RT Article
T1 Critical Religion and the Sociology of Religion
JF Method & theory in the study of religion
VO 36
IS 3/4
SP 316
OP 332
A1 Goldstein, Warren S.
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1892743744
AB This article discusses the relevance of Critical Religion to the sociology of religion. Critical Religion argues that the category of “religion” is a Western concept that through colonialism and imperialism has been superimposed over non-Western societies. In contrast, it offers a critical theory of or critical sociology of religion, which evaluates the positive and negatives aspects of what we call religion. The article provides a summary of key proponents of critical religion then uses it to discuss the secularization debate which runs through the classics and the old and new paradigms in the sociology of religion. It discusses the lived religion methodology and problematizes that through its lack of distinction between the religious and the secular, it overemphasizes the role of religion. Finally, the article offers a more scientific and neutral redefinition of the category of religion as a solution to the problems with the category raised by critical religion.
K1 critical sociology of religion
K1 Lived Religion
K1 Secularization
K1 Religious Studies
K1 sociology of religion
K1 critical religion
DO 10.1163/15700682-bja10131