Theology and Religious Studies de Dr Maya Warrier

Theology and Religious Studies: An Exploration of Disciplinary Boundaries

Dr Maya Warrier

Dr Simon Oliver

Theology and Religious Studies seeks to explore the relationship between the disciplines of Religious Studies and Theology. In particular, it aims to examine whether the two disciplines are strange bedfellows sharing little in common but bedding together out of sheer habit, or whether there is something that the two share in an organic sense, which sustains the link between them. These questions have important implications not just for how the respective disciplines define themselves and their boundaries, but also for their place in the secular context of higher education in modern universities. The question of how the two are related is one that concerns all scholars of religion, since it has important implications for approach and method in the study of religions. Particularly relevant are questions to do with subjectivity, objectivity, and reflexivity in the study of religion; 'insider' and 'outsider' approaches; 'scientific' and 'theological' methodologies; and 'public'/'private' dichotomies in defining the 'secular' and the 'religious'. This volume is based on a seminar series conducted over 2005-06 in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, at the University of Wales, Lampeter, UK. It brings together papers presented by leading scholars of Theology and Religious Studies on various aspects of their respective disciplines. These include origins; history; founding premises; orientations; methodology; engagement with feminist and post-colonial critiques; and shifts in theoretical paradigms over time. The intended result is the generation of dialogue between the two disciplines, and a self-reflexive examination of what each is about. There is very little available literature attempting such a dialogue between Theology and Religious Studies, and this book will fill a crucial gap in this area.

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Cuprins

Introduction - Dr Maya Warrier, University of Wales, LampeterSECTION 1: Concepts and Categories in Theology and Religious StudiesAnthropology, religion and time: an anthropological perspective on Theology and Religious Studies - Dr Timothy Jenkins, University of Cambridge, UKMediating between 'lifeworlds' and 'systems': a response to Timothy Jenkins - Dr Mark Cartledge, University of Birmingham, UKPhenomenology at the crossroads: the debate between theological and scientific approaches to the study of religion - Professor James L. Cox, University of Edinburgh, UKGynocritical and gender- critical turns in Theology and Religious Studies: a paradigm shift or dead end? - Professor Ursula King, University of Bristol, UKSECTION 2: The Disciplines and Their BoundariesBridging the gap between Theology and Religious Studies: the significance of new frameworks of thinking in New Testament interpretation - Dr Kathy Ehrensperger, University of Wales, Lampeter, UKOn the coming together of Theology and Religious Studies - Professor Paul Badham, University of Wales, Lampeter, UKThe debate on disciplinary identity in the historiography of Religious Studies - Dr Steven Sutcliffe, University of Edinburgh, UK'Religious ethics' and 'Christian ethics': What are scholars for? - Dr Neil Messer, University of Wales, Lampeter, UKWhat, if anything, can Theology offer to Religious Studies? - Dr Simon Oliver, University of Wales, Lampeter, UKJesus at the borders of belief: a phenomenological test of a pluralist Christology - Gregory A. Barker, Trinity College, Carmarthen, UKSECTION 3: Practical Issues in Teaching and LearningFailing Religious Studies - Dr Chris Arthur, University of Wales, Lampeter, UKReligious Studies and Theology in the context of secular higher education - Dr Gwilym Beckerlegge, University College Cork, Ireland'Learning about and learning from': reflections on the significance of Theology/Religious Studies debates for modern Religious Education - Dr Wendy Dossett, University of Wales, Lampeter, UKRitualisation and Religious Studies: theory, practice and the experiential learning process in post-traditional society - Professor Richard Roberts, University of Stirling, UK

Recenzii

'This book raises important, contemporary questions about the relationship between Theology and Religious Studies. The editors have done an exemplary job in bringing together scholars in both fields and in demonstrating their shared domains of interest. This book should be read by all interested in the nature of religion and the nature of the discourse about it.' Professor Gavin Flood