The lack of academic religious studies in India has several causes: the choice of the secular University of London as model for the first universities in India in 1857, the secular constitution, the secularist approach of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the explosive relation between major faith traditions. However, with the waning of the Indian secularist framework and the continued power and influence of Hindutva ideology, there is a need to discuss different models for (...) religious studies in India. In this article, the point of departure is Banaras Hindu University, one of the few universities in India that has religious studies, but also a faculty of Hindu theology. The focus is on the history of BHU and the recommendations of several educational commission from the 1930s to the 60s, with a note on recent attempts at BHU of renewing value education. The aim is to highlight one alternative for developing religious studies in India, whose primary goal is the formation of good citizens enabled by a set of universal human values instantiated in local traditions. (shrink)

Worldview Religious Studies brings the study of religion, spirituality, secularism, and other mixed attitudes of life under the overarching scheme of worldview studies. This book introduces and defines worldviews more generally before establishing a framework specific to religious studies. The drive for meaning-making is explored through ritual-symbolic activities, ideas of 'play', and the power of emotions to transform simple ideas into values and beliefs that frame identity and signpost destiny. Identity and its sacralisation are discussed (...) alongside gift/reciprocity theory in their relation to ideas of merit, karma, and salvation in Eastern and Western traditions. This theoretical background is used to introduce a new classification of worldviews - natural, scientific, ancestral, karmic, prophetic-sectarian, mystical, and ideological. Organised thematically by chapter, this book brings together familiar and unfamiliar authors, theories, and sources to challenge students and teachers of Religious Studies, Theology, and Ethics. It introduces worldview religious studies as a framework through which to re-think human endeavours to identify, cope and even transcend life's flaws and perils. (shrink)

The author nationally recognized for the quality and depth of his teaching in religious studies has written the first full-scale introduction to the history and methods of the study of religion.

Religious studies, as a complex of academic academic disciplines, studying the social nature of religion - its history, development and place in culture and society, is being created today. Religious knowledge is formed, the controversy of reports at conferences, in the pages of monographs and professional journals takes place. An all-Ukrainian scientific journal Mandrivets, a joint project of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the Mandrivets publishing house, is included in the list of scientific specialties in (...) philology, history, philosophy, in this context. (shrink)

Ukrainian Religious Studies - Ancient and at the same time relatively young branch of humanitarian knowledge. Ancient because it has its roots yet Kievan Rus. It is then that there are written works in which religious processes are described in certain religious denominations in the ancient Ukrainian lands. Thus, in the "Tale of the Times of the Years", the process of the introduction of Christianity in Rus'-Ukraine is described, the historical, psychological and ideological foundations of choice (...) are revealed. Volodymyr the Great faith for his people. Young because it does not have its deep professional tradition and, as a separate sphere of scientific knowledge, begins to develop only in the second half of the nineteenth century in the creative work of the ideologists of the communal movement and is primarily associated with the names of M. Drahomanov and O. Pobetny. To this religious studies we developed mainly in its theological form, not at the level of professional employment, but as an addition to the study of other problems of social or spiritual life, the study of the history of Ukraine. (shrink)

What is the relationship between religious studies and theology? Do both have a place within the university? This paper will argue that no clear distinction can be drawn between religious studies and theology on the level of the methods they employ. Each is multidisciplinary and each is able to address questions of religious truth. They can be distinguished only by asking `What is the question which each is attempting to answer?'. Religious studies addresses (...) the question of the meaning and truth of any religion. Theology is interested in the question of the meaning and truth of one particular faith. By adopting the language of one particular faith, the theologian is able to explore particular religious questions in some depth. (shrink)

In a recent defence of what he calls "study by religion," Robert Ensign suggests that alleged divine revelations represent public forms of knowledge, which should not be excluded from the academy. But at least according to two major Christian thinkers, namely Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin, revelation is received by an act of faith, which rests on evidence that is person-relative and therefore not open to public scrutiny. If religious studies is to remain a public discipline, whose arguments (...) may be evaluated by believers and non-believers alike, it should maintain its defeasible but not yet defeated presumption of naturalism. (shrink)

This new textbook provides a clear, informative and rigorous guide for students taking Religious Studies GCSE with all the major exam boards. It covers the philosophy and ethics content of the key GCSE specifications and examines these themes from the perspectives of Christianity, Roman Catholicism and Islam. Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on the scriptural basis of each religious view and on other sources of authority in each religious tradition. The development of core ethical and (...) doctrinal questions is explored, and key thinkers and theologians are introduced to give a sound understanding of complex issues. Chapter by chapter, the book covers such topics as religious texts and sources of authority; the existence and nature of God; revelation and religious experience; the problem of evil; science and religion; death and life after death; human nature and personal relationships; human rights, conflict and crime; and global issues. There is also a dedicated chapter on study skills and exam techniques, and each chapter includes student-friendly features such as revision summaries, questions and activities. While the book has been designed with the new GCSE specifications and reforms in mind, it encourages students to see the full significance of these issues by going beyond the narrow confines of their own specification. As such, Religious Studies for GCSE will be the ideal companion for investigating this rich and fascinating area of human life. (shrink)

Ron Geaves, Religious Studies, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Chrisrianity, Islam The Continuum International Publishing Group, New York, 2006.

The prominence of religion in recent debates around politics, identity formation, and international terrorism has led to an increased demand on those studying religion to help clarify and contextualise religious belief and practice in the public sphere. While many texts focus on the theoretical development of the subject, this book outlines a wider application of these studies by exploring the role of religious studies scholars and theologians as public intellectuals. -/- This collection of essays first seeks (...) to define exactly what makes an intellectual "public". It then goes on to deal with a few questions of concern: How do public intellectuals construct knowledge in religious and theological scholarship? What is the link between public intellectuals of higher education and their role in society? Do higher education institutions have a responsibility to endorse public intellectualism? -/- Looking at the individual and collective role of religious studies scholars and theologians in public life, this book will be of great interest to all scholars and academics involved in religious studies and theology across the academy. (shrink)

Ukrainian religious studies have deep roots. We find the elements of it in the written descendants of the writings of Kievan Rus. From the prince's time, the universal way of vision, understanding and appreciation of the world for many Ukrainian thinkers becomes their own religious experiences. The main purpose of their works is not the desire to create a certain integral system of theological knowledge, but the desire to convey their personal religious-minded perception of the divine (...) nature, harmony, beauty and perfection of God created the world. (shrink)

Ukrainian religious studies has recently entered the world scientific community and the educational process. Along the way, many difficulties awaited him. First, it was necessary to determine the content, structure, representation of Ukrainian religious studies, to navigate the world of foreign science of religion, in the existing teaching methods. Secondly, to outline the forms of entry of Ukrainian religious studies into the international scientific and teaching community. Acquaintance with Western science, which proved to be (...) heterogeneous, based on various methodological approaches and methodological means, coincided with difficult internal transformations that underwent all humanitarian knowledge in Ukraine after world-view and political changes in society. In pursuit of its identity, domestic religious studies went, on the one hand, by contrasting itself with theology, and on the other, by actively distinguishing itself from so-called scientific atheism. As a result of these processes, domestic religious studies was eventually constituted as a coherent, structured science of religion, seeking to develop its own models of teaching religious studies. (shrink)

Ukrainian religious studies has recently entered the world scientific community. Acquaintance with Western science, which has proven to be heterogeneous, often based on different methodological approaches and methodological means, has coincided with difficult internal transformations that have undergone all humanitarian knowledge in Ukraine after worldviews and political changes in society. In pursuit of its identity, domestic religious studies went, on the one hand, by contrasting itself with theology, and on the other, by distinguishing itself from scientific (...) atheism. At first, the emergence of religious studies from the bosom of ideologized social science was more relevant. In the form of a critical study of religion, Soviet-era religious studies were included in scientific atheism. Therefore, religious studies came not as knowledge of religion, but as its critique. (shrink)

Ethics for OCR Religious Studies: The Complete Resource for AS and A2 is the perfect guide for students taking AS and A2 courses in the OCR GCE Religious Studies specification. Ethics for OCR provides a rigorous and accessible introduction to both historical and contemporary ethical debates. Drawing on insights from recent examiners’ reports and mark schemes, and following the OCR course outline closely, Mark Coffey and Dennis Brown’s landmark book includes: - Up-to-date discussions of key debates (...) in religious ethics - Ethical theories set in their historical context - Attention given to contemporary developments in law, science, technology, and society - A thorough guide to writing the perfect exam answer - A detailed exposition of OCR’s assessment criteria and how best to meet them - Profiles of leading ethical, philosophical and religious thinkers, a chapter by chapter glossary, and helpful chapter summaries - Discussion points, activity boxes and past paper questions The most comprehensive book on the market, Ethics for OCR Religious Studies provides a rigorous and accessible introduction to both historical and contemporary ethical debates, including chapters on sexual and environmental and business ethics. Written with verve and clarity, the book’s user-friendly style and attention to detail will help students of all abilities to achieve their best. (shrink)

The liberation of religious studies from mechanical inclusion into the structure of the so-called scientific-atheistic theory of Marxism, the isolation and designation of it into an independent branch of humanitarian knowledge, actualized the issue of the correlation of religious studies disciplines, in particular the philosophy of religion, and theology or theology. The last terms we use here are unambiguous. Historically, the first one serves to define the theological theory of Catholicism and Protestantism, and the second one (...) is Orthodoxy. (shrink)

In the Department of Religious Studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which is currently the only academic institution in the country, the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, with his approval, adopted in his Annual Address to the Verkhovna Rada the provision on "ensuring the teaching of all forms of education in higher education institutions since September 2011" academic religious studies as a normative philosophical discipline, and in secondary school (...) - a comparative history of religions. " The clericalization of education, to which, contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine, the political-mindedness and polyconfessional nature of its citizens, the V. Yushchenko during his years of presidency, and the Ministry of Education, was at his discretion, was unclear to us, and thus unacceptable. Therefore, we did not participate in the work of the various commissions, which, according to Yushchenko's instructions, began to act at the ministerial level, and especially instilled in educational structures in the western region of the country. We go to secular modern Europe, and we strive to live in the time of its Middle Ages. (shrink)

This study will focus on the birth of studies related to the domain of religion at the University of Cluj, starting with the interwar period, then following with the communist period. The paper aims to offer an exhaustive depiction of what has been done in the academic milieu from 1919 to 1989, concerning the domain of religion, excluding Theological studies. We tried to make the connection, from a historical perspective, between the changes supervened in the Romanian official, political (...) ideology and its representation in the University curricula, on the basis of the Annual Reports issued by the Rectors’ Office of the University of Cluj in the analyzed period of time. (shrink)

Report to the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Dm. TABACHNIKU In the Department of Religious Studies of the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which is currently the only academic institution in the country, with great acceptance adopted the position of President Viktor Yanukovych initiated in his Annual Letter to the Verkhovna Rada of "providing teaching in all forms of higher education in September 2011" the property of academic religious (...) class='Hi'>studies as a normative philosophical discipline, and in secondary school - a comparative history of religions. ". (shrink)

This article aims to enlarge the conversation about religion and public education by inviting readers to think about the benefits to be gained in society by providing a comprehensive religious studies curriculum in our public schools. In such a program, students will develop knowledge and understanding about various religious traditions, forge greater respect for the religious (and nonreligious) other, and think through existential concerns that have interested human beings for thousands of years. While recognizing that such (...) a program is deeply contentious, we nevertheless reason that students, as participants in a democracy as well as members of a global community, must have the skills, tools, and knowledge to function in a religiously diverse world. (shrink)

May of this jubilee year was marked, perhaps, by a record number of scientific meetings, in particular, in cities already traditional religious studies activity. International conference "Christianity is the basis of European civilization", scientific conference "Christianity and person" and the X International round table "History of Religions in Ukraine ".

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Academic Writing Manual for Religious Studies - İlahiyat Alanı Makale Yazım Kılavuzu.

In Russia, philosophy of religion, likewise religious studies, only managed to claim their name, let alone their right for self-realisation, as late as the early 1990s. The article represents an attempt to elicit the maximum possible number of primary methodological accounts, conceptual divergences and discussions pertaining to both the domain of understanding and that of studying the phenomenon of religion and the variety of religious expression, as well as methods of establishing the actual interdisciplinary relations between (...) class='Hi'>religious studies and the philosophy of religion, with their disciplinary scope defined, on the one hand, and contiguous scientific disciplines and worldview discourses on the other. (shrink)

In our literature, following Professor D. Ugrinovich, it is still customary to divide religious studies into theoretical and historical ones. It even found its name in the name of some religious departments, institutes. We will not discuss here the issue of the legitimacy of such a division. To me, the philosophy of religion is one of the disciplinary entities of religious studies, as is the history of religion. The main specificity of religious studies (...) is that it studies religion not as a whole, but as a whole, in the organic totality of all its components and functions. Religion appears to him not as a static phenomenon, but as a dynamic phenomenon. The subject of religious studies is a functioning religion, and this functioning occurs through the interaction and interplay of all its components, and not with the absolute extinction of something in it in the change of historical eras, because religion has a prehistoric meaning. (shrink)

With the publication of a book by a well-known Polish religious scholar, associate professor at the Jagiellonian University Institute of Religious Studies, Henrik Hoffmann, "History of Polish Studies in Religious Studies 1873-1939", it can be argued that Polish religious studies and scholars have become more sophisticated. religious studies. For the first time in Polish historiography, various information was collected about basic ideas developed by Polish religious scholars, one of the (...) most complete bibliographies of their works was submitted. This attention to the bibliography has its explanation: G. Hoffmann is one of the authors of the unique and worthy imitation of the project on the computer registry of all books and articles that have been published in Poland on religious issues. (shrink)

Any science should not be a thing-in-itself, a closed system of knowledge, which develops only on its own thinking ground and in closed, isolated communities from the realities of life. It should not serve as a field for speculative wits, which nowadays some people prefer, mainly religious youth, arranging online battles, self-defeating while gambling with the ones, that look: he who I am intelligent, how can I deal with even religious authorities and veterans. And the scientific works of (...) such critics have a little and do not even show some of their ability to write them. Is it, and what percentage is the publication of the Department of Religious Studies and what is it is that it is admired by the fact that it is supposedly the only academic institution for religious studies, because, look, in Lviv at the Museum of the History of Religion there is even the Institute of Religious Studies. The religious studies of the area of ​​their publications now often selects only Internet pages, it becomes the path of searching and chewing of what someone has already said. But I note: it's too easy to criticize someone in science, but to create something in it is not simple and not for everyone under their own minds. Maybe therefore, considering the latter, O. Pushkin once more remarked: "Praise and libel are accepted indifferently and do not challenge the fool." We will not! Let them self-sacrifice be satisfied! (shrink)

From a field primarily of interest to specialist orientalists, the study of Buddhism has developed to embrace inter alia, theology and religious studies, philosophy, cultural studies, anthropology and comparative studies. There is now greater direct access to Buddhism in the West than ever before, and Buddhist studies are attracting increasing numbers of students. This eight-volume set brings together seminal papers in Buddhist studies from a vast range of academic disciplines, published over the last forty (...) years. With a new introduction by the editor, this collection is a unique and unrivalled research resource for both student and scholar. (shrink)

The present article proposes that the notion of forgery be incorporated as an analytic category within religious studies. Following a brief outline of three key periods of religious studies, the factors that have made researchers hesitant to deal with the topic are examined. Religious forgeries are then discussed in terms of different parameters, such as the age of the fabrication, the extent of the forgery and the mode of revelation. With the exception of forgeries created (...) simply for “the fun of it,” religious document forgeries are motivated by the desire to legitimate the authority of certain opinions, systems of religious ideas, and/or the forger. For the most part, the people who manufacture sacred forgeries are not cynical or sinister. Rather, many religious forgers produce documents expressing ideas in which they really do believe and which they hope to promote via their fabrications. (shrink)

When the Church of Sweden ceased to be a state church in the year 2000, the parameters for a change in the relation between academic theology and religious studies ( religionsvetenskap ) at the state universities in Sweden was in place. My article, which is intended as a contribution to the sometimes unnecessarily agonistic discussion following the sharp critique levelled by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (Högskoleverket) in 2008, focuses on two basic oppositions underlying the present (...) discourse, namely the tension between the expectation of economic utility and the ideal of a free search for knowledge; and that between, on the one hand, confessional neutrality and, on the other hand, the education of priests and pastors. As a conclusion, I suggest a way forward in three points: 1. The education of priests for the Church of Sweden must change as a result of the abandonment of the state church system. 2. At the same time, the state system should nurture a more positive attitude toward theological reflections developed at nongovernmental university colleges. 3. Thirdly, the interrelationship between secular religious studies at state universities and the tradition specific theologies developed at private university colleges could be essential for the balancing of the demand of economic utility and the principle of academic freedom as it concerns religious studies. (shrink)

Problems of the essence of religion, its place in the history of spiritual and cultural life of the Ukrainian people were not in the field of direct scientific interests of the famous Ukrainian philosopher, long-time director of the Institute of Philosophy by H.S. Skovoroda of NAS of Ukraine, academician Myroslav Popovych. He referred to them only when comprehending the history of culture in Ukraine, some in the analysis of the twentieth century as a bloody period of world history, some in (...) explaining the problems of being human. Thus the scientist considers religion as a component of culture, and it is a complex of material, spiritual, intellectual and emotional features of society, includes the basic rules of human existence, system of values, traditions and beliefs. The article deals with the religious factor in the life of the ancient Slavs, the role of the Bible in the formation of the religious consciousness of ancient Ukrainians, the nature and evolution of the Christian doctrine. The author analyzes Popovich's thinking about the perception of Christianity by the people's consciousness with its doctrine and rituals, about finding by Christians a balance between Eros and Thanatos, about austerity, holiness, etc. (shrink)

An annotated list of online resources for religious studies and philosophy of religion. This was an internal departmental document from the late 1990s. It should never have gone into the public domain. Please don't waste time with it. I am trying to have it removed.

This concluding comment draws upon the common themes articulated by the preceding contributors about how Sociology of Religion and Religious Studies can influence each other, as well as considering some of the obstacles to that. It concludes with some intellectual suggestions for furthering some of our common interests.

The Society "Knowledge" of Ukraine began the activity of the Department of Religious Studies. The Council of Lecturers is formed consisting of 24 people, among them are well-known philosophers, historians, sociologists - religious scholars: Doctors of Philosophy B.Lobovik, M.Zakovich, A. Kolodnyy, Yu.Kalinin, P.Kosuha, M.Rybachuk, P.Yarotsky, candidate of philosophical sciences M. Babiy, S. Golovashchenko, V. Yelensky, M.Kyryushko, O.Sagan, V.Suyarko, L.Filipovich and others.