RT Article
T1 Prioritizing practice in the study of religion: normative and descriptive orientations
JF International journal of philosophy and theology
VO 79
IS 4
SP 437
OP 450
A1 Burley, Mikel 1972-
LA English
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2018
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1583720812
AB Calls to prioritize practice in the study of religion typically claim that attention to lived practices rather than merely to ‘belief' is needed if a given religious tradition or instance of religiosity is to be understood. Within that broad ambit, certain empirical researchers, as well as some Wittgenstein-influenced philosophers of religion, investigate the diversity of religious practices without passing judgement, whereas certain other philosophers foreground a narrower selection of examples while deploying moral criteria to distinguish acceptable from unacceptable religion. Characterizing this methodological divergence in terms of descriptive versus normative orientations, the present article argues that while attention to practice is indeed vital, the imposition of normative evaluation is liable to inhibit an appreciation of the radical plurality of religious phenomena.
K1 John Cottingham
K1 Pierre Hadot
K1 Practice
K1 humane philosophy of religion
K1 Lived Religion
K1 Praxis
DO 10.1080/21692327.2017.1344135