2022. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.12910
Brelich, A. Prolégomènes a une histoire des religions. In: Puech, H.-C. (ed). Histoire des Religions. Paris: Gallimard, 1970. p. 1-59.
Caird, E. The evolution of religion. New York: Macmillan & Co., 1893.
Casadio, G. ‘Religio versus Religion.’ In: Dijkstra, J. et al. Myths, martyrs, and modernity. Studies in the History of Religions in honour of Jan Bremmer. Leiden: Brill, 2010. p. 301-326.
Casadio, G. Historicizing and translating religion. In: Stausberg, M.; Engler, S. (org.). The Oxford handbook of the Study of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. p. 33-51.
Chantepie de la Saussaye, P. D. Manual of the Science of Religion. London; New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1891. v. 1.
Cox, J. L. Intuiting religion: a case for preliminary definitions. In: Platvoet, J. G.; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999. p. 267-284.
Danz, C.; Deibl, J. H. (ed.). Transformation of religion: interdisciplinary perspectives. Leiden: Brill; Schöningh, 2023. Doi: https://doi.org/10.30965/9783657790258
Dubuisson, D. Response. Religion, v. 36, n. 3, p. 165-175, 2006.
Dubuisson, D. The Western construction of religion. Baltimore: J. Hopkins University Press, 2003.
Durkheim, E. Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse. Paris: Librairie Félix Alcan, 1912.
Eliade, M. História das crenças e das ideias religiosas. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 2010. v. 1.
Eliade, M. Origens: história e sentido na religião. Lisboa: Edições 70, 1989.
Engler, S. Agency, order and time in the human science of religion. Religion, v. 36, n. 3, p. 120-126, 2006. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2006.08.001
Engler, S.; Gardiner, M. Q. Religion as superhuman agency: On E. Thomas Lawson and Robert N. McCauley, Rethinking religion (1990). In: Stausberg, M. (ed.). Contemporary theories of religion: a critical companion. New York: Routledge, 2009. p. 23-38.
Faber, E. Introduction to the science of chinese religion. A critique of Max Müller and other authors. Shanghai: Crawford & Co; Kelly & Walsh, 1879.
Feierman, J. R.; Oviedo, L. (org.). The evolution of religion, religiosity and theology. New York: Routledge, 2020.
Ferré, F. The definition of religion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, v. 38, n. 1, p. 3-16, 1970.
Figueiredo, N. O percurso editorial das ‘Preleções introdutórias à Ciência da Religião’ (1870-1899), do professor F. Max Müller. Rever, v. 20, n. 3, p. 269-293, 2020. Doi: https://doi.org/10.23925/1677-1222.2020vol20i3a17
Figueiredo, N. Religião como objeto de ciência. 2022. Tese (Doutorado em Ciências das Religiões). Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, 2022. Disponível em: https://repositorio.ufpb.br/jspui/handle/123456789/25212. Acesso: 20.04.2023.
Figueiredo, N. Sobre a definição de religião: historiografia, críticas e possibilidades. Rever, v. 19, n. 2, p. 271-295, 2019. Doi: https://doi.org/10.23925/1677-1222.2019vol19i2a15
Filoramo, G.; Prandi, C. As Ciências das Religiões. 5. ed. São Paulo: Paulus, 2010.
Firth, R. Problem and assumption in an anthropological study of religions. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, v. 89, n. 2, p. 129-148, 1959.
Fitzgerald, T. A critique of “religion” as a cross-cultural category. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, v. 9, n. 2, p. 91-110, 1997. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/157006897X00070
Fitzgerald, T. The ideology of Religious Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Flood, G. Beyond phenomenology: rethinking the Study of Religion. London: Cassell, 1999.
Franek, J. Has the Cognitive Science of Religion (re)defined “religion”? Religio: Revue Pro Religionistiku, v. 22, n. 1, p. 3-27, 2014.
Geertz, A. W. Brain, body and culture: a biocultural theory of religion. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, v. 22, n. 4, p. 304-321, 2010. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/157006810X531094
Geertz, A. W. Theory, definition, and typology: reflections on generalities and unrepresentative realism. Temenos, v. 33, p. 29-47, 1997.
Geertz, C. Religion as a cultural system. In: Banton, M. (org.). Anthropological approaches to the study of religion. New York: Routledge, 2004. p. 1-46.
Greil, A. L.; Bromley, D. G. (org.). Defining Religion. Amsterdam: JAI, 2003.
Greschat, H-J. O que é Ciência da Religião? São Paulo: Paulinas, 2005.
Guerriero, S. A atualidade da teoria da religião de Durkheim e sua aplicabilidade no estudo das novas espiritualidades. Estudos de Religião, v. 26, n. 42, p. 11-26, 2012.
Guthrie, S. A cognitive theory of religion. Current Anthropology, v. 21, n. 2, p. 181-203, 1980.
Guthrie, S. Faces in the clouds. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Hanegraaff, W. J. Defining religion in spite of history. In: Platvoet, J. G.; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999. p. 337-378.
Hanegraaff, W. J. Imagining the future study of religion and spirituality. Religion, v. 50, n. 1, p. 1-11, 2019. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2019.1681103
Hick, J. Prólogo. In: Smith, W. C. O sentido e o fim da religião. São Leopoldo: Sinodal, 2006. p. 7-13.
Hock, K. Introdução à Ciência da Religião. São Paulo: Loyola, 2010.
Horton, R. A definition of religion and its uses. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, v. 90, n. 2, p. 201-226, 1960.
Hughes, A. W.; McCutcheon, R. T. (ed.). What is religion? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
Hultkrantz, A. The concept of the supernatural in primal religion. History of Religions, v. 22, n. 3, p. 231-253, 1983.
Idinopulos, T. A.; Wilson, B. C. (org.). What is Religion? Leiden: Brill, 1998.
Introvigne, M. Religion as claim: social and legal controversies. In: Platvoet, J. G.; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999. p. 41-72.
Jastrow, M. The Study of Religion. London: Walter Scott, 1901.
Jensen, J. S. The Study of Religion in a new key. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2003.
Jordan, L. H. Comparative Religion: its genesis and growth. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1905.
King, I. The development of religion. New York: Macmillan, 1910.
Knoblauch, H. A plea for a broader concept of religion. In: Feil, E. On the concept of religion (ed.). New York: State University of New York Press, 2000. p. 70-75.
Koch, I. G. Hipertexto e construção do sentido. Alfa, v. 51, n. 1, p. 23-38, 2007.
Landow, G. P. Hypertext. Baltimore: J. Hopkins University Press, 1992.
Lanternari, V. Religione, magia e droga. San Cesario di Lecce: Piero Manni, 2006. p. 7-76.
Lawson, E. T. The historical genesis of the Cognitive Science of Religion. The Oxford Handbook of the Cognitive Science of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. p. 13-26.
Lawson, E. T. Towards a Cognitive Science of Religion. Numen, v. 47, n. 3, p. 338-349, 2000.
Lawson, E. T.; McCauley, R. N. Rethinking religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Lawson, E. T.; McCauley, R. N. The cognitive representation of religious ritual form: a theory of participants competence with religious ritual systems. In: Pyysiäinen, I.; Anttonen, V. (ed.). Current approaches in the Cognitive Science of Religion. Oxford: Bloomsbury, 2002. p. 153-176.
Lebens, S. Philosophy of Religion: the basics. New York: Routledge, 2023.
Leeuw, G. van der. Phänomenologie der Religion. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1933.
Leuba, J. H. A psychological study of religion. New York: MacMillan, 1912.
Luckmann, T. The invisible religion. New York; London: Macmillan, 1967.
Martin, L.; Pyysiäinen, I. Conclusion. Moving towards a new science of religion; or, have we already arrived? In: Xygalatas, D.; Mccorkle Jr., W. W. (ed.). Mental culture: classical social theory and the Cognitive Science of Religion. New York: Routledge, 2014. p. 213-226.
Martin, L.; Wiebe, D. Religious Studies as a scientific discipline: the persistence of a delusion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, v. 80, n. 3, p. 587-597, 2012.
Massenzio, M. A História das Religiões na cultura moderna. São Paulo: Hedra, 2005.
McCorkle Jr, W. W.; Xygalatas, D. Past, present, and future in the Scientific Study of Religion: Introduction. Religio, v. 20, n. 2, p. 149-154, 2012.
McCutcheon, R. T. Critics not caretakers. New York: State University of New York Press, 2001.
McCutcheon, R. T. Manufacturing religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Menzies, A. History of Religion. New York: Charles Scribners’s Sons, 1895.
Molendijk, A. L. In defence of pragmatism. In: Platvoet, J. G.; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999. p. 3-19.
Müller, F. M. Lectures on the origin and growth of religion as illustrated by the religions of India. London: Longmans, 1878.
Müller, F. M. Natural religion. London, New York: Longmans, 1889.
Müller, F. M. Physical religion. London; New York, Longmans, 1891.
Müller, M. Lectures on the Science of Religion. First lecture. In: Froude, J. A. (ed.). Fraser’s Magazine. New Series. V. I. January to June 1870. London: Longmans, 1870. p. 444-455.
Nelson, T. H. Opening hypertext: a memoir. In: Tuman, M. C. (org.). Literacy online. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992. p. 43-57.
Oliveira, V. P. A Fenomenologia da Religião. In: Dreher, L. H. (org.). A essência manifesta. Juiz de Fora: Editora UFJF, 2003. p. 35-58.
Otto, R. O sagrado. 3. ed. São Leopoldo: Editora Sinodal, 2014.
Oxtoby, W. Religions Religionswissenschaft. In: Neusner, J. (ed.). Religions in Antiquity. Leiden: Brill, 1968. p. 590-608.
Petersen, A. K. et al. Evolution, cognition, and the History of Religion: a new synthesis. Festschrift in honour of Armin W. Geertz. Boston: Brill, 2019.
Pfleiderer, O. The Philosophy of Religion on the basis of its history. London, Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, 1888. v. 3.
Pieper, F. Religião: limites e horizontes de um conceito. Estudos de Religião, v. 33, n. 1, p. 5-35, 2019.
Platvoet, J. G. To define or not to define: the problem of the definition of religion. In: Platvoet, J. G.; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999. p. 245-265.
Platvoet, J. G.; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999.
Pyysiäinen, I.; Lindeman, M.; Honkela, T. Counterintuitiveness as the hallmark of religiosity. Religion, v. 33, n. 4, p. 341-355, 2003. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2003.09.001
Riesebrodt, M. The promise of salvation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
Robertson, R. The sociological interpretation of religion. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1972.
Ryba, T. Phenomenology of Religion. Religion Compass, v. 3, n. 2, p. 253-287, 2009.
Saler, B. Conceptualizing religion. New York: Berghahn Books, 2000.
Schilbrack, K. O conceito de religião. Rever, v. 22, n. 2, p. 207-236, 2022.
Schilbrack, K. The social construction of ‘religion’ and its limits - A critical reading of Timothy Fitzgerald. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, v. 24, n. 2, p. 97-117, 2012.
Schilbrack, K. What isn’t religion? Journal of Religion, v. 93, n. 3, p. 291-318, 2013.
Sharpe, E. J. Comparative Religion: a history. London: Duckworth, 1986.
Silva, T. M. M.; Mariano, R. B. Os fundamentos psicológicos da agência sobre-humana. Numen, v. 21, n. 2, p. 109- 128, 2018. Doi: https://doi.org/10.34019/2236-6296.2018.v21.22146
Silva, T. M. M.; Ribeiro, M. F. F.; Fonseca, R. S. Acerca do Modelo Padrão da Ciência Cognitiva da Religião e algumas de suas implicações epistemológicas. Plura, v. 10, n. 1, p. 156-182, 2019.
Silva, T. M. M.; Santos, L. S. Ciências cognitivas, história e o estudo comparativo das religiões: pela definição de um conceito formal e historicamente tangível de “religião”. Sacrilegens, v. 14, n. 2, p. 25-44, 2017. Doi: https:// doi.org/10.34019/2237-6151.2017.v14.26976
Silva, T. M. M; Maraldi, E. O. Ciência Cognitiva da Religião. In: Usarski, F.; Teixeira, A.; Passos, J. D. (org.). Dicionário de Ciência da Religião. São Paulo: Paulinas, 2022. p. 132-138.
Smith, B. K. Exorcising the transcendent: strategies for defining hinduism and religion. History of Religions, v. 27, n. 1, p. 32-55, 1987.
Smith, C. S. Religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017.
Smith, J. Z. Religion, Religions, Religious. In: Taylor, M. C. (org.). Critical terms for Religious Studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. p. 269-284.
Smith, W. C. O sentido e o fim da religião. São. Leopoldo: Sinodal, 2006.
Snoek, J. A. M. Defining ‘religions’ as the domain of study of the empirical sciences of religion. In: Platvoet, J. G.; Molendijk, A. L. (org.). The pragmatics of defining religion. Leiden: Brill, 1999.
Sperber, D. Rethinking Symbolism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
Spiro, M. E. Religion: problems of definition and explanation. In: Banton, M. (org.). Anthropological approaches to the Study of Religion. New York: Routledge, 2004. p. 85-126.
Stark, R.; Bainbridge, W. S. Uma teoria da religião. São Paulo: Paulinas, 2008.
Stausberg, M.; Gardiner, M. Q. Definition. In: Stausberg, M.; Engler, S. (org.). The Oxford handbook of the Study of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. p. 9-32.
Taves, A.; Asprem, E. Scientific Worldview Studies: a programmatic proposal. In: Petersen, A. K. et al. Evolution, cognition, and the History of Religion: a new synthesis. Festschrift in honour of Armin W. Geertz. Boston: Brill, 2019. p. 297-308.
Taves, A.; Asprem, E.; Ihm, E. Psychology, meaning making, and the Study of Worldviews: beyond religion and non-religion. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, v. 10, n. 3, p. 207-217, 2018.
Taves, A. Religion, religious: can anti-definitionalists stay tethered to the Study of Religion? Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft, v. 29, n. 2, p. 285-289, 2021.
Taylor, M. C. After God. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Terrin, A. N. Introdução ao estudo comparado das religiões. São Paulo: Paulinas, 2003.
Tiele, C. P. Elements of the Science of Religion. London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1899. (Morphological, part. II).
Tiele, C. P. Outlines of the history of religion to the spread of the universal religions. London: Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill, 1877.
Tiele, C. P. Religions. Encyclopædia Britannica. 9. ed. Edinburgh: ACB, 1886. p. 358-371. v. 20.
Turner, J. W. Controversies revisited. A defense of the concept of religion. Anthropos, v. 117, n. 2, p. 323-343, 2022. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2022-2
Tussing, R. W. Religion and science. Phoenix: Public Philosophy Press, 2019.
Tweed, T. A. Crossing and dwelling. Cambridge; Harvard University Press, 2006.
Tweed, T. A. Religion: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
Tylor, E. B. Primitive culture. London: John Murray, 1871. v. 1.
Usarski, F. Os enganos sobre o sagrado: uma síntese da crítica ao ramo “clássico” da Fenomenologia da Religião e seus conceitos-chave. Rever, v. 4, n. 4, p. 73-95, 2004.
Usarski, F. Religião. In: Usarski, F.; Teixeira, A.; Passos, J. D. (org.). Dicionário de Ciência da Religião. São Paulo: Paulinas, 2022. p. 781-785.
Wiebe, D. Religião e verdade. São Leopoldo: Sinodal, 1998.
Xygalatas, D.; McKay, R. Announcing the Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion. Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion, v. 1, n. 1, p. 1-4, 2013.
Yandell, K. E. Philosophy of Religion. New York: Routledge, 1999.
Yinger, J. M. The Scientific Study of Religion. New York: Macmillan, 1970.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Nestor FIGUEIREDO
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
