Vocabulary for the Study of Religion
Get access
Subject: Religious Studies
Edited by: Robert A. Segal & Kocku von Stuckrad.
The Vocabulary for the Study of Religion offers a unique overview of critical terms in the study of religion(s). This first dictionary in English covers a broad spectrum of theoretical topics used in the academic study of religion, including those from adjacent disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, historiography, theology, philology, literary studies, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, and political sciences.
Subscriptions: Brill.com
| Help us improve our service |
The Vocabulary for the Study of Religion offers a unique overview of critical terms in the study of religion(s). This first dictionary in English covers a broad spectrum of theoretical topics used in the academic study of religion, including those from adjacent disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, historiography, theology, philology, literary studies, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, and political sciences.
Subscriptions: Brill.com
Narrative
(3,057 words)
Abstract: Narrative plays a crucial role in religion. Most religious texts are wholly or substantially in narrative form (myth, Bible) or embed narratives (prayers and hymns). And many epic narratives have a semi-religious status or at least, with gods playing a central role, contribute significantly to religious beliefs. In the course of the twentieth century (semi-)religious narrative texts like the Bible and Homeric epics started to be studied specifically as narratives, an approach which helped to explain their quality as world lit…
Nation / Nationalism
(3,473 words)
Abstract: The concept of the nation may be defined as a territorial human communi…
Nativism
(1,362 words)
Abstract: While the concept of nativism emerged within the context of nineteenth-century American religious history, it has since developed into two distinct forms; one that is dominant in American h…
Naturalism
(2,221 words)
Abstract: Metaphysical and epistemological naturalism are widely accepted in contemporary philosophy. This situtation is historically atypical and, in various ways, is strongly influenced by the success of natural science. Its presence is most obvious in philosophy of mind and efforts to “naturalize philosophy” — meaning to “replace some area of philosophy by some discipline in or sub-discipline in the natural sciences.” The roots of epistemological naturalism lie in classical empi…
Nature
(3,875 words)
Abstract: Conceptions of nature and its relationship to religion have varied widely. For some early scholars of religion, nature provided the base set of experiences out of which humans developed the…
New Religious Movements
(2,492 words)
Abstract: “New religious movements” (NRM) is an academic expression applied to a res…