Ted A. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195370638
- eISBN:
- 9780199870738
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370638.003.008
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Chapter 7 offers reflections on the methodology that the book uses. The methodology includes historical and ecumenical study involving the serious probing of historic claims to consensus and the ...
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Chapter 7 offers reflections on the methodology that the book uses. The methodology includes historical and ecumenical study involving the serious probing of historic claims to consensus and the “reception” of those claims in Christian communities. The methodology distinguishes “doctrine” (communal teaching) from “theology” (any critical reflection on religious teachings) and “popular religion” (the actual beliefs of people, whether or not they have been formally affirmed by communities). It concludes with reflections on the difficulty and the possibility of communication and understanding across wide cultural and linguistic boundaries, because cross-cultural understanding is necessary for the claims the book has made.Less
Chapter 7 offers reflections on the methodology that the book uses. The methodology includes historical and ecumenical study involving the serious probing of historic claims to consensus and the “reception” of those claims in Christian communities. The methodology distinguishes “doctrine” (communal teaching) from “theology” (any critical reflection on religious teachings) and “popular religion” (the actual beliefs of people, whether or not they have been formally affirmed by communities). It concludes with reflections on the difficulty and the possibility of communication and understanding across wide cultural and linguistic boundaries, because cross-cultural understanding is necessary for the claims the book has made.
Mark Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269259
- eISBN:
- 9780191710155
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269259.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
The vital role of ‘concept’ as our chief means for expressing an evaluation of our present capacities for semantic diagnosis and control is reviewed, leading to chastened expectations that lie ...
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The vital role of ‘concept’ as our chief means for expressing an evaluation of our present capacities for semantic diagnosis and control is reviewed, leading to chastened expectations that lie intermediate between the excessive optimism of classical thinking and the radical pessimism endemic to pragmatism. These considerations indicate a crucial need for a temperate form of semantic scepticism within our philosophical thinking, a lesson that the present chapter applies to a number of controversies prominent in current debate. An allied viewpoint is brought to bear upon familiar worries about the role of ‘truth’ in our thinking and the problems involved in ‘understanding’ another culture.Less
The vital role of ‘concept’ as our chief means for expressing an evaluation of our present capacities for semantic diagnosis and control is reviewed, leading to chastened expectations that lie intermediate between the excessive optimism of classical thinking and the radical pessimism endemic to pragmatism. These considerations indicate a crucial need for a temperate form of semantic scepticism within our philosophical thinking, a lesson that the present chapter applies to a number of controversies prominent in current debate. An allied viewpoint is brought to bear upon familiar worries about the role of ‘truth’ in our thinking and the problems involved in ‘understanding’ another culture.
Ann Grodzins Gold
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195176452
- eISBN:
- 9780199785308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195176452.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter describes some of the chapter's author's peregrinations in the liminality of teaching, notably, “the rocks and stones” laid out in large courses for undergraduates all looking for ...
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This chapter describes some of the chapter's author's peregrinations in the liminality of teaching, notably, “the rocks and stones” laid out in large courses for undergraduates all looking for transcendence. The chapter addresses the question: how can “the continuity between external actions and internal states of being” be taught, when the “gulf” the class sees between lofty texts and meditative ideals is analogous to the gulf between the illiterate rites of the thousands of Indian villages and the textual ideals depicted by the tradition? The chapter puts forward a solution and evidence of gains in cultural understanding brought about by this.Less
This chapter describes some of the chapter's author's peregrinations in the liminality of teaching, notably, “the rocks and stones” laid out in large courses for undergraduates all looking for transcendence. The chapter addresses the question: how can “the continuity between external actions and internal states of being” be taught, when the “gulf” the class sees between lofty texts and meditative ideals is analogous to the gulf between the illiterate rites of the thousands of Indian villages and the textual ideals depicted by the tradition? The chapter puts forward a solution and evidence of gains in cultural understanding brought about by this.
Viviana A. Zelizer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691139364
- eISBN:
- 9781400836253
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691139364.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
Over the past three decades, economic sociology has been revealing how culture shapes economic life even while economic facts affect social relationships. This work has transformed the field into a ...
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Over the past three decades, economic sociology has been revealing how culture shapes economic life even while economic facts affect social relationships. This work has transformed the field into a flourishing and increasingly influential discipline. This book shows how shared cultural understandings and interpersonal relations shape everyday economic activities. Far from being simple responses to narrow individual incentives and preferences, economic actions emerge, persist, and are transformed by our relations to others. Distilling three decades of research, the book offers a distinctive vision of economic activity that brings out the hidden meanings and social actions behind the supposedly impersonal worlds of production, consumption, and asset transfer. The book's scope ranges broadly from life insurance marketing, corporate ethics, household budgets, and migrant remittances to caring labor, workplace romance, baby markets, and payments for sex. These examples demonstrate an alternative approach to explaining how we manage economic activity—as well as a different way of understanding why conventional economic theory has proved incapable of predicting or responding to recent economic crises. The book provides an important perspective on the recent past and possible futures of a growing field.Less
Over the past three decades, economic sociology has been revealing how culture shapes economic life even while economic facts affect social relationships. This work has transformed the field into a flourishing and increasingly influential discipline. This book shows how shared cultural understandings and interpersonal relations shape everyday economic activities. Far from being simple responses to narrow individual incentives and preferences, economic actions emerge, persist, and are transformed by our relations to others. Distilling three decades of research, the book offers a distinctive vision of economic activity that brings out the hidden meanings and social actions behind the supposedly impersonal worlds of production, consumption, and asset transfer. The book's scope ranges broadly from life insurance marketing, corporate ethics, household budgets, and migrant remittances to caring labor, workplace romance, baby markets, and payments for sex. These examples demonstrate an alternative approach to explaining how we manage economic activity—as well as a different way of understanding why conventional economic theory has proved incapable of predicting or responding to recent economic crises. The book provides an important perspective on the recent past and possible futures of a growing field.
Reuven Avi-Yonah, Nicola Sartori, and Omri Marian
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195321357
- eISBN:
- 9780199893690
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195321357.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law, Public International Law
This book covers the standard topics regarding income tax, using a comparative perspective. The book considers the US approach as a benchmark and compares it with approaches used in other countries ...
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This book covers the standard topics regarding income tax, using a comparative perspective. The book considers the US approach as a benchmark and compares it with approaches used in other countries that form an interesting contrast, or a telling similarity. Comparative tax studies serve multiple purposes. Many commentators have suggested comparative taxation as an instrument to advance, inter alia, successful tax reforms, cultural understanding, democratic values, legal harmonization, and a better understanding of domestic tax laws. This book is offering a general approach to comparative tax studies that goes beyond the view of comparative taxation as an autonomous field of legal studies.Less
This book covers the standard topics regarding income tax, using a comparative perspective. The book considers the US approach as a benchmark and compares it with approaches used in other countries that form an interesting contrast, or a telling similarity. Comparative tax studies serve multiple purposes. Many commentators have suggested comparative taxation as an instrument to advance, inter alia, successful tax reforms, cultural understanding, democratic values, legal harmonization, and a better understanding of domestic tax laws. This book is offering a general approach to comparative tax studies that goes beyond the view of comparative taxation as an autonomous field of legal studies.
Reza Najafbagy
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098114
- eISBN:
- 9789882206830
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098114.003.0011
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter examines the question of conflict resolution and harmony between cultures in discourse and communication from the Iranian perspective. It argues that the establishment of realistic, ...
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This chapter examines the question of conflict resolution and harmony between cultures in discourse and communication from the Iranian perspective. It argues that the establishment of realistic, proper, and effective communication based on mutual cultural understanding and goodwill would settle many national and international disputes. It also proposes new concepts of appropriate cross-cultural understanding and administrative systems in ways that may lead to cultural reciprocity, transformation and cooperation.Less
This chapter examines the question of conflict resolution and harmony between cultures in discourse and communication from the Iranian perspective. It argues that the establishment of realistic, proper, and effective communication based on mutual cultural understanding and goodwill would settle many national and international disputes. It also proposes new concepts of appropriate cross-cultural understanding and administrative systems in ways that may lead to cultural reciprocity, transformation and cooperation.
Thomas H. Johnson and Barry Scott Zellen
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780804785952
- eISBN:
- 9780804789219
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804785952.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The examination of wars and conflicts of the twenty-first century immediately draws one to the culture and sectarian dimensions of a conflict. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California ...
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The examination of wars and conflicts of the twenty-first century immediately draws one to the culture and sectarian dimensions of a conflict. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California convened cultural experts, anthropologists, government officials, and strategic analysts to discuss the impact culture has on both conflict behavior and counterinsurgency environments. A number of the study participants have agreed to share their ideas and insights on the nexus of culture, conflict, and counterinsurgency. The scholars reflect on the following fundamental questions; where and how is culture important in a national security and foreign policy context? Is cultural understanding important, or is it merely a fad? What constitutes cultural data? What frameworks should be used to analyze culture? What are the challenges of cultural data collection and application?Less
The examination of wars and conflicts of the twenty-first century immediately draws one to the culture and sectarian dimensions of a conflict. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California convened cultural experts, anthropologists, government officials, and strategic analysts to discuss the impact culture has on both conflict behavior and counterinsurgency environments. A number of the study participants have agreed to share their ideas and insights on the nexus of culture, conflict, and counterinsurgency. The scholars reflect on the following fundamental questions; where and how is culture important in a national security and foreign policy context? Is cultural understanding important, or is it merely a fad? What constitutes cultural data? What frameworks should be used to analyze culture? What are the challenges of cultural data collection and application?
Leigh Jenco
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190263812
- eISBN:
- 9780190263843
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190263812.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
Even as globalization has exposed the Eurocentric character of the academic theories used to understand the world, most scholarship continues to rely on the same parochial vocabulary it critiques. ...
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Even as globalization has exposed the Eurocentric character of the academic theories used to understand the world, most scholarship continues to rely on the same parochial vocabulary it critiques. Against those who insist our thinking cannot escape the dominant terms of Euro-American modernity, this book shows how methods for understanding cultural others can take theoretical guidance from those very bodies of thought typically excluded by political and social theory. Examining a Chinese conversation over “Western Learning” from the 1860s to the 1920s, the book argues that we might follow these Chinese thinkers in viewing foreign knowledge as a theoretical resource—as a body of knowledge that formulates methods of argument, goals of inquiry, and criteria of evidence that may be generalizable to other places and times. The call of reformers such as Liang Qichao and Yan Fu to bianfa—literally “change the institutions” of Chinese society and politics in order to produce new kinds of Western knowledge—was simultaneously also a call to “change the referents” those institutions sought to emulate, and from which participants might draw their self-understanding. They show that the institutional and cultural contexts supporting the production of knowledge are not prefigured givens that constrain cross-cultural understanding but dynamic platforms for learning that are tractable to concerted efforts over time to transform them. These thinkers point us beyond acknowledgment of cultural difference toward reform of the social, institutional, and disciplinary spaces in which the production of knowledge takes place.Less
Even as globalization has exposed the Eurocentric character of the academic theories used to understand the world, most scholarship continues to rely on the same parochial vocabulary it critiques. Against those who insist our thinking cannot escape the dominant terms of Euro-American modernity, this book shows how methods for understanding cultural others can take theoretical guidance from those very bodies of thought typically excluded by political and social theory. Examining a Chinese conversation over “Western Learning” from the 1860s to the 1920s, the book argues that we might follow these Chinese thinkers in viewing foreign knowledge as a theoretical resource—as a body of knowledge that formulates methods of argument, goals of inquiry, and criteria of evidence that may be generalizable to other places and times. The call of reformers such as Liang Qichao and Yan Fu to bianfa—literally “change the institutions” of Chinese society and politics in order to produce new kinds of Western knowledge—was simultaneously also a call to “change the referents” those institutions sought to emulate, and from which participants might draw their self-understanding. They show that the institutional and cultural contexts supporting the production of knowledge are not prefigured givens that constrain cross-cultural understanding but dynamic platforms for learning that are tractable to concerted efforts over time to transform them. These thinkers point us beyond acknowledgment of cultural difference toward reform of the social, institutional, and disciplinary spaces in which the production of knowledge takes place.
Won L. Kidane
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199973927
- eISBN:
- 9780199361922
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199973927.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Private International Law, Company and Commercial Law
The meaning of culture appears to depend on the culture that defines it. This chapter surveys the various definitions of culture in general and legal culture in particular and sets the stage for the ...
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The meaning of culture appears to depend on the culture that defines it. This chapter surveys the various definitions of culture in general and legal culture in particular and sets the stage for the discussion of the complicating effects of cultural diversity in contemporary international arbitral proceedings in the chapters that follow. The chapter takes as its starting point the definition of culture set forth by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) before noting the many dimensions of culture. It then takes a brief look at cultural in transnational business before offering preliminary thoughts on culture in international arbitration.Less
The meaning of culture appears to depend on the culture that defines it. This chapter surveys the various definitions of culture in general and legal culture in particular and sets the stage for the discussion of the complicating effects of cultural diversity in contemporary international arbitral proceedings in the chapters that follow. The chapter takes as its starting point the definition of culture set forth by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) before noting the many dimensions of culture. It then takes a brief look at cultural in transnational business before offering preliminary thoughts on culture in international arbitration.
Jill M. Bystydzienski
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814799789
- eISBN:
- 9780814723197
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814799789.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This concluding chapter summarizes the major findings of this study and then explores the implications for intercultural understanding and accommodation more generally. Positing a link between ...
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This concluding chapter summarizes the major findings of this study and then explores the implications for intercultural understanding and accommodation more generally. Positing a link between interpersonal and structural levels of social behavior and interaction, this chapter argues that the study of achievement of cross-cultural understanding within couple partnerships offers insights to how successful accommodations may occur between different (potentially hostile and unequal) groups. Effective conflict resolution between groups may take place when each of the parties recognizes the boundaries between that which is and is not negotiable, what each group can retain, and what each needs to relinquish. As the United States becomes increasingly multicultural, conceiving of how differences can be negotiated and accommodated without loss and assimilation is crucial.Less
This concluding chapter summarizes the major findings of this study and then explores the implications for intercultural understanding and accommodation more generally. Positing a link between interpersonal and structural levels of social behavior and interaction, this chapter argues that the study of achievement of cross-cultural understanding within couple partnerships offers insights to how successful accommodations may occur between different (potentially hostile and unequal) groups. Effective conflict resolution between groups may take place when each of the parties recognizes the boundaries between that which is and is not negotiable, what each group can retain, and what each needs to relinquish. As the United States becomes increasingly multicultural, conceiving of how differences can be negotiated and accommodated without loss and assimilation is crucial.
Won L. Kidane
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199973927
- eISBN:
- 9780199361922
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199973927.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Private International Law, Company and Commercial Law
Facts have a cultural origin. The understanding of facts is culturally ingrained. Different meanings could be attributed to different occurrences by decision-makers coming from different cultural ...
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Facts have a cultural origin. The understanding of facts is culturally ingrained. Different meanings could be attributed to different occurrences by decision-makers coming from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural proximity is important for cultural understanding and the accurate determination of facts. This chapter shows the importance of cultural competence in arbitral fact-finding. It discusses in particular “fact-finding in the fog,” in which the work of Professor John Crook is analyzed, especially his points regarding the preference of international arbitrators to rule on matters in which the facts are undisputed. The discussion also includes sections on culture as fact, and fact as culture; and interpretation and application of law as a cultural practice.Less
Facts have a cultural origin. The understanding of facts is culturally ingrained. Different meanings could be attributed to different occurrences by decision-makers coming from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural proximity is important for cultural understanding and the accurate determination of facts. This chapter shows the importance of cultural competence in arbitral fact-finding. It discusses in particular “fact-finding in the fog,” in which the work of Professor John Crook is analyzed, especially his points regarding the preference of international arbitrators to rule on matters in which the facts are undisputed. The discussion also includes sections on culture as fact, and fact as culture; and interpretation and application of law as a cultural practice.
Walter Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198732679
- eISBN:
- 9780191796951
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198732679.003.0016
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
Most of the great European literary historians and intellectual historians of the past century compose their works in response to Communism, fascism, or both. The concerns of the present are in many ...
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Most of the great European literary historians and intellectual historians of the past century compose their works in response to Communism, fascism, or both. The concerns of the present are in many respects different and accordingly encourage different responses. One option is to investigate the explanatory role of culture, a project that requires the rejection of the standard association of culturalist explanation with conservative politics. A second alternative to the mid-century historians is the recent interest in world literature. Though its conditions of possibility have always included imperialism and international inequality, it does not follow that scholarship on the subject needs to replicate—rather than challenge—the order of things. By attending to language’s formal properties, literary critics might contribute to the advancement of both knowledge and cross-cultural understanding.Less
Most of the great European literary historians and intellectual historians of the past century compose their works in response to Communism, fascism, or both. The concerns of the present are in many respects different and accordingly encourage different responses. One option is to investigate the explanatory role of culture, a project that requires the rejection of the standard association of culturalist explanation with conservative politics. A second alternative to the mid-century historians is the recent interest in world literature. Though its conditions of possibility have always included imperialism and international inequality, it does not follow that scholarship on the subject needs to replicate—rather than challenge—the order of things. By attending to language’s formal properties, literary critics might contribute to the advancement of both knowledge and cross-cultural understanding.
Renee Hobbs, Liz Deslauriers, and Pam Steager
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190854317
- eISBN:
- 9780190057534
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190854317.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
Librarians in school, public, and academic contexts have been more outward-facing in their outreach efforts over the past 15 years. Public libraries have connected with school and academic libraries, ...
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Librarians in school, public, and academic contexts have been more outward-facing in their outreach efforts over the past 15 years. Public libraries have connected with school and academic libraries, and more libraries increasingly connect with local organizations and individuals to provide programming. Public film screenings enable public and academic libraries to meet the needs of all people in the community—including those who can’t, don’t, or don’t like to read. Film and media literacy in libraries helps to create communities where ongoing sustained dialogue helps us talk and listen to each other. As we model respectful ways of talking about movies and media, we know that these vital civic competencies can transfer to the home, the family, the workplace, and the community. In some communities, locally created oral histories on video bring people together to share stories, and this form of digital media has cross-generational value for both current and future residents. Libraries can also be an avenue for independent filmmakers to distribute their films. Screening the entries of film contests like the 90-Second Newbery and 60-Second Shakespeare can serve to attract patrons to the library and readers to great literature. Outreach librarianship may also be a matter of marketing and adaptation for survival.Less
Librarians in school, public, and academic contexts have been more outward-facing in their outreach efforts over the past 15 years. Public libraries have connected with school and academic libraries, and more libraries increasingly connect with local organizations and individuals to provide programming. Public film screenings enable public and academic libraries to meet the needs of all people in the community—including those who can’t, don’t, or don’t like to read. Film and media literacy in libraries helps to create communities where ongoing sustained dialogue helps us talk and listen to each other. As we model respectful ways of talking about movies and media, we know that these vital civic competencies can transfer to the home, the family, the workplace, and the community. In some communities, locally created oral histories on video bring people together to share stories, and this form of digital media has cross-generational value for both current and future residents. Libraries can also be an avenue for independent filmmakers to distribute their films. Screening the entries of film contests like the 90-Second Newbery and 60-Second Shakespeare can serve to attract patrons to the library and readers to great literature. Outreach librarianship may also be a matter of marketing and adaptation for survival.
Richard Foley
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190865122
- eISBN:
- 9780190879174
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190865122.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter examines Wittgenstein’s critique of philosophy’s premium on simplicity and generality. Although philosophy overlaps with the sciences, it also leans toward the humanities in the ...
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This chapter examines Wittgenstein’s critique of philosophy’s premium on simplicity and generality. Although philosophy overlaps with the sciences, it also leans toward the humanities in the open-ended character of its core issues. Additionally, the author discusses Alasdair MacIntyre’s and Jean-Paul Sartre’s different views on the appeal of stories, and discusses as well how the insights of stories have the same features as those of the humanities in being indexical, prescriptive, and perspectival. The social sciences occupy a midpoint between the natural sciences and humanities, aiming to be descriptive, with high value on collective knowledge. But because they deal with human societies, there are constraints on efforts to minimize indexicality. And, because many issues about human societies cannot be addressed without understanding the viewpoints of individuals in the societies, there are also challenges in minimizing perspectivality and complexity.Less
This chapter examines Wittgenstein’s critique of philosophy’s premium on simplicity and generality. Although philosophy overlaps with the sciences, it also leans toward the humanities in the open-ended character of its core issues. Additionally, the author discusses Alasdair MacIntyre’s and Jean-Paul Sartre’s different views on the appeal of stories, and discusses as well how the insights of stories have the same features as those of the humanities in being indexical, prescriptive, and perspectival. The social sciences occupy a midpoint between the natural sciences and humanities, aiming to be descriptive, with high value on collective knowledge. But because they deal with human societies, there are constraints on efforts to minimize indexicality. And, because many issues about human societies cannot be addressed without understanding the viewpoints of individuals in the societies, there are also challenges in minimizing perspectivality and complexity.
Detlef Pollack and Gergely Rosta
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198801665
- eISBN:
- 9780191840302
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198801665.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
A new discourse on religion in modern societies has established itself in the social sciences and humanities. Perspectives in the social sciences are no longer dominated by the master narrative that ...
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A new discourse on religion in modern societies has established itself in the social sciences and humanities. Perspectives in the social sciences are no longer dominated by the master narrative that claims that religion is waning in significance. The new keywords are now the de-privatization of religion, the return of the Gods, and de-secularization. Instead of assuming a strained relationship between religion and modernity, scholars nowadays emphasize the compatibility of religion and modernity. They also draw attention to the blurred boundaries between tradition and modernity and underline the religious roots of modern institutions and ideas. Faced with such a rejection of secularization theory, the book wishes to hold two questions open. Do we really already know what the dominant tendencies of religious change are in modern societies? Are we in a position to explain these tendencies? The analyses collected in the book are intended to deal with these questions.Less
A new discourse on religion in modern societies has established itself in the social sciences and humanities. Perspectives in the social sciences are no longer dominated by the master narrative that claims that religion is waning in significance. The new keywords are now the de-privatization of religion, the return of the Gods, and de-secularization. Instead of assuming a strained relationship between religion and modernity, scholars nowadays emphasize the compatibility of religion and modernity. They also draw attention to the blurred boundaries between tradition and modernity and underline the religious roots of modern institutions and ideas. Faced with such a rejection of secularization theory, the book wishes to hold two questions open. Do we really already know what the dominant tendencies of religious change are in modern societies? Are we in a position to explain these tendencies? The analyses collected in the book are intended to deal with these questions.
