Happily there seems to be a move towards the phenomenological approach to religious education, as indicated above. In this interview, james cox outlines the phenomenology of religion to david in a clear, concise way, avoiding jargon and placing the methodology in the broader context of the history of european philosophy and comparative religion. Penner is not the only scholar who has recently voiced. The applicability of phenomenology in the study of religion 2 obliterate the philosophical aspects are seen as deviations. Most historians of the phenomenology of religion argue that the phenomenological approach of edmund husserl was the main methodological and philosophical source for that movement. In this thoroughly revised edition, james cox provides an easily accessible introduction to the phenomenology of religion, which he contends continues as a foundational method for the academic study of religion in the twentyfirst century. Note the distinction between the terms, phenomenon and. Drawing insights from the philosophical tradition of phenomenology, especially as exemplified by edmund husserl 18591938, it seeks to uncover religions essence through. Some first scholarly theories about what religion is reading from pals. The art of phenomenology and its implications for the study of religion james mark shields 1994 revised 2008 abstract etymologically, and tautologically, phenomenology implies a discourse that illumines, reveals, brings to light, collects, and lets stand forth that. After surveying the salient features of philosophical and religious studies approaches to the phenomenology of religion.
The phenomenology of religious life presents the text of heideggers important 192021 lectures on religion. In this chapter, we will look at what scientists, philosophers, religious studies experts, and mystics have learned about spiritual and religious experience. The historicaltypological phenomenology of religion 89 religion to a musical composition with three separate but related voices. In this way, different emphases in the phenomenology of religion are likely to correlate with different conceptions of god. Wainwright editor, distinguished professor of philosophy, university of wisconsin, milwaukee. In this article, i intend to show that none of these afflictions are either necessary or fatal to phenomenology of religion. Pdf phenomenology of religion thomas ryba academia.
Pdf the issue of methodological approach in the study of religion has remained an enigma to many scholars of science of religion. The philosophy of religion as a distinct discipline is an innovation of the last 200 years, but its central topicsthe existence and nature of the divine, humankinds relation to it. Phenomenology of religion research papers academia. View phenomenology of religion research papers on academia. Phenomenology of religion stanford encyclopedia of. Husserls britanica article 2 of 11 22 husserls introductions to phenomenology introduction the term phenomenology designates two things. A research guide for those taking the introductory course in religious studies at nyu, or for those seeking to incorporate the academic study of religion into their research. In any case, one has to start somewhere what follows is a very heavily revised version of a text published by oxford university press in 1982. For the last four decades universities and schools have been acting in response to a constant, steady demand for courses upon the study of religion.
An introduction to the phenomenology of religion paperback. Phenomenological explication of concrete religious. The phenomenology of religion concerns the experiential aspect of religion, describing religious phenomena in terms consistent with the orientation of worshippers. Here cox has thoroughly revised and updated the information, retaining the informal style that beginners appreciated. However, this popularity of the study of religion and different research approaches has caused that in some sense scholars that were studying religion came to a dead point. The applicability of phenomenology in the study of religion. It views religion as made up of different components, and studies these components across religious traditions in order to gain some understanding of them. The context for this quotation is summarized by howard caygill, crisis and renewal. Study of human experience lived experiences of human beings. The volume consists of the famous lecture course introduction to the phenomenology of religion, a course on augustine and neoplatonism, and notes for a course on the philosophical foundations of medieval mysticism that was never delivered. It views religion as being made up of different components. By observing the usually very divergent beliefs and practises of the worlds cultures and religions and comparing the corresponding phenomena within each. Phenomenology of religion is a method of studying religion that attempts to determine its most essential point.
Mcphail abstract 1 henomenology is a philosophical movement that approaches the study of human beings and their culture differently from the logical positivist model used in the natural sciences and in special education. The term has become very popular and is used by numerous scholars who share little if. The phenomenology of religion the religious studies project. Fourthly, scholars need to clarify any structural relationships and make sense of the. On one level its purpose was to bring together scholars from all of these fields to survey the present interconnectedness of phenomenology, postphenomenology deconstruction, and theology around the understanding of the 3. In a famous letter from edmund husserl to rudolf otto from 1919. Moojan momens the phenomenon of religion is a phenomenology of religion not to be confused with ninian smarts phenomenon of religion. Phenomenological approaches to religion and spirituality. But the force of circumstances has to some extent modified that plan. Generalintroduction phenomenology of religion is the. It is basically concerned with the essence or true nature of the religious consciousness of the believing soul the defining traits. Vedder describes the tension between religion and philosophy, on the one hand, and religion and poetic expression, on the other. Well, what can you expect when word docs, jpegs and other format arent fulfilling. Pdf phenomenological approach to the study of religion.
After dealing with the problematic issue of defining religion, he describes the historical background to phenomenology by tracing its roots to developments. Husserl and the phenomenology of kent state university. Unlike them, it treats religion as a phenomenon that cannot be explained in terms of any particular aspect of human society, culture, or thoughte. This essay considers the philosophical and theological significance of the phenomenological analysis of christian faith offered by the early heidegger. Husserl comments on the strange effect that his phenomenological philosophy seems to have. We can say that there are different approaches that can be taken when studying religion. It shows, first, that heidegger poses a radical and controversial challenge to philosophers by calling them to do without god in an unfettered pursuit of the question of being through his destruction of ontotheology.
Phenomenology of religion, he said, is an investigation into the structure and the significance of facts drawn from a vast field of the history of religion and arranged in systematic order. But from its first beginnings in the work of edmund husserl 18591938, it saw itself as saving humanity from the threat of a purely naturalistic view of things, which. Significantly, vedder draws heavily on heideggers the phenomenology of religious life, long available in german, but only recently available to english readers. Phenomenology is an important methodology in the study of religions, but can be inaccessible to the student. Phenomenology of religion is distinct from historical, sociological, anthropological, philosophical, and theological approaches to the study of religion.
Husserls kaizo articles of 192324, in gary banham, ed. Commentators on religious experience disagree on the significance of phenomenological considerations. The art of phenomenology and its implications for the. Phenomenology of religion 1 phenomenology of religion the phenomenology of religion concerns the experiential aspect of religion, describing religious phenomena in terms consistent with the orientation of the worshippers. The historicaltypological phenomenology of religion. To discuss it, we are joined today by professor emeritus james cox of the university of edinburgh, who is the author of an introduction to the phenomenology of religion, a guide aimed at students and the. The phenomenology of religion studies the experiential aspect of religion, describing religious phenomena in terms consistent with the orientation of the worshippers, proceeding from the observable phenomena to the meaning that emerges from patterns of experiences and expressions. An introduction to the phenomenology of religion was published in 1992 by the university of zimbabwe publications in harare, and in a second edition in 1996. The phenomenology of religious life free pdf, chm, doc, rtf. Phenomenology concerns itself with the ways in which human beings find and construct meaning in the world. Phenomenology of religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The phenomenology of religion 5 view, seriously misunderstood. The phenomenology of religion has been one of the most influential approaches to studying religion in recent decades.
It asks the question, what is religion, and how are we even able to speak of the various world religions in similar terms. Phenomenology of religion as method in an acute critique of a wide range of contemporary studies of religion, hans penner states that what we need is a way out of the impasse that both the phenomenology of religion and functionalism have created in the study of religion 1989, 6. The phenomenology of religious life martin heidegger. Hence, even the phenomenological method is still in the process of being clarified, properly described, and elaborated. Phenomenology does not exist as a set of doctrines but at best as a method and this method is to be developed by applying phenomenology to itself. Phenomenology does not try to compare the religions with one another as large units, but it takes out of their historical setting the sirnilar facts and phenomena. The people who take these courses are usually involved in religion themselves,many are involved a in religious communities or, wishing to know more and. Phenomenology takes us beyond simple functional analyses of religion to look at its substance and the experience of transcendence berger, 1974. Martins street, london 1916 preface it was my intention to write this book as an essay in philosophy, addressed in the first instance to philosophers. Phenomenology as philosophy and method applications to ways of doing special education jean c. Please look at the definition of civilization and culture on p. A hundred years ago, should the enterprising student have wished to acquaint himself.