RT Article
T1 Charting the map metaphor in theories of religion
JF Religion
VO 40
IS 1
SP 1
OP 13
A1 Gardiner, Mark Q. 1963-
A1 Engler, Steven 1962-
LA English
PB Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
YR 2010
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1646421892
AB The idea that scholars of religion produce "maps" that represent the "territories" of religion(s) is common and influential. This paper first discusses the role of the metaphor, with special reference to the work of J.Z. Smith, and some of the problems raised by the map metaphor (above all, its implicit reliance on a naive correspondence view of truth). It then draws two important distinctions: between different levels of representation; and between the representing and guiding function of maps (truth and use). It ends by comparing issues in the philosophy of science and the theory of religion in order to highlight some promising directions for more defensible semantic and epistemological groundwork in theory of religion.
DO 10.1016/j.religion.2009.08.010