عنوان

To Naturalize is to Differentiate

Number

LA121558

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

To Naturalize is to Differentiate

General Material Designation

[Article]

First Statement of Responsibility

Stefani Ruper

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Leiden

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Brill

Text of Note

Many scholars have expressed fears that naturalism will homogenize religion, thereby reifying the concept and distorting the academy's perception of local cultures. Yet this fear is misplaced. In fact, recent advances in cognitive science, most notably regarding the development of interactional theories of cognition, lend significant support to conceptualizing religion heterogeneously. In this paper I first explore Russell McCutcheon's rationale for fearing naturalism. I then obviate McCutcheon's fears by demonstrating how the interactionalist perspective in cognitive science both promotes a heterogeneous understanding of human behavior as well as refutes sui generis religion. I conclude by recommending fusing insights from interactionalism with a ground-up, sociological approach to "religion" such as Timothy Fitzgerald's, which results in research methodology that is appropriately sensitive to the natural differences of behavior that have been historically identified as religious. Many scholars have expressed fears that naturalism will homogenize religion, thereby reifying the concept and distorting the academy's perception of local cultures. Yet this fear is misplaced. In fact, recent advances in cognitive science, most notably regarding the development of interactional theories of cognition, lend significant support to conceptualizing religion heterogeneously. In this paper I first explore Russell McCutcheon's rationale for fearing naturalism. I then obviate McCutcheon's fears by demonstrating how the interactionalist perspective in cognitive science both promotes a heterogeneous understanding of human behavior as well as refutes sui generis religion. I conclude by recommending fusing insights from interactionalism with a ground-up, sociological approach to "religion" such as Timothy Fitzgerald's, which results in research methodology that is appropriately sensitive to the natural differences of behavior that have been historically identified as religious.

Date of Publication

2018

Physical description

71-95

Title

Method & Theory in the Study of Religion

Volume Number

30/1

International Standard Serial Number

1570-0682

Subject Term

cognitive science of religion

Subject Term

comparative religions

Subject Term

naturalism

Subject Term

Russell McCutcheon

Subject Term

theory of religion

Stefani Ruper

Call Number

10.1163/15700682-12341423

Electronic name

p

[Article]

275578

a

Y