Our culture is full of popular stereotypes about religion, both positive and negative. Many people uncritically assume that religion is intrinsically violent, or that religion makes people moral, or that it is simply "bullshit". This concise volume tackles 10 of these stereotypes, addresses why scholars of religion find them to be cliched, describes their origins, and explains the social or political work they rhetorically accomplish in the present. Cliches addressed include the following: - Religions are belief systems - I'm spiritual but not religious - Religion concerns the transcendent - Learning about religions leads to tolerance and understanding - Religion is a private matter. Written in an easy and accessible style, Stereotyping Religion: Critiquing Cliches will be of interest to all readers looking to clear away unsophisticated assumptions in preparation for more critical studies.
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Contributors Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Religions are Belief Systems, Sean McCloud (University of North Carolina, USA) 2. Religions are Intrinsically Violent, Matt Sheedy (University of Manitoba, Canada) 3. Religion Makes People Moral, Jennifer Eyl (Tufts University, USA) 4. Religion Concerns the Transcendent, Leslie Dorrough Smith (Avila University, USA) 5. Religion is a Private Matter, Robyn Faith Walsh (University of Miami, USA) 6. Religions are Mutually Exclusive, Steven W. Ramey (The University of Alabama, USA) 7. I’m Spiritual but Not Religious, Andie Alexander (Emory University, USA) and Russell T. McCutcheon (University of Alabama, USA) 8. Learning about Religion Leads to Tolerance, Tenzan Eaghll (University of Toronto, Canada) 9. Everyone has a Faith, James Dennis LoRusso (Princeton University, USA) 10. Religion is Bullshit, Rebekka King (Middle Tennessee State University, USA) Bibliography Index
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This short work should function as an excellent resource to challenge students in an introduction to religion course.
This book dismantles widespread stereotypes and cliches about religion, exposing their rhetorical and political uses, covering stereotypes such as "I'm spiritual but not religious" and "religion makes people moral".
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The first book to covers 10 of the most common stereotypes about religion
Critiquing Religion: Discourse, Culture, Power publishes works that historicize both religions and modern discourses on ‘religion’ that treat it as a unique object of study. Using diverse methodologies and social theories, volumes in this series view religions and discourses on religion as commonplace rhetorics, authenticity narratives, or legitimating myths which function in the creation, maintenance, and contestation of social formations. Works in the series are on the cutting edge of critical scholarship, regarding ‘religion’ as just another cultural tool used to gerrymander social space and distribute power relations in the modern world. Critiquing Religion: Discourse, Culture, Power provides a unique home for reflexive, critical work in the field of religious studies.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781474292207
Publisert
2017-11-02
Utgiver
Vendor
Bloomsbury Academic
Vekt
458 gr
Høyde
234 mm
Bredde
156 mm
Aldersnivå
U, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
200

Biographical note

Brad Stoddard is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at McDaniel College, USA. Craig Martin is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at St Thomas Aquinas College, USA.