Method Today: Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion

Thirty or forty years ago, the phrase method and theory in Religious Studies scholarship referred to more social scientific approaches to the study of religion, as opposed to the more traditional theological hermeneutics common to the field. Today, however, it seems that everyone claims to do theory and method, including those people who shun social scientific approaches the academic study of religion. As a result, what does it mean to do theory and method in an era where the phrase has no distinct meaning? To help address this question, the North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR) addressed the issue of theory at its annual meeting in 2015. Based on what all agreed were productive and rigorous conversations, NAASR returned to the topic at its meeting a year later, where panelists and presenters discussed the issue of method. This volume is a collection of papers presented at the 2016 NAASR meeting, where panelists specifically addressed description, interpretation, comparison, and explanation in Religious Studies scholarship.

Table of Contents:
Part I 1. Comparison Aaron W. Hughes 2. He who Knows One Language, Knows None: On the Inevitabilities of Comparison and Translation Lucas Carmichael 3. Comparison and the Production of Knowledge A Response to Aaron Hughes' "Comparison" Thomas Carrico 4. On Z-factors and Empires: Reflections on Aaron Hughes's Essay on Comparison Drew Durdin 5. Complicating 'Comparison': On Perspective, Rhetoric, and Recognition in the Study of Religion Stacie Swain 6. Response Aaron W. Hughes Part II 7. Toward a Pushier Critical Analysis of "Religion" and Attendant Categories Naomi Goldenberg 8. Preaching to the Choir? Religious Studies and Religionization Ian Alexander Cuthbertson 9. Religion and Description Daniel McClellan 10. Title Emily D Crews 11. In Pursuit of a Pushier Study of Those Words we Like to Put in Quotes Neil George 12. Response to the Responses to "Toward a Pushier Critical Analysis of 'Religion' and Attendant Categories" Naomi Goldenberg Part III 13. Explanation and the Study of Religion Egil Asprem, Ann Taves 14. "Constitution God-Gives Rights": Explaining Religion and Politics in the Malheur Occupation Spencer Dew 15. Ontological v. Axiological Approaches to Religion Joel Harrison 16. Count Me In Paul Kenny 17. Causal Explanations in the Study of Religion Erin Roberts 18. To Our Critics Egil Asprem, Ann Taves Part IV 19. Interpretation and the Study of Religion Kevin Schilbrack 20. Homo Interpretans Jennifer Eyl 21. Combining and Constituting Mark Gardiner, Steven Engler 22. Subjectivity and Meaning Joshua Lupo 23. A Reply to my Critics Kevin Schilbrack Afterword Method: NAASR and Beyond? Gregory D. Alles

About the Author :
Brad Stoddard is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He has degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, Yale Divinity School, and Florida State University. His research explores religion and public policy, particularly as they relate to criminal justice policies in the era of faith-based initiatives.