Religious Studies was first introduced as a new discipline in universities and colleges around the world in the 1960s. This discipline brought about a reorientation of the study of religion, created new perspectives and influenced all sectors of education. The essays presented in this volume provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the history of Religious Studies as an academic discipline, the turning points it faces and the directions it might take in the future. The work is organised in three sections. The first presents a succinct case study of the historical development of Religious Studies in Britain. The second considers the development of Religious Studies throughout the world in its major constituents, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, 'traditional' African religions, Christianity, Islam and new religious movements in Africa, the study of truth and dialogue in religion, science and the rediscovery of religious experience, mysticism. The third section looks to developments in Religious Studies, in particular at religion in relation to the arts, gender, information technology and to Religious Studies in a global perspective.

Religious Studies: The Key Concepts is an accessible, A-Z resource, defining and explaining key terms and ideas central to the study of religion. Exploring broad and recurring themes which are applicable in both eastern and western religions, cross-cultural examples are provided for each term to give a comprehensive overview of the subject. Subjects covered include: afterlife comparative religion festivals ethics gender monotheism world religions modernity pilgrimage theism secularization With cross referencing and further reading provided throughout, this book provides an inclusive map of the discipline, and is an essential reference for all students, academics and researchers.

The growing connections between media, culture, and religion are increasingly evident in our society today but have rarely been linked theoretically until now. Beginning with the decline of religious institutions during the latter part of this century, Rethinking Media, Religion, and Culture focuses on issues such as the increasing autonomy and individualized practice of religion, the surge of media and media-based icons that are often imbued with religious qualities, and the ensuing effect on cultural practices. Editors Stewart M. Hoover and Knut Lundby examine each of these issues and the implications of major recent findings of religious, media, and cultural studies as they pertain to one another. In a primary effort, the leading class of contributors to this work effectively triangulate these three separate areas into a coherent whole. The book explores phenomena like rallies, rituals, and resistance as they are distinct expressions of religion often transmogrified into different mediated or cultural expressions. This collection should benefit the work of scholars and researchers in communication, media, cultural, and religious studies who seek a broader understanding of the two-sided relationships between religion and media, media and culture, and culture and religion.

Turning Points invites readers to join in a dialogue about creating more responsive studio art pedagogies for all, following a global pandemic that forced art educators to do what many believed to be impossible: teach studio art online. Amidst this sudden shift, long-simmering social and political challenges pushed to the forefront, such as racial injustice, access to educational resources, economic inequality, and environmental degradation. As these issues compounded, art educators and art students navigated a radical shift in priorities—rethinking the materials, spaces, and relationships that form the foundation of the discipline. This collection of essays brings together international voices from across the field to share the lived experience of responsive teaching during the pandemic, and how we might rebuild a better educational ecosystem. Chapters address how new technologies, more inclusive spaces, and a heightened focus on relationships will reshape the studio art programs of the future. Book Features: Synthesizes diverse cultural viewpoints from both leaders and practitioners in the field of art education. Focuses on the impact of the pandemic and its aftermath on studio art teaching and learning.Connects art education to sociocultural world issues, student wellness, mentorship, equity, and racial inequality.Offers suggestions for how to move the field forward to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Contributors include David Bogen, Bill Gaskins, Michelle Grabner, Samuel Hoi, Steven Henry Madoff, Ernesto Pujol, Seph Rodney, Stacey Salazar, Kimberly Sheridan, Paul A. C. Sproll, Jessica Stockholder, Robert Storr, and Mick Wilson.

This text offers a critical view of approaches to the treatment of different religions in contemporary education, in order to devise approaches to teaching and learning and to formulate policies and procedures that are fair and just to all.

In these essays, Donald Wiebe unveils a significant problem in the academic study of religion in colleges and universities in North America and Europe - that studies almost always exhibit a religious bias. To explore this issue, Wiebe looks at the religious and moral agendas behind the study of religion, showing that the boundaries between the objective study of religion and religious education as a tool for bettering society have become blurred. As a result, he argues, religious studies departments have fostered an environment where religion has become a learned or scholarly practice, rather than the object of academic scrutiny. This book provides a critical history of the failure of 20th- and 21st-century scholars to follow through on the 19th-century ideal of an objective scientific study of religious thought and behaviour. Although emancipated from direct ecclesiastical control and, to some extent, from sectarian theologizing, Wiebe argues that research and scholarship in the academic department of religious studies has failed to break free from religious constraints. He shows that an objective scientific study of religious thought and practice is not only possible, but the only appropriate approach to the study of religious phenomena.

The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religioncontains everything a student needs for a full understanding of theory and methods in religious studies. It begins by explaining the most important methodological approaches to religion, including psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and comparative study, before moving on to explore a wide variety of critical issues. Written entirely by renowned international specialists and using clear and accessible language throughout, it is the perfect guide to the problems and questions found in courses and exams.

Exegesis has long been characterized by a broad disciplinary diversity, but also ambiguity – combining biblical studies, exegesis, early Jewish studies, early Christian studies, Ancient Near Eastern studies, Greco-Roman, and classical studies in various ways. This is to say nothing of the more recent development of contextual and engaged exegesis as reflected in feminist, liberation, postcolonial and queer Biblical exegesis. Furthermore, how and why scholars study the Bible varies, not only across confessional or cultural contexts, but across institutional-academic contexts. The book engages these complex methodological questions about the interrelations of context, institutions, and knowledge production in relation to such issues as religious belonging, ethnicity, political identity, and postcolonial pasts, among other issues of contemporary importance. [Was treibt Theologie eigentlich?] Exegetische Forschung zeichnet sich seit langem durch eine große disziplinäre Vielfalt, aber auch Mehrdeutigkeit aus. Sie verbindet auf unterschiedliche Weise Bibelwissenschaft, Exegese, frühjüdische Studien, frühchristliche Studien, altorientalische Studien, griechisch-römische und klassische Studien. Ganz zu schweigen von der neueren Entwicklung einer kontextbezogenen und engagierten Exegese, wie sie in der feministischen, befreiungstheologischen, postkolonialen und queeren Bibelexegese zum Ausdruck kommt. Darüber hinaus variiert die Art und Weise, wie und warum Forschende die Bibel untersuchen, nicht nur zwischen konfessionellen oder kulturellen Kontexten, sondern auch zwischen institutionellen und akademischen Kontexten. Der Band befasst sich mit diesen komplexen methodischen Fragen über die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen Kontext, Institutionen und Wissensproduktion in Bezug auf Themen wie religiöse Zugehörigkeit, Ethnizität, politische Identität, postkoloniale Vergangenheiten und andere Themen.

Volume V distinguishes religious and spiritual education and takes a multi-faith approach to pedagogic, curricular and resource issues. The important area of collective worship is also addressed.

People form attachments to their home, their neighbourhood and environment, to the region and nation to which they belong. They express feelings about space and place, especially so in 'globalized times'. In religious studies, in theology, and in education, there is a growing interest in spatial theories either as constructed within national borders, or within international and transnational spaces. The 'spatial turn' has become an acknowledged term in interdisciplinary discourses. Although every practice of religious education is situated and contextually dependent, religious education (RE) research until now has not systematically paid attention to this fundamental insight. This volume is devoted specifically to clarifying the close relationship between RE practice and spatial and situational conditions. After clarifying the main concepts in Part 1, Part 2 includes chapters related to classroom studies, while Part 3 focuses on studies about teachers of religious education. Part 4 contains studies beyond the classroom, such as school chapels, churches, and 'inner space'. All contributions to this volume were developed in the context of the European Network for Religious Education through Contextual Approaches (ENRECA) which has focused recently on the central issue of space and place.