religion as an analytical category

what does it mean to talk about social scientific theories of religion?

to do a systematic study of human behavior and culture using social scientific methods

what is positivism?

the idea the new knowledge must stem from what is already empirically or factually known

why does positivism make studying religion hard?

personal and internal experience cannot be easily measured

what are the 4 theoretical relationships between religion and sciences?

conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration

what does new interpretive sociology allow?

a more fluid approach to cultural traditions, a move beyond functional approaches, religion not just at a thought, but as a useful social practice, religion studied empirically

what is a monotheistic approach?

use of a single property (or a single set of properties) as the deciding factor of whether a concept applies

what is a monotheistic approach concerned with?

necessary and sufficient conditions

substantive and functional strategies (content and method)

the 3 C’s creed, code, cultus

ex: catherine albanese’s definition

what is a polythetic approach?

a network of similarities that overlap and crisscross each other, stems from the conceptual revolution

what is a polythetic approach concerned with?

multiple varieties that allow for difference scales of fuzziness and evolution, and helps us discover new patters and relationships in religion

ex: robert c. neville’s 5 components

what are the “multiple varieties” in polythetic approaches?

bounded (network of things where religions are defined)

open (completely free, can get complicated)

anchored (mix of components, but has 1 superior anchoring point)

what is subjectivism?

the idea that every scholar interprets religion through their own biased approaches, if you can’t escape your own lens, you can’t objectively compare religions

what are the 3 primary contentions of subjectivism?

having an approach, begin and end with an approach, and the inability to escape an approach

what are the issues with pure subjectivism?

creates a determinative cycle

makes comparisons impossible

applies theories without proving or testing

makes false dichotomy with the idea of objectivity

what are segal’s criteria for assessment?

adequacy, simplicity, scope, and testability

what is adequacy?

the ability of a theory to account for data, (does it actually explain the evidence?)

what is simplicity?

the fewer parts to a theory the better (it is clean, or unnecessarily complicated?)

what is scope?

the range of a theory beyond the immediate phenomena (can it be applied to other religions?)

what is testability?

if a theory and its premises can be verified/tested (can it be proven wrong?)

what is religion for durkheim?

a social fact that exists outside of individuals and influences them (race, gender, politics)

a reinforcement through human activity that maintain social order through community

a ritualistic understanding of the sacred

creates community