Lesson ti Intro

1. TOPICS
2
Theory
• Introduction-subject of the course
• Sectors of the Study of Religion
• Theories of the study of religion
• Definition
Methodological
Tools
• Methodology for the study of Religion
• Taxonomy
• Comparison
Basic Topics
• Place
• Myth
• Ritual
• Body
• Religious Identity
• Magic
Several
Topics
• Interreligious dialogue
• Discussion-Revisions

2. EVALUATION
 Personal small papers.
 Every week via our e-learning platform you need to
send me one small paper about the topic of the
course that we have discussed during the lesson.
 You will receive every time instructions about the
topic and the way of writing.
 Your performance in the class during the lessons
and the seminars values 30%, whereas the final
exams value 70% of your final grade. Your final
exam will be oral.
 During the seminars you will take a multiple choice
test. This test will not be an official one but an
exercise.
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3. CONTENT OF THE LESSON
 Introduction
 What is the Study of Religion?
 How was it created?
 What does it study?
 Which are the main sectors of the Study of
Religion?
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4. STUDY OF RELIGION
What is this?
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5. DEFINITION OF THE DISCIPLINE
 The Study of Religion is the science that deals with the
scientific research and study of the religions of the
world.
 The science of the Study of Religion has different names
as:
1. Scientific sector of the study of religion,
Religionswissenschaft (=Science of Religion)
2. Science des Religions (=Science of Religion)
3. Comparative Religion
4. History of Religions
5. Religious Studies
6. Studies in Religion
7. World Religions 6

6. GOAL OF THE STUDY
OF RELIGION
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7. 1. UNDERSTANDING
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Us (Europeans)
The others (People of the
East)

8. RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
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Us The others

9. 2. AVOIDANCE OF EXTREME SITUATIONS
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Terrorism 11th Spetember 2001

10. 3. STUDY OF HUMAN SOCIETIES
• In the study of human societies what lies at the
center is the dialectical relationship between others
and our own society, the individual and the group.
• Who are “the others”?
• What can they say about our civilization and
society?
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11. BIRTH OF THE STUDY OF RELIGION(1)
 The academic study of religion is a creation of the
Enlightenment.
 It has been developed since then the belief that
religion is something that has been appropriated,
that is, can be known, understood, like any human
data recorded.
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12. BIRTH OF THE STUDY OF RELIGION (2)
 Some questions were addressed by various
scholars of religion who followed, applied and
suggested various theories and methods to better
understand the religious phenomenon with the
development of this discipline.
 Some of their questions were the following:
1. Is religion a product of society or is it something
supernatural, something that does not come from
this world, that the scientific world cannot
interpret?
2. Is religion a sui generis phenomenon or depends
on other aspects of social life? 13

13. BIRTH OF THE STUDY OF RELIGION (3)
 So when we study religion, we need to ask
ourselves what human actions we are referring to
and what everyday life practices we assign this
term to.
 But if researchers do not go into this investigation
and find that the term "religion" refers to something
unrelated to human acts and possibly pre-existing
and beyond these acts, then it cannot be made
clear that it is possible to talk about and study this
phenomenon.
 Therefore, it is necessary to clarify what we mean
when we attribute something to the concept of
'religious'.
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14. THEORIES OF THE STUDY
OF RELIGION
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15. THEORIES OF THE STUDY OF RELIGION
1. Evolutionary
2. Intellectual
3. Reductive
4. Structural
5. Psychological
6. Symbolic
7. Gnostic
8. Phenomenological
9. Sociological
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16. SECTORS OF THE STUDY
OF RELIGION
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17. SECTORS OF THE STUDY OF RELIGION
1. History of Religions
2. Comparative Religion
3. Phenomenology of Religion
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18. AUXILIARY SECTORS
 Sociology of Religion
 Psychology of Religion
 Philosophy of Religion
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