The Academic Study of Religion Explained

Summary

The video script explores the multifaceted academic discipline of religious studies, highlighting its interdisciplinary nature. It discusses the sociological approach, with Emile Durkheim and Max Weber's foundational work, and modern studies like Nancy Ammerman's focusing on daily religious practices. The psychological perspective, from Freud's comparisons of religious rituals to obsessive-compulsive behavior to contemporary cognitive science applications by scholars like Pascal Boyer, is also examined. The script emphasizes the scientific study of religion's reductionist methodology and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to understand religion's complex role in culture and society.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The academic study of religion is an interdisciplinary field that draws from various disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience.
• 👨‍🏫 Sociological approach to religion focuses on the structures, interactions, and collective behavior of human beings in the context of religion, with foundational works by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber.
• 📊 Modern sociologists like Nancy Ammerman use quantitative and qualitative tools to study the social structures and practices of religion in daily life.
• 🧠 The psychological approach to religion examines how the human mind, thoughts, emotions, and brain processes influence religious beliefs and practices, with early contributions from Freud.
• 🧬 Contemporary scientific studies in religion, such as those by Dimitris Xygalatas and Patricia Sharp, focus on biological and neurological aspects of religious practices.
• 🧐 The scientific study of religion emphasizes reductionism and explanation, aiming to understand religion through naturalistic perspectives rather than theological or spiritual ones.
• 🌟 Religion is a complex phenomenon that is embedded in all aspects of culture, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach to its study.
• 🔍 Religious studies as a discipline allows for the integration of different methods and approaches, making it a diverse and inclusive field of study.
• 🌐 Scholars in religious studies can come from various backgrounds, such as biology, philosophy, or politics, reflecting the multifaceted nature of religious beliefs and practices.
• 🏛 The study of religion is not limited to one method or discipline; it encourages a combination of approaches to reveal different aspects of religious phenomena.

Q & A

What is the academic discipline that studies religion?

The academic discipline that studies religion is known as religious studies.

Why is the study of religion considered an interdisciplinary field?

The study of religion is considered an interdisciplinary field because it draws from multiple methods and disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience to understand the complex nature of religion.

How does the sociological approach to the study of religion differ from other approaches?

The sociological approach focuses on the structures, interactions, and collective behavior of human beings in relation to religion, examining how religion functions in society and influences social structures.

What are some key questions that sociologists studying religion might ask?

Sociologists studying religion might ask questions like: How do new religious movements form? Why do humans participate in communal rituals? How do factors like gender, race, and ethnicity influence religious identity?

Who are some influential sociologists that have contributed to the study of religion?

Influential sociologists that have contributed to the study of religion include Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and modern sociologists like Nancy Ammerman.

What is the psychological approach to studying religion, and who are some scholars that have used this approach?

The psychological approach to studying religion examines how the human mind, thoughts, emotions, and brain processes influence religious belief and practice. Scholars like Sigmund Freud and Gananath Obeyesekere have used this approach.

How does the scientific study of religion differ from other approaches?

The scientific study of religion emphasizes reductionism and explanation, seeking to understand religious beliefs and behaviors through naturalistic causes without relying on theological or spiritual explanations.

What is the significance of David Hume's ideas in the scientific study of religion?

David Hume's ideas are significant because he argued that religious beliefs and behaviors could be explained naturalistically, forming the core of the scientific study of religion.

Why is it beneficial to have a separate discipline for religious studies despite its interdisciplinary nature?

Having a separate discipline for religious studies is beneficial because religion is too complex for one discipline to manage, and it requires an interdisciplinary approach to fully understand its influence on culture, art, politics, and other aspects of society.

Can you provide an example of how different approaches in religious studies can be combined?

Yes, an anthropologist of religion might use psychological approaches, or a historian of religion might also use archaeological data, demonstrating how different approaches can be combined in the study of religion.

What does the term 'reductionism' mean in the context of the scientific study of religion?

In the context of the scientific study of religion, 'reductionism' refers to the attempt to explain complex phenomena, such as religion, by breaking them down into simpler, more fundamental components, often using scientific methods.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Academic Approaches to the Study of Religion

This paragraph introduces the multidisciplinary nature of religious studies, which draws from various fields like anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience. It discusses the sociological approach to religion, highlighting the work of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, who studied the origins, functions, and roles of religion in society. The paragraph also mentions modern sociologists like Nancy Ammerman, who examine the social structures and practices of religion in daily life. The psychological approach is touched upon, with a mention of Freud's comparison of religious rituals to obsessive-compulsive behavior and the modern scholars who have built upon his methodology. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the interdisciplinary approach required in religious studies and the various methods used to study religion, from demographic analysis to in-person interviews.

Keywords

💡Religious Studies

Religious Studies is an academic discipline that involves the critical, systematic, and comprehensive study of religion. It draws from various methods and fields such as anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience to understand religion in its various dimensions. In the video, the speaker discusses how religious studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines religion's role in society, its psychological impact, and its biological underpinnings.

💡Sociological Approach

The sociological approach to religion focuses on the social structures, interactions, and collective behaviors of human beings as they relate to religious beliefs and practices. It is exemplified in the video by mentioning Emile Durkheim's work on the origins and function of religion in society, as well as Max Weber's analysis of religion's role in economic and social structures.

💡Anthropological Approach

While not explicitly mentioned, the anthropological approach would involve studying religion in the context of human societies and cultures, examining how religious beliefs and practices vary across different groups and how they are influenced by cultural factors. This approach would complement the sociological and psychological perspectives discussed in the video.

💡Psychological Approach

The psychological approach to religion examines how the human mind, thoughts, emotions, and brain processes influence religious belief and practice. The video references Freud's comparison of religious rituals to obsessive-compulsive behavior and modern scholars' use of psychoanalytical methods and cognitive science to study religion.

💡Cognitive Science

Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the mental processes underlying behavior, including perception, memory, thinking, and language. In the context of the video, cognitive science is applied to understand how the human brain is predisposed to religious belief, as argued by Pascal Boyer in his book 'Religion Explained'.

💡Interdisciplinary Approach

An interdisciplinary approach involves the use of multiple disciplines to study a single subject. In religious studies, this means combining methods from anthropology, sociology, psychology, and other fields to gain a comprehensive understanding of religion. The video emphasizes the importance of this approach due to the complexity of religion and its intersection with various aspects of culture.

💡Reductionism

Reductionism is the idea that complex phenomena can be explained by breaking them down into simpler, more fundamental components. In the scientific study of religion, as mentioned in the video, reductionism involves explaining religious beliefs and behaviors through naturalistic causes rather than theological or spiritual explanations.

💡Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology is a field that examines how psychological traits have evolved over time due to natural selection. The video cites Pascal Boyer's work, which applies evolutionary psychology to argue that the tendency towards religion is hardwired into the human brain.

💡Neural Underpinnings

Neural underpinnings refer to the biological basis of mental processes, often studied through neuroscience. The video mentions Patricia Sharp's research on the neural mechanisms involved in meditation and mindfulness, illustrating how neuroscience can contribute to the study of religious practices.

💡Collective Human Behavior

Collective human behavior refers to the actions and interactions of people in groups, which can be influenced by shared beliefs and practices, such as religion. The video discusses how sociologists study religion as an example of collective behavior, examining its origins, functions, and impact on society.

💡Naturalistic Explanation

A naturalistic explanation is one that seeks to account for phenomena in terms of natural causes and processes, without invoking supernatural or spiritual forces. The video references David Hume's argument that religious beliefs and behaviors can be explained naturalistically, which is a core principle in the scientific study of religion.

Highlights

Academics in religious studies often envy job titles like sociologist or archaeologist.

Religious studies is an interdisciplinary field drawing from anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience.

Sociological approach to religion focuses on structures, interactions, and collective behavior.

Emile Durkheim's work on the origins and function of religion in society.

Max Weber's analysis of religion's role in economic and social structures.

Modern sociologists study social structures and practices of religion in daily life.

Questions about new religious movements, communal rituals, and influences on religious identity.

Use of quantitative and qualitative tools in sociological studies of religion.

Psychological approach to religion studies the influence of the human mind on religious belief and practice.

Freud's comparison of religious rituals to obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Modern scholars building on Freud's methodology with a focus on the human brain.

Cognitive science approach to religion, such as Pascal Boyer's evolutionary psychology perspective.

Scientific study of religion emphasizes reductionism and explanation.

David Hume's argument for naturalistic explanations of religious beliefs and behaviors.

Religious studies as a separate discipline due to the complexity of religion in culture.

Interdisciplinary approach required in religious studies to manage its complexity.

Different approaches in religious studies reveal different sets of data.

Religious studies welcomes scholars from various fields due to its diverse methodologies.

Transcripts

I've always been jealous of academics who have fancy job titles like sociologist or archaeologist.

They just sound so cool, but what do you do when you study religion?

Am I a religiologist? Well, one of the reasons why this is even an issue is because religious studies the- academic discipline - draws from multiple methods,

from anthropology, from sociology, and even some of the hard sciences like neuroscience,

bringing all of these tools to the table to study the single subject religion.

So, what are some of the main approaches to the academic study of religion and how do they differ?

Let's start with the sociological approach to religion. Sociology is the scientific study of society including the structures,

interactions, and collective behavior of human beings; and if we're talking about collective human behavior, religion is a great example.

So it shouldn't surprise you some of the foundational thinkers of

sociology studied religion.

Emile Durkheim, in his book "The Elementary Forms of Religious Life," tried to describe the origins and function of religion in society.

Sociologist Max Weber analyzed the role religion played in economic and social structures with his essay "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,"

and although later studies are a little more sophisticated than Durkheim and Weber, these scholars continue to shape the sociological

study of religion. Modern

sociologists such as Nancy Ammerman at Boston University study the social structures and practices of religion as it's practiced in daily life.

Asking questions like: How do new religious movements form? Why do humans participate in communal ritual?

And how do factors like gender race and ethnicity all influence religious identity? Studies like these use a combination of

quantitative and qualitative tools like analyzing demographic data, conducting surveys,

in-person interviews, or even archival research.

But all of these tools combined to identify and analyze religion as it functions in society.

But while guys like Durkheim and Weber were studying the intersection of religion and society,

scholars like Freud were taking a

psychological approach to religion studying, how the human mind, our thoughts, our emotions, and even the biological processes of our brain

influence religious belief and practice. Now, Freud famous compared religious rituals to

obsessive-compulsive behavior in his essay "Obsessive Actions and Religious Rractices," but modern scholars have generally debunked his more eccentric

approaches to religion, while at the same time building on his methodology of focusing on the human brain.

Some of these studies take a more

Freudian approach to religion, like Princeton emeritus professor Gananath Obeyesekere, who uses psycho-

analytical methods when studying the religions of his home country, Sri Lanka.

Other scholars take a more cognitive science approach. Pascal Boyer, for example, a professor of anthropology and psychology at Washington University

St. Louis, applies the study of evolutionary psychology to religion. In his book Religion Explained"

he argues that the tendency towards religion is hardwired into the human brain -

and you'll notice this sounds a lot like the hard sciences.

Contemporary figures in the scientific study of religion include Dimitris Xygalatas, who measures different levels of hormone production and extreme rituals, and

Patricia Sharp, who studies the neural underpinnings of meditation and mindfulness.

What unites this research in the scientific study of religion is not so much a single methodology,

but a tendency to emphasize reductionism and explanation.

During the 18th century, the philosopher David Hume argued that religious beliefs and behaviors could be explained

naturalistically, without and appealed the theological explanations or personal spiritual experience.

This simple idea has formed the core of the scientific study of religion:

That religion can be explained using the tools that we use to analyze any other aspect of human behavior

So, at this point you might be asking yourself, "Well, why do we even need to bother having a separate

discipline called religious studies?" And one reason why this is the case is because

religion is just too complex for one discipline to manage.

Remember: religion is embedded in all aspects of culture: our art, our politics, our literature,

gender, race, ethnicity, all influence it. Religious studies demands an interdisciplinary approach,

and it demands scholars and students who are able to apply different methods to the study of religion.

But none of these approaches are mutually exclusive.

You can be an anthropologist of religion who uses psychological approaches.

You can be a historian of religion who also uses archaeological data, like myself.

But this is actually an advantage to religious studies because different approaches ask different questions and reveal different sets of data.

So, whether you're a biologist or have interest in philosophy or politics, you probably can find a home in religious studies.

As always, thanks for watching.