Religion Today

Chapter 1: Welcome to the "Worlds" of Religion
Orientation: The "Worlds" of Religion
Case Study: Sightseeing and Tourism
Exploration: Inquiry into the Challenge of Learning
Retain or Revise Our Networks of Understanding?
Investigation: Major Trends in the Development of Religious Studies
The Naturalist Approach
The Founders of the Sociology and Psychology
Evaluation of the Naturalist Approaches
The Religionist Approach
The Controversy Over the Naturalist and Religionist Approaches
The Analytic Study of Religion
Evaluation of the Evolution of Religious Studies
The Characteristics of Religious Studies
Concluding Proposal: Religious Studies and Critical Thinking
Chapter 2: Defining Religion
Orientation: The Government's Definition of Religion
The Supreme Court and the Focus on Belief
Exploration: The Challenge of Defining Religion
Etymology: The Original Meaning
The Reformation and the "Age of Discovery"
"Natural Religion" and the Enlightenment
Immanuel Kant and Essentialism
Evaluation of the Definition's Development
The Etymology of the Term
The Age of Discovery's View of Religion
The Enlightenment's View of Religion
The Concept of Religious Freedom
Essentialism
Investigation: Alternatives to Essentialism
Functionalism: From What It Is to What It Does
Family Resemblance Theory
Concluding Proposal: Contextualizing the Definition of Religion
The Challenge to Binary Thinking
Religion as a Heuristic Device
Chapter 3: The Hijab, a Study in Critical Thinking
Orientation
Forms of Muslim Hijab
Discrimination against Wearing Hijab in America
Prohibition in France and Elsewhere
Compulsion in Iran and Afghanistan
Protests: Some for and Some Against Wearing Hijab
Exploration: The Research Question and Frames of Reference
Investigation: Frames for the Interpretation of Wearing Hijab
Colonialism (Orientalism)
Feminism
Islamism
Conclusions
Evaluation: Analysis of the Reasons for Wearing Hijab
The Key of Personal Agency
Concluding Proposal: The Resolution of the Seeming Contradiction
The Necessary Tools for Analysis
Chapter 4: Religious Experience and Spirituality
Orientation: The Origin and Definition of "Spiritual but Not Religious"
The Definition of "Spirituality"
Is SBNR a Rationalization or a New Form of Religiosity?
Exploration: The Pioneers of the Study of Religious Experience
William James: Healthy-Mindedness or the "Sick Soul"
Rudolf Otto: Non-Rational Experience and True Reality
Mircea Eliade: The Nostalgia for the Sacred
Investigation: The Classical Approaches
Common Characteristics of Religious Experience
Criticisms of the Sui Generis Characteristics
Theories that Revise the Classical Approaches
Concluding Proposal: SBNR and the Future of Religion
A New Trend of Religiosity or an Excuse for Non-Participation?
Evaluation: A Case Study in Attribution
The Theistic Storehouse of Attributions
Theist Organized Religion Is the Key to the Future
The Store of Attributions Available to the SBNR
Chapter 5: Sacred Technology, Symbol
Orientation: The Treatment of Human Remains and Objects from Ancient Graves
The Controversy
Exploration: Scientific Artifacts or Sacred Heritage?
Special Treatment in Museums
Complaints about the Limits on Access
A Difference in Worldviews
The Research Question: Nature and Interpretation of Symbols
Which Museum Artifact Is Sacred?
Investigation: The Variety, Definition, and Characteristics of Symbols
What Symbols Represent: The Zoroastrian Sacred Cord
Types of Religious Symbols
What Symbols Represent and What They Mean
Evaluation: The Relationship of Symbols to What They Symbolize
Replaceable or Irreplaceable
Possessing Impermanent Power
Useful Up to a Point
Symbols Must Be Discarded
Concluding Proposal: A Symbolic Approach to Sacred Objects
Critique of the Insider/Outsider Distinction
The Role of Religious Studies in Interpreting Religious Symbols
Chapter 6: Sacred Technology, Myth
Orientation: The Gift of the Sacred Pipe: Oglala Sioux Native America
The Research Question: Developing a Suitable Understanding of Myth
Exploration: The Rationalist Study of Myth
Evaluation of the Rationalist Interpretation of Myths
The Romantic Interpretation of Myth
The Traditional versus the Modern Mind: Cassirer
Two Tiers of Reality
The Psychological Approach to Myth
Myths and Dreams: Carl Jung
The Heroic Journey: Joseph Campbell
Investigation: Presuppositions of the Romantic Approach
Two Forms of Consciousness: Cassirer
Myth vs. Science: Eliade
Access to Myth Through Psychology
The Journey into the Psyche
Myth as Ideology
Evaluation of the Idea of Myth as Ideology
Concluding Proposal: Understanding the Role of Myths in Life
The Goal of Finding an Acceptable Way of Interpreting Myths
Chapter 7: Sacred Technology, Ritual
Orientation: The Case of the Hopi Kachinas
The Definition and Characteristics of Ritual
Exploration: The Nature of Ritual
Types of Rituals
Investigation: The Interpretation of Ritual
The Relationship of Myth to Ritual
Ritual as Expressive: Harrison
The Ritual System as Logical: Evans-Pritchard
Ritual as Sacred Place: Jonathan Z Smith
Evaluation of the Theories of Interpreting Ritual
The Emotional Character of Ritual: Harrison
The Logic of Ritual
Ritual and Sacred Space: Johnathan Z Smith
Western Categories of Interpretation
Concluding Proposal: Interpreting Symbols, Myths, and Rituals in Context
The Social Context of Sacred Objects
The General and the Particular
Meaning in the Social Context
The Ritual Context
Principles of Interpreting Symbols and Myths in Their Ritual and Social Contexts
Lessons Learned
Chapter 8: The Justification of Belief
Orientation: Evidence and Belief
Exploration: The Question of the Justification of Belief
The Definition of Belief
Investigation: Approaches to the Justification of Religious Belief
Fideism: Belief in (Sincere) Belief
Appeal to Revelation from Without: Hinduism, Amana Colonies, Islam
Appeal to Enlightenment from Within: Zen Buddhism
Appeal to Authority
Appeal to Religious Experience According to John Hick
Evaluation of Approaches to the Justification of Belief
Appeals to Revelation/Enlightenment and Authority
Evaluation of the Appeal to Experience
Evaluation of the Evidentialist Approach
Concluding Proposal for Study: The Authority of Tradition
Scripture, a Combination of Types of Authority
The Origin and Development of Selected Scriptures
Belief Justified by Its Practice
Chapter 9: Religious Beliefs and the Questions They Answer
Orientation: The Question for Study
Exploration: A Method of Comprehending Religious Beliefs
An Example of the Method: The Origin and Order of the Universe
Investigation: Freedom and Destiny
Eastern Views of Freedom as Liberation
The Focus of Western Views: Freedom as the Ability to Make Choices
Evaluation of the Answers to the Question of Freedom and Destiny
Investigation: Suffering
Suffering as the Universal Condition of Human Life
Suffering as the Experience of Mental/Emotional Distress
The Problem of Theodicy
Answers to the Question of Suffering
Evaluation of the Theories of Suffering
Evaluation of the Method of Question and Answer in General
From Studying Beliefs to Focusing on Believers
Concluding Proposal: Beliefs are More Than Assertions
Staking One's Life on Belief
Understanding Beliefs from the Viewpoint of the Believer
Refocus of Study from Bodies of Beliefs to Meaning Systems
Chapter 10: Religion in the Digital Age
Orientation: Digital Religion
Traits of Digital Religion
Types of New Religious Movements
Exploration: The Assumption that Religions are Unchanging
The Challenge of Digital Religion to Conventional Assumptions
Investigation: The Dynamics of Change in Religions and their Beliefs
Changes in Practice and Corresponding Changes in Beliefs
NRMs are Models of the Change of Beliefs
Characteristics of New Religious Movements
Charismatic Leaders as Agents for Change in Religion
Evaluation: What Makes the Work of Charismatic Leaders Lasting?
Concluding Proposal: How Digital Religion Stimulates Change in Religion
The Key to the Charismatic Leadership of Digital Religion
The Survival of New Religious Movements and Digital Forms of Religion
The Wildcard of Artificial Intelligence
The Potential Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Religion
Will Robots Develop New Religious Movements?
Conclusion: What Will Last?
Chapter 11: Inside the Religious Brain
Orientation: A New Horizon for the Study of Religious Experience
The Development of the Neuroscience of Religion: Brain Scans
The Pioneers
The Expanding Field of the Brain Imagery of Religious Practice
Results of the Brain Scans of Religious Practices
Protests and Prospects: The Response to the Findings
Exploration: The Challenge of Neuroscience
The Findings of Neuroscience
The Question Focus: How to Develop a Neuroscientific Theory of Religious Experience
Investigation: A Reconsideration of Past Assumptions of Religious Experience
Confirmation of the Revisions to Past Assumptions: Danish Study
Concluding Proposal: Principles for a Theory of Religious Experience
The Plasticity of the Brain
The Emergent Character of Religious Experience
The Relationship between the Brain and Mind
The Interaction of Brain, Mind, and Culture
The Emergence of Religious Experience: Bottom Up and Top Down
Evaluation of the Proposed Theory
Critical Realism and Possible Realities Beyond Mental Processes
Chapter 12: Religion and Violence
Orientation: The Perplexing Relationship of Religion and Violence
Terrorism
Domestic Terrorism
But Is Terrorism "Religious"?
Exploration: Probing the Relationship Between Religion and Violence
Three Levels of Violence
The Categories of Religious Association with Violence: Lincoln
The Question for Study: How to Explain the Association of Religion and Violence
Investigation: Survey of Approaches that Explain Religious Violence
Religions are Violent by Nature
The Argument from History
Absolutism, the Root Cause of Violence: Dawkins
Why Religious Moderates are Still to Blame
Why Is Religion So Widespread When It Is So Harmful?
The Role of Religion in Justifying State Violence: Armstrong
Religion Is Intrinsically Violent Because It Promotes Group Identity
Group Identity Promotes Difference Leading to Conflict: Wellman and Tokuno
Religion Makes Violence Legitimate
Only Some Religions are Violent
The Combination of Religion and Nationalism: Three Types
Cosmic War (Apocalyptic) Ideas Enflame Religious Nationalism: Jurgensmeyer
Religious Exclusivism Breeds Intolerance and Conflict: Eck
Only False Religions are Violent
Chapter 13: Evaluating the Theories of Religious Violence
Orientation: Critical Thinking about Theories
Evaluation: Analysis of the Theories Reviewed in the Last Chapter
Analysis of the Theories of the New Atheists
Analysis of the Theory that Group Identity Makes Religion Violent
Analysis of the Theory of Cosmic Violence (Apocalypticism)
Analysis of the Claim that Religious Types Make the Difference
Analysis of the Theory of the Pluralism Project
Analysis of the Theories of False Religion and Essentialism
Concluding Proposal: A Multiple Conditions Approach
Building the Proposal: Types and Conditions
Leadership, the Key to War and Peace
Conditions for Violence
Evaluating the Concluding Proposal: Empirical and Practical Tests
Multiple Conditions that Correlate with Violence: Isaacs
Factors Supporting the Militant Leadership Theory
A "Take Away" from our Discussion: The Crucial Role of Religious Studies
Chapter 14: Religion and Justice
Orientation: The Cry for Justice
Exploration: Justice as Dharma
Investigation: Hindu Justice in a Well-Ordered Society
Exploration: Karma and Reincarnation
Investigation: Justice as Karma
Karmic Parallels in Christianity
A Question for Reflection: Competing Conceptions of Karma
Investigation: Retributive Karma
Retributive Karma as Blaming the Victim
Investigation: What if Everything Happens for a Reason? And the Reason is Always Just?
Investigation: Can there be Justice if there are No "Individuals"?
Investigation: Justice as Non-Violence from a Jain and Buddhist Interpretation
Everything is Interconnected
Investigation: Justice as Community (Including Nature) with Indigenous Interpretations of Justice
Harmony over Hierarchy
Collision between Indigenous and Western Conceptions of Justice
Concluding Proposal: Application to Current Issues and Evaluation in the Next Chapter
Chapter 15: Religion, Justice, and Contemporary Moral Issues
Orientation: Justice and Identity (and Identity Politics)
Identity Politics and Affirmative Action
Identity Politics and "Black Lives Matter"
Backlash to Identity Politics
The Original Identity Politics: Religion and American Slavery
Investigation: Stereotypes, Implicit Bias, and Oppression
Evaluation: Stereotypes are Necessary (and Sometimes Accurate!)
Evaluation: Stereotyping is Neither Necessary Nor Accurate
Orientation: Justice and the Role of Women in Society
Women and Men Must Play their Respective Roles in Society
Social Roles of Men and Women are Neither Natural nor Divinely Created
Investigation: Justice and Abortion
Rights of the Unborn: The Fetus is a Person with Full Human Rights
Rights of the Unborn: The Fetus is a Person but Abortion is Still Permissible
The Fetus is Not (Yet) a Person: Potential and Actual Rights
Investigation: Indigenous Views on Personhood and Rights
Rights for Groups, Individuals, or Both?
Investigation: Religious Conceptions of Justice in Secular Societies
The Traditional View: If Secular and Religious Conceptions of Justice Conflict, Stick with the Religious
Evaluation of the Traditional View
The Standard View: If Secular and Religious Conceptions of Justice Conflict, Stick with the Secular
Evaluation of the Standard View
Response to Investigations: Expand Our Conception of Reasoning and Argument
Concluding Proposal: Argument as Persuasion, But also Collaboration, and Other Things as Well
Conclusion
Appendix: The Methods of this Book
Bibliography
Index
About the Authors