Religion: The Modern Theories

by Kunin, Seth Daniel

• ISBN13: 9780801877285
• ISBN10: 0801877288
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-01
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

Over the course of the twentieth century, thinkers from Marx and Weber to Freud, Jung, and Campbell have transformed the way we understand the religious experience. Within the field of religious studies, various intellectual approaches -- from feminism to phenomenology -- have further shaped the ways in which scholars examine rituals, symbols, and belief systems. In Religion: The Modern Theories, Seth D. Kunin provides an accessible yet comprehensive introduction to the social-scientific theories of religion that developed during the twentieth century, explaining the most significant theories of religion and their precursors.Kunin begins with a detailed discussion of the century's major theorists of religion, their ideas, and their influence, among them Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Freud, Jung, and Otto. He next explores how various disciplines -- sociology, psychology, phenomenology, gender studies, and anthropology -- have affected the study of religion. Kunin then analyzes the constituent elements of religion itself: ritual, symbolism, and myth. Throughout, the author emphasizes the need to question and reassess accepted theories and definitions of religion, and he concludes with suggestions for framing new definitions of religion that provide more culturally sensitive and open-ended ways of understanding.

Author Biography

Seth D. Kunin is the head of the School of Divinity, Religious Studies, and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. He is coeditor of A Companion to Religious Studies and Theology; editor of Judaism: Themes in Religious Studies; and author of God's Place in the World and The Logic of Incest: A Structural Analysis of Hebrew Mythology.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Part I SETTING THE AGENDA
Introduction	3	(3)
1. Karl Marx and Cultural Materialism	6	(10)
2. Emile Durkheim and Functionalism	16	(19)
3. Max Weber	35	(9)
4. Sigmund Freud and the Psychological Tradition	44	(18)
5. Rudolf Otto: The Idea of the Holy	62	(9)
Part II CONTINUING THE DISCUSSION
Introduction	71	(2)
6. Sociology, Methodological Atheism and Secularisation	73	(27)
7. Psychological Approaches	100	(16)
8. Phenomenology and the History of Religion	116	(21)
9. Feminism, Gender and Religion	137	(12)
10. Anthropological Approaches to Religion	149	(22)
11. Some Final Words	171	(12)
Part III TAKING THE DISCUSSION IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
Introduction	183	(3)
12. Ritual	186	(8)
13. Symbolism	194	(19)
14. Myth	213	(7)
15. Last Words	220	(3)
Bibliography	223	(6)
Index	229