Revisiting Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth
This paper considers the relevance of The Power of Myth to the secular study of religion. First, I identify the scholars from whom Campbell borrows concepts. I organize these scholars into three groups - the qualitative religious scholars, the quantitative religious scholars, and those who draw from...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2014
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| In: |
IMW journal of religious studies
Year: 2014, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Pages: 73-88 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | This paper considers the relevance of The Power of Myth to the secular study of religion. First, I identify the scholars from whom Campbell borrows concepts. I organize these scholars into three groups - the qualitative religious scholars, the quantitative religious scholars, and those who draw from both approaches. Next, I identify Joseph Campbell’s key ideas (the monomyth, the hero’s journey, the existence of a higher power or energy, the lack of myth in the modern world, and the notion that religion possesses given qualities). I then analyze the contradictions inherent within Campbell’s argument, for Campbell fails to synthesize three scholarly traditions into one coherent theory of religion. Additionally, I discuss Campbell’s descriptive reductionism, his reactionary views regarding secularization, and the political conservatism found within the book. I conclude that Power is not an authoritative work of secular religious scholarship, but rather one man’s subjective blend of research and personal beliefs. |
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| ISSN: | 2155-1723 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: IMW journal of religious studies
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