The History (and Philosophy) of Religions
In a paper given at a Roundtable at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) National Annual Conference in Montreal in November of 2009, jointly organized by the North American Association for the Study of Religion and the Critical Theory and Discourses in Religion Group of the AAR, I argued for the i...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Studies in religion Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 24 - 32 |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London, England
SAGE Publications
01.03.2012
Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion |
| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 0008-4298, 2042-0587 |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Abstract | In a paper given at a Roundtable at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) National Annual Conference in Montreal in November of 2009, jointly organized by the North American Association for the Study of Religion and the Critical Theory and Discourses in Religion Group of the AAR, I argued for the ineluctably philosophical nature of what is most commonly called ‘method and theory in the study of religion.’ That paper (Rennie, 2010) also argues that what is conventionally referred to as ‘philosophy of religion’ does not, strictly speaking, warrant that name since it is in fact a form of theology that utilizes philosophical methodologies to consider principally, if not exclusively, Christian concerns. I also argued that a philosophy of religion(s) constituted along the lines of the philosophy of science would be a potential improvement in both ‘philosophy of religion’ and ‘method and theory in the study of religion.’ In this paper I would like to consider—with the help of a closer look at contemporary philosophy of science—precisely what a reconstituted history (and philosophy) of religions might look like, how it might differ from current scholarship, and what it might achieve.
Dans une communication donnée lors d’une table ronde à l’American Academy of Religion (AAR) National Annual Conference à Montréal en novembre 2009, organisée conjointement par le North American Association for the Study of Religion et le groupe de Critical Theory and Discourses in Religion de l’AAR, j’avais argué la nature inéluctablement philosophique de ce qui est couramment appelé « Method and Theory in the Study of Religion ». Cet article (Rennie, 2010) soutient également la thèse que ce qu’on appelle couramment « Philosophie de la religion » ne correspond pas stricto sensu à ce qu’une telle dénomination recouvre puisqu’il s’agit en fait d’une forme de théologie recourant à des méthodes philosophiques pour envisager des préoccupations principalement, sinon exclusivement, chrétiennes. Je soutiens aussi qu’une philosophie des religions constituée à partir des lignes de force de la philosophie des sciences pourrait apporter une amélioration potentielle de la philosophie de la religion, de la méthode et de la théorie dans l’étude des religions. Dans cet article, j’aimerais examiner précisément —par le biais des apports de la philosophie des sciences contemporaine— ce à quoi l’histoire (et la philosophie) des religions pourrait ressembler, les termes dans lesquels elle se distinguerait des approches actuelles et ce à quoi nous pourrions ainsi aspirer. |
|---|---|
| AbstractList | In a paper given at a Roundtable at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) National Annual Conference in Montreal in November of 2009, jointly organized by the North American Association for the Study of Religion and the Critical Theory and Discourses in Religion Group of the AAR, I argued for the ineluctably philosophical nature of what is most commonly called ‘method and theory in the study of religion.’ That paper (Rennie, 2010) also argues that what is conventionally referred to as ‘philosophy of religion’ does not, strictly speaking, warrant that name since it is in fact a form of theology that utilizes philosophical methodologies to consider principally, if not exclusively, Christian concerns. I also argued that a philosophy of religion(s) constituted along the lines of the philosophy of science would be a potential improvement in both ‘philosophy of religion’ and ‘method and theory in the study of religion.’ In this paper I would like to consider—with the help of a closer look at contemporary philosophy of science—precisely what a reconstituted history (and philosophy) of religions might look like, how it might differ from current scholarship, and what it might achieve.
Dans une communication donnée lors d’une table ronde à l’American Academy of Religion (AAR) National Annual Conference à Montréal en novembre 2009, organisée conjointement par le North American Association for the Study of Religion et le groupe de Critical Theory and Discourses in Religion de l’AAR, j’avais argué la nature inéluctablement philosophique de ce qui est couramment appelé « Method and Theory in the Study of Religion ». Cet article (Rennie, 2010) soutient également la thèse que ce qu’on appelle couramment « Philosophie de la religion » ne correspond pas stricto sensu à ce qu’une telle dénomination recouvre puisqu’il s’agit en fait d’une forme de théologie recourant à des méthodes philosophiques pour envisager des préoccupations principalement, sinon exclusivement, chrétiennes. Je soutiens aussi qu’une philosophie des religions constituée à partir des lignes de force de la philosophie des sciences pourrait apporter une amélioration potentielle de la philosophie de la religion, de la méthode et de la théorie dans l’étude des religions. Dans cet article, j’aimerais examiner précisément —par le biais des apports de la philosophie des sciences contemporaine— ce à quoi l’histoire (et la philosophie) des religions pourrait ressembler, les termes dans lesquels elle se distinguerait des approches actuelles et ce à quoi nous pourrions ainsi aspirer. |
| Author | Rennie, Bryan |
| Author_xml | – sequence: 1 givenname: Bryan surname: Rennie fullname: Rennie, Bryan email: brennie@westminster.edu organization: Westminster College |
| BookMark | eNp9kEFLAzEQhYNUsK3ePS54sYfVmSTbZI9S1AoFRep5yWZn25R1U5Ptof_eLfUgBT0Nw3vfzOON2KD1LTF2jXCHqNQ9AGjJc40oBUCWnbEhB8lTyLQasOFBTg_6BRvFuOlXlSMO2WS5pmTuYufDPrk1bZW8rV3jo9-u95PE18k7NW7lfBsv2XltmkhXP3PMPp4el7N5unh9fpk9LFIrIO9SxUsjhJVodU264lpPZSmlkjKzwiBXKKkia4BKLIkgK6dlXmU5GFnnYLUYs5vj3W3wXzuKXbHxu9D2LwsEQBDIAXvX9OiywccYqC6s60zXB-2CcU1vLQ61FKe19CCcgNvgPk3Y_4ekRySaFf1O84f_G-b-b70 |
| CitedBy_id | crossref_primary_10_1111_gec3_12682 crossref_primary_10_1163_15685276_12341298 crossref_primary_10_1080_10911359_2014_914833 crossref_primary_10_1163_15700682_12341359 crossref_primary_10_1057_s41599_018_0131_7 |
| Cites_doi | 10.1163/157006810X512329 10.1558/rosa.v4i2.221 10.2307/j.ctv1jf2d9c 10.7312/mand14724 10.1163/15700680360549420 |
| ContentType | Journal Article |
| Copyright | The Author(s) / Le(s) auteur(s), 2012 Copyright Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion 2012 |
| Copyright_xml | – notice: The Author(s) / Le(s) auteur(s), 2012 – notice: Copyright Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion 2012 |
| DBID | AAYXX CITATION |
| DOI | 10.1177/0008429811430055 |
| DatabaseName | CrossRef |
| DatabaseTitle | CrossRef |
| DatabaseTitleList | CrossRef |
| DeliveryMethod | fulltext_linktorsrc |
| Discipline | Religion Philosophy |
| EISSN | 2042-0587 |
| EndPage | 32 |
| ExternalDocumentID | 2635636051 10_1177_0008429811430055 10.1177_0008429811430055 |
| GeographicLocations | Montreal Quebec Canada North America |
| GeographicLocations_xml | – name: North America – name: Montreal Quebec Canada |
| GroupedDBID | -TM -~X .2G .2L 01A 09Z 0R~ 0WA 123 1~K 31S 31T 31V 31W 31X 4.4 54M AABCJ AACKU AADIR AADUE AAGGD AAGLT AAKTJ AAMFR AANSI AAPEO AAQDB AAQXI AARIX AATAA AAWLO ABAWP ABCCA ABCJG ABEIX ABFXH ABIDT ABKRH ABOWD ABPNF ABQKF ABQPY ABQXT ABRHV ABUJY ABYTW ACAEP ACDXX ACFUR ACFZE ACGFS ACJER ACLZU ACOFE ACOXC ACRPL ACSIQ ACUFS ACUIR ADDLC ADEBD ADEIA ADMHG ADNMO ADNON ADPEE ADRRZ ADTOS ADUKL ADYCS AEDXQ AEJBQ AEOBU AESMA AESZF AEUHG AEVPJ AEWDL AEWHI AEXNY AFEET AFFNX AFKBI AFKRG AFMOU AFQAA AFUIA AFWMB AGDVU AGKLV AGNHF AGNWV AGQPQ AHDMH AHWHD AJUZI ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS ANDLU ARTOV ASPBG AUTPY AVWKF AYPQM AZFZN B8O B8S B8T B8Z BDZRT BMVBW BPACV CAG CBRKF CCGJY CEADM COF DD0 DD~ DG~ DOPDO DV7 DV8 EBS EJD F5P FHBDP GROUPED_SAGE_PREMIER_JOURNAL_COLLECTION H13 HW~ HZ~ H~9 J8X N9A O9- P.B P2P PQQKQ Q1R Q7O Q7P Q7X ROL S01 SAUOL SCNPE SFC SSDHQ TN5 UBC UKR ULY UQL WH7 YZZ ZPLXX ZPPRI ZY4 ~32 AAEJI AAPII AAYXX ABUAX ACCVC AEYHP AJGYC AJHME AJVBE AMNSR CITATION |
| ID | FETCH-LOGICAL-c309t-72ba33c41c8fe8d28864b447445c3a12714edeca0eb1bee05b6b9d590a4f90c83 |
| IEDL.DBID | AEVPJ |
| ISICitedReferencesCount | 6 |
| ISICitedReferencesURI | http://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=Summon&SrcAuth=ProQuest&DestLinkType=CitingArticles&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=000303240900004&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D |
| ISSN | 0008-4298 |
| IngestDate | Sun Nov 09 08:01:22 EST 2025 Sat Nov 29 08:14:33 EST 2025 Tue Nov 18 21:19:00 EST 2025 Tue Jun 17 22:48:32 EDT 2025 |
| IsPeerReviewed | true |
| IsScholarly | true |
| Issue | 1 |
| Keywords | philosophy of religion principle of charity philosophy of science and the study of religion méthode et théorie dans l’étude des religions globalatinization théologie philosophique principe de charité mono-theo-lingualism problème initié/profane philosophical theology philosophie des religions mondialatinization method and theory in the study of religion insider/outsider problem philosophie des sciences et étude des religions mono-théo-linguisme |
| Language | English |
| LinkModel | DirectLink |
| MergedId | FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c309t-72ba33c41c8fe8d28864b447445c3a12714edeca0eb1bee05b6b9d590a4f90c83 |
| Notes | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 |
| PQID | 1001031201 |
| PQPubID | 37010 |
| PageCount | 9 |
| ParticipantIDs | proquest_journals_1001031201 crossref_citationtrail_10_1177_0008429811430055 crossref_primary_10_1177_0008429811430055 sage_journals_10_1177_0008429811430055 |
| PublicationCentury | 2000 |
| PublicationDate | 2012-03-01 |
| PublicationDateYYYYMMDD | 2012-03-01 |
| PublicationDate_xml | – month: 03 year: 2012 text: 2012-03-01 day: 01 |
| PublicationDecade | 2010 |
| PublicationPlace | London, England |
| PublicationPlace_xml | – name: London, England |
| PublicationTitle | Studies in religion |
| PublicationYear | 2012 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion |
| Publisher_xml | – name: SAGE Publications – name: Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion |
| References | Rennie 2011; 4 Rennie 2003; 15 Rennie 2010; 22 bibr18-0008429811430055 Eliade M (bibr4-0008429811430055) 1959 Jensen JS (bibr9-0008429811430055) 2004 bibr13-0008429811430055 Rennie B (bibr19-0008429811430055) 2011; 4 Geertz A (bibr7-0008429811430055) 1997 Hess DJ (bibr8-0008429811430055) 1997 Mandair A-PS (bibr12-0008429811430055) 2001 Fuller S (bibr6-0008429811430055) 1988 Eliade M (bibr5-0008429811430055) 1973 Permenter R (bibr15-0008429811430055) 2001 Smith WC (bibr20-0008429811430055) 1959 McLeod WH (bibr14-0008429811430055) 1968 Deloria V (bibr2-0008429811430055) 1969 Rennie B (bibr16-0008429811430055) 1996 bibr17-0008429811430055 Biolsi T (bibr1-0008429811430055) 1997 Knott K (bibr10-0008429811430055) 2005 Kuhn T (bibr11-0008429811430055) 1962 Derrida J (bibr3-0008429811430055) 1996 |
| References_xml | – volume: 4 start-page: 221 issue: 2 year: 2011 end-page: 231 article-title: Heterological alternatives in the history of religions publication-title: Religions of South Asian – volume: 22 start-page: 116 issue: (2–3) year: 2010 end-page: 135 article-title: After this strange starting: method, theory and the philosophy of religion(s) publication-title: Method and Theory in the Study of Religion – volume: 15 start-page: 68 issue: 3 year: 2003 end-page: 99 article-title: Religion after religion, history after history: postmodern historiography and the study of religions publication-title: Method and Theory in the Study of Religion – volume-title: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions year: 1962 ident: bibr11-0008429811430055 – ident: bibr18-0008429811430055 doi: 10.1163/157006810X512329 – volume-title: Reconstructing Eliade: Making Sense of Religion year: 1996 ident: bibr16-0008429811430055 – volume-title: The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion year: 2005 ident: bibr10-0008429811430055 – volume: 4 start-page: 221 issue: 2 year: 2011 ident: bibr19-0008429811430055 publication-title: Religions of South Asian doi: 10.1558/rosa.v4i2.221 – volume-title: Indians and Anthropologists: Vine Deloria, Jr., and the Critique of Anthropology year: 1997 ident: bibr1-0008429811430055 doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1jf2d9c – volume-title: Vergleichen und Verstehen in der Religionswissenschaft: Vorträge der Jahrestagung der DVRG 1995 year: 1997 ident: bibr7-0008429811430055 – start-page: 47 volume-title: Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity year: 2001 ident: bibr12-0008429811430055 – ident: bibr13-0008429811430055 doi: 10.7312/mand14724 – ident: bibr17-0008429811430055 doi: 10.1163/15700680360549420 – volume-title: Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto year: 1969 ident: bibr2-0008429811430055 – start-page: 95 volume-title: Changing Religious Worlds: The Meaning and End of Mircea Eliade year: 2001 ident: bibr15-0008429811430055 – volume-title: Australian Religion year: 1973 ident: bibr5-0008429811430055 – volume-title: The Study of Religion in a New Key: Theoretical and Philosophical Soundings in the Comparative and General Study of Religion year: 2004 ident: bibr9-0008429811430055 – volume-title: The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion year: 1959 ident: bibr4-0008429811430055 – volume-title: Religion year: 1996 ident: bibr3-0008429811430055 – volume-title: Social Epistemology year: 1988 ident: bibr6-0008429811430055 – volume-title: Science Studies: An Advanced Introduction year: 1997 ident: bibr8-0008429811430055 – volume-title: Guru Nānāk and the Sikh Religion year: 1968 ident: bibr14-0008429811430055 – volume-title: The History of Religions: Essays in Methodology year: 1959 ident: bibr20-0008429811430055 |
| SSID | ssj0007911 |
| Score | 1.8517154 |
| Snippet | In a paper given at a Roundtable at the American Academy of Religion (AAR) National Annual Conference in Montreal in November of 2009, jointly organized by the... |
| SourceID | proquest crossref sage |
| SourceType | Aggregation Database Enrichment Source Index Database Publisher |
| StartPage | 24 |
| SubjectTerms | Philosophy Religious history Religious studies Theology |
| Title | The History (and Philosophy) of Religions |
| URI | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0008429811430055 https://www.proquest.com/docview/1001031201 |
| Volume | 41 |
| WOSCitedRecordID | wos000303240900004&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D |
| hasFullText | 1 |
| inHoldings | 1 |
| isFullTextHit | |
| isPrint | |
| journalDatabaseRights | – providerCode: PRVSPB databaseName: SAGE HSS Package 2015 customDbUrl: eissn: 2042-0587 dateEnd: 99991231 omitProxy: false ssIdentifier: ssj0007911 issn: 0008-4298 databaseCode: AEVPJ dateStart: 19990301 isFulltext: true titleUrlDefault: http://journals.sagepub.com/ providerName: SAGE Publications |
| link | http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwvV3NS8MwFH_MTcSL3-J0Sg8i7lDXpGmTHIdsiIexg8puJUlTELSTrRP235uszTY_EE9e2_eSNnnNe817-f0ALjHHkYoz5mslqE-yUPpSUGPLjGmlacwlzhZkE3QwYKMRH9Ygd2dhqhGc3tiyKvNEi8Xaft12N7pTJRnt8QNmFlJmgnkLt27-6IvXpNztdqQa9opNT89ebWZb2XrIue9Ot21Aw4TiKKpDo9t7Gt4v127KUcWxx3zbwSqx-a3Pz45sFZ2uFYQtfFR_97_fbg92qmjW65bmtw81nR_AlitzPoS2sUKvRCKZe9ciT72ho06Yt71x5jnR6RE89nsPt3d-Rc7gqzDghU-xFGGoCFIs0yzFjMVEEkIJiVQoEKaI6NQYQGCcgdQ6iGQseRrxQJCMB4qFx1DPx7k-AQ8b1cDopIgywqVmiNBUhVhIJqgScRM6bqQTVSGXWwKNlwQ5sPIvI9aE9lLjrUTt-EW25SYvcfNjkZwt_4WJjppwZSdr_dbP7Zz-VfAMtk27uCxka0G9mMz0OWyq9-J5OrmoLPIDN9rv4w |
| linkProvider | SAGE Publications |
| linkToHtml | http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwpV1LS8NAEB60FfXiW6zPHETsIZpsNtnZY5GWqrX0UKW3sLvZgCCptFXov3fzausDETxnZrN8O5n9IMP3AZwTTnwVxGhrJZhNY0_aUjBTy4haaRZwSeLMbIJ1uzgY8N6C1VeB4PgqHasyO8qa9ezrZpnaIpoeiobHp0rr_jJUqWHtTgWqjeZT727Whhl3C7s8tNOE-T_Kb2t8vpPmRHNhtiu7blqb_9joFmwUHNNq5EWxDUs62YHVcvh4F-qmNqxcH2RqXYoksnqlocG0bg1jqwwd78Fjq9m_aduFZYKtPIdPbEak8DxFXYWxxoggBlRSyij1lSdcwlyqI3MsjmnRUmvHl4Hkkc8dQWPuKPT2oZIME30AFjGpjsmJXIaUS40uZZHyiJAomBJBDa5L0EJV6ImnthYvoVtKiH9BoAb1WcZrrqXxS-xxeQ5hCXWqr5y6UhjOUoOLFPfFRz-vc_jXwDNYa_cfOmHntnt_BOvmHSQfNTuGymT0pk9gRb1Pnsej06LQPgCcY8fV |
| linkToPdf | http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwpV1bS8MwFD7oJsMX7-J0ah9E3ENdm6ZN8jh0wxujDyp7K0magiDd2Kawf2-yptu8IILPPScNJ6cnp-TL9wGcIYZCGWXUVZITF2eBcAUnOpcpVVKRiAmUzcQmSK9H-30WW2yOuQtjIzi-NLAqPaNZsTZf9zDNWvaM0dw-oLqOUt3LG7b1cBWq-q_GQxWotjvP8d28FBPmW8k86hqHxTnltzE-70uLZnMJ3zXbcrqb_5zsFmzYXtNpF8mxDSsq34FaCULehabOEafgCZk6FzxPnbgUNpg2nUHmlKbjPXjqdh6vblwrneDKwGMTlyDBg0BiX9JM0RRRGmGBMcE4lAH3EfGxSvXyeLpUC6W8UESCpSHzOM6YJ2mwD5V8kKsDcJB29bRP6hOKmVDUxySVAeKCciJ5VIdWGbhEWl5xI2_xmvgllfiXCNShOfcYFpwav9g2yrVIynAbnmWjTqF7lzqcm9gvP_p5nMO_Gp5CLb7uJg-3vfsjWNevQAXirAGVyehNHcOafJ-8jEcnNtc-AIvgykk |
| openUrl | ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The+History+%28and+Philosophy%29+of+Religions&rft.jtitle=Studies+in+religion&rft.au=Rennie%2C+Bryan&rft.date=2012-03-01&rft.pub=SAGE+Publications&rft.issn=0008-4298&rft.eissn=2042-0587&rft.volume=41&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=24&rft.epage=32&rft_id=info:doi/10.1177%2F0008429811430055&rft.externalDocID=10.1177_0008429811430055 |
| thumbnail_l | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=0008-4298&client=summon |
| thumbnail_m | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=0008-4298&client=summon |
| thumbnail_s | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=0008-4298&client=summon |