02/14 Methods and Theories in Religious Studies Free Online FlashCards

What does comparative study of religion examine?

Comparative study examines religions as humanly expressed systems of meaning, practice, community, and authority by identifying similarities and differences across traditions.

What is lived religion?

Lived religion refers to how people actually practice and interpret religion in everyday life, including diverse, ordinary, and sometimes inconsistent practices.

What is emic analysis?

Emic analysis seeks to understand a religious world through categories meaningful within that community and asks how participants describe their actions and meanings.

Why are insider and outsider perspectives both limited?

Neither perspective is automatically complete: insider accounts reveal meanings and values, while outsider analysis can identify broader patterns but may impose unfamiliar categories.

What does an essentialist definition of religion seek?

An essentialist definition identifies a distinctive inner feature of religion, such as belief in gods, the sacred, or transcendent reality.

Why must classifications be treated cautiously?

Classification makes comparison possible, but every classification highlights some features and hides others; categories are selective tools rather than neutral mirrors of reality.

What does interpretation study in religion?

Interpretation studies how people produce, negotiate, and communicate meaning through bodies, emotions, stories, images, spaces, sounds, relationships, and practices.

What is essentializing?

Essentializing treats a religion as though it has one unchanging essence, ignoring internal diversity and historical change.

What are the three analytical levels to distinguish?

Description states what people say or do; interpretation considers what those actions may mean; evaluation judges whether a claim or practice is true, good, rational, or desirable.

What is etic analysis?

Etic analysis applies analytical categories developed by researchers or scholarly disciplines to identify patterns, structures, or processes.

What does a functionalist definition emphasize?

A functionalist definition emphasizes what religion does, such as creating solidarity, legitimizing authority, organizing morality, or helping people cope with suffering.

What is the family-resemblance approach?

A family-resemblance or polythetic approach recognizes overlapping features among traditions without requiring one defining essence.