Charting the Playful & Proper Study of Religion

FromThe Religious Studies Project

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Charting the Playful & Proper Study of Religion

FromThe Religious Studies Project

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Length:

53 minutes

Released:

May 15, 2023

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Andie Alexander is joined by Sam Gill to talk about his recent book _The Proper Study of Religion_, and they discuss questions of comparison, difference, storytracking, and playfulness in the academic study of religion. Be sure to tune in!

Released:

May 15, 2023

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Podcasts and Resources on the Contemporary Social-Scientific Study of Religion

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Religious Demography in the US: In this week's podcast we focus on religious demography and identification, survey tools used for religious demography in America, differences between religious identities and identifications, Americans’ shifting religious identifications, by The Religious Studies Project
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Christian Reconstruction: Rousas John Rushdoony might be one of the most important Christian theologians you've never heard of. In this interview, Professor Michael McVicar discusses Rushdoony and Christian Reconstruction. McVicar gained unprecedented access to Rushdoony's pers... by The Religious Studies Project
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Religion, gender and corporeality: How can religious studies be informed by theories around gender and corporeality? How is gender expressed in today's women's spirituality and in religions that consider femininity to be a way to access power around sexuality and procreation? by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Discursive Approaches and the Crises of Religious Studies: What is a discursive approach to the study of religion? And how can it answer the crises of contemporary RS? Kocku von Stuckrad tells David Robertson in this week's RSP podcast. Discursive analysis of one kind or another is perhaps the most prominent m... by The Religious Studies Project
40 min listen
Encounters Between Buddhism and the West: In this story is a continuation of "dissident orientalism", a conflict inherent within the colonial project wherein communities and personal trajectories become embedded within local religious contexts. A distinction made, both in Ireland and Burma, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
21st Century Irish Paganism: in this interview, we discuss Jenny Butler's work on Paganism in Ireland, the impact of that particular context upon the Paganism/s she has researched - particularly in terms of language, mythology, and the natural landscape - and also some of the issu... by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
The “Axial Age”: Problematising Religious History in a Post-Colonial Setting: In the latest #RSPpod from our friends in Australia, Dr Jack Tsonis gets fired up about the "Axial Age" as well as the difficulties the immediate post-PhD years. Karl Jaspers created the term “Axial Age” in 1949 after considering that the Bhagavad Gita... by The Religious Studies Project
37 min listen
Indian Rationalism, and a Relational Approach to Nonreligion: It is unfortunate fact that in popular ‘Western’ imagination, the land of India is frequently orientalised, and naively conceptualized as ‘the quintessential land of religion, spirituality, and miracles.’ Although we would certainly not want to complet... by The Religious Studies Project
36 min listen
The Supernatural and the New Comparativism: Jeffrey Kripal argues that we need to make room for the paranormal in the study of religion, and that consciousness should be at the forefront of our study. by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
The Invention of the Secular Academy: The Religious Studies Project, as an academic endeavour studying religion, is of course devoutly secular. In fact, we tend to take the connection between secularity and the academy completely for granted. But was this always the case? If not, by The Religious Studies Project
37 min listen
‘Religious’ and ‘Spiritual’ Struggles: Now in ‘Nonreligious’ and ‘Nonspiritual’ flavors!: In this interview, Dr. Julie Exline discusses what led to her interest in Struggles and some of the background behind the development of the Religious and Spiritual Struggle Scale. She goes on to talk about why the scale includes struggles relevant to ... by The Religious Studies Project
39 min listen
Christian evangelical organisations in global anti-trafficking networks: Since the turn of the twenty-first century, there has been a remarkable surge of interest among both academics and policy makers in the effects that religion has on international aid and development. Within this broad field, by The Religious Studies Project
26 min listen
Conversion and Deconversion as Concepts in the Sociology of Religion: For this interview with Lynn Davidman, we focus on the concepts of conversion and deconversion, illustrations of these processes in various contexts, what each term means and how each is experienced in someone's life, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Christmas Special 2015 – Fourteen to One!: Fourteen contestants. One tetchy quizmaster. Three microphones. Numerous cases of wine. One glamorous assistant. Many bruised egos. A boisterous studio audience. A splash of irreverence. Dozens of questions. Four years of podcasts! by The Religious Studies Project
49 min listen
Is Religion Special? A Critical Look at Religion, Wellbeing and Prosociality: Is religion good for your health and wellbeing? Does religion promote prosociality? While positive stereotypes prevail in these domains, studies also typically answer these questions in the affirmative and as such, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Gender, queer theory and religion: In this interview, Dr. Mary Jo Neitz continues the conversation about religion and gender by focusing on theories from LGBT studies and queer studies. Using her work as an ethnographer, as well as the work of American philosopher Judith Butler, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Music, Marketing and Megachurches: Music is a big part of a new "mediapolois", part of a marketing matrix of people, places and industries. Today, music's meaning is more often part of a branded ecosystem, not limited to entertainment, but part of the experience of everyday life, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Descriptions of Religion as Explanations of Religion: This week's podcast features Kathryn Lofton and John Modern on the entanglement of description and explanation, the importance of self-reflexivity, and answering the "so what?" question In this week's podcast, by The Religious Studies Project
36 min listen
Religion and Planetary Ethics: Speaking of religions as “eco-social constructions across multiple species, over multiple generations, and over multiple histories,” in this interview Whitney Bauman puts forward an ethics of understanding ourselves and others as planetary creatures, by The Religious Studies Project
39 min listen
An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion: What is the sociology of religion? What are its particular concerns, dominant themes and defining methodologies? Where did it begin, and how has it evolved? This interview with Grace Davie, the first in our BSA SOCREL series, by The Religious Studies Project
41 min listen
Religious Studies as a Discipline: Aaron Hughes (University of Rochester) has been a vocal critic of some of the theories and methods used by religious studies scholars working on Islam. In this podcast, he discusses his critique of the discipline and practice of religious studies he ha... by The Religious Studies Project
34 min listen
Religion and American Law: In this interview with Brad Stoddard, Professor Eric Mazur discusses a variety of issues relating to religion and law in the USA, such as the evolving state of First Amendment jurisprudence, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, by The Religious Studies Project
35 min listen
Of Demons, Saints and Heaven: Andean religious beliefs in Peru: In his interview with Sidney Castillo, Dr. Luis Millones discusses some of the traditions that have formed the basis for his research, particularly in the northern coast, northern highlands and south highlands of Peru. He mentions that, by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Lived Religion: Part 2: In Part 2 of this week's interview, Meredith McGuire continues to speak to Martin about the multiple issues of power, normativity and embodiment of religious life that can be observed through her concept of Lived Religion. by The Religious Studies Project
31 min listen
See you in the next life? Cognitive foundations of reincarnation beliefs: Human reincarnation: Same person, different body, another life. While conceptual scaffolding surrounding the idea of reincarnation can vary widely from culture to culture, in this podcast Claire White draws on some of her recent research pointing out t... by The Religious Studies Project
28 min listen
Comedy, Comedians, and Church: The Interplay between Religion and Humor: Dr Elisha McIntyre discusses her research into religion and humour, particularly looking at comedic work The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as well as a broad range of evangelical comedians. McIntyre discusses the use of religious comedy a... by The Religious Studies Project
29 min listen
A Critical Introduction to the History, Beliefs, and Practices of Wiccans: In this interview Ethan Doyle White, author of the book Wicca: History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft, introduces his systematic overview of the contested history and multifaceted developments of Wicca. by The Religious Studies Project
44 min listen
Method and Theory in the Cognitive Sciences of Religion: Recorded at the 2015 North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR) conference, Robert McCauley discusses methodological and theoretical issues within the cognitive sciences of religion. "Science surprises us!" - McCauley by The Religious Studies Project
20 min listen
Millennialism and Violence?: Are we right to connect millennialism and violence? Are groups like Heaven's Gate or the Branch Davidians typical, or rare exceptions, magnified out of proportion by the lens of the media - and scholarship? by The Religious Studies Project
38 min listen
Embodied religious practices, child psychology and cognitive neuroscience: Bahler discusses the notion of ritual as a locus of power in terms of structure and agency. His recent book, Childlike Peace in Levinas and Merleau-Ponty. Intersubjectivity as a Dialectical Spiral (Lexington Books, by The Religious Studies Project
51 min listen

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Keep Hope Alive: Preparing for White Christian Nationalism: Tune in this week with Raymond Radford and Bradley Onishi as they discuss white Christian nationalism, evangelicalism, the Jan. 6 insurrection, and much more! by The Religious Studies Project
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The Church of Saint Thomas Paine: Religion without God: Tune in for today's #RSPmonday featuring Leigh Eric Schmidt and Dan Gorman discussing religion without God and the use of Thomas Paine as a symbol of atheism. by The Religious Studies Project
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Oversimplified Binaries | Discourse! January 2023: This month's Discourse! features our co-founder Chris Cotter, Lauren Horn Griffin, and Kristi Boone complicating and unpacking oversimplified binaries—be sure to tune in! by The Religious Studies Project
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Charting the Playful & Proper Study of Religion

Charting the Playful & Proper Study of Religion

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from The Religious Studies Project