Herling, Outline of Chapters
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Subheadings in bold
1. Beginnings in the study of religion (Jan 15)
a. pp. 1-2 - Ubiquity of religion; Secularization – and yet hasn’t disappeared
b. box: skepticism about religion (Enlightenment paradigm)
c. I Want to Know How Other people live
i. Why study
ii. Motivations
d. Studying religion means something… to you
i. Situates it in humanities – deep questions; searching
ii. Self-consciousness
1. Reflexivity; phenomenological approach
2. Hermeneutical approach
3. Two distinct approaches, common ground
iii. Comparison
iv. Defamiliarization
v. Empathy
e. Religion on the global and national stage
i. The global situation
ii. The nation
f. Dwelling in a World of Meaning
2. Theory in the study of religion (Jan 22)
a. What is theory?
b. Box: The term religion
c. Theory in Action: An Example
d. what constitutes theory; description, prediction, explanation; definitions
i. Description
1. Thick and thin; Clifford Geertz
ii. Explanation
iii. Prediction
e. Insider/Outsider: orders of meaning in the study of religion
f. Insider-outsider problem
g. Four Orders
i. Immediate
ii. Reflective
iii. Academic; theoretical
iv. Your order; your position
v. Theology vs. religious studies
3. Classic Theories in the study of Religion, part 1 (Jan 29)
a. Trajectory of study - Individual to the social
b. The study of religion: a modern phenomenon?
c. Religion as unique experience
i. Rudolph Otto
ii. William James
d. Religion and its social function
i. Emile Durkheim
ii. Max Weber
iii. Victor Turner
iv. Clifford Geertz
v. Conclusion: Welcome to the Jungle
4. Classic Theories in the study of religion, part 2 (Feb 5)
a. What is theory?
b. Religion as illusion
i. Karl Marx
ii. Sigmund Freud
c. Phenomenology of religion
i. Carl Jung
ii. Mircea Eliade
iii. Ninian Smart
d. Back t theology
i. Paul Tillich
ii. W.C Smith
e. Conclusion: Back to Plato’s cave