Indeed, the comparative method has long been the preferred tool of those seeking to prove the similarity—and especially the equality—of religions across time and space. That agenda, however, has not always been successful and has at times engendered ironically problematic scholarship.
An undergraduate student uses social theory to consider why Americans appear more invested in decrying school shootings than ending them.
The way a person perceives a sensory stimulus may result from that person’s cultural arrangements, suggesting that perception is trained or nurtured... If someone has been taught and surrounded by the belief that a certain sensory stimulus is powerful, then that person will continue to believe it.
A student asked me the other day whether King's legacy is something to be given up since it can be used for contrary ends. My piece doesn't answer this with a clear answer. I do hope that it leaves readers asking that question. To me that question is a prior step to ruthlessly careful and self-conscious criticism.
A start of a new year, the ominous weather forecast, the beginning of yet another semester...if this moment is anything, it is one where we can signify our resolve by any number of means. And in that unremarkable fact, we might ask how and why such moments become remarkable. Currently many students of religion are … Continue reading On J. Z. Smith and the Remarkable
