Constitution
In September 2017, The Religious Studies Project Association (the organisation behind the scenes at the RSP) became The Religious Studies Project Association [SCIO] – a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. This meant the production of a constitution, the appointment of trustees, and a whole lot more. A pdf version of the constitution of The Religious Studies Project […]
Researching Religious Diversity
In this interview, we discuss the broad topic of diversity, contrast this with concepts of ‘difference’, and ask what on Steven Vertovec might mean by the concept of ‘super-diversity’ (2007). We then ask why scholars might be interested in situations of ‘religious diversity’,…
Poster Competition
Are you a budding graphic designer or artist? Do you listen to the RSP? Want to see your work adorn the walls of RS departments around the globe? Then the Religious Studies Project wants YOU! This summer, the RSP is running our very first Poster Competition. What does “critical, accessible, and cutting-edge scholarship in the […]
There’s More Than One Way to Skin a Cat: Comments on Kocku von Stuckrad’s Discursive Approach
It seems to me to be perfectly possible for someone to agree on the problem of representation, highlight the importance of reflecting on the situatedness of observer, challenge essentialism and still show no particular interest in problematizing analytical definitions of religion.
There is more than one discursive approach in religious studies. In his interview with the RSP, professor Kocku von Stuckrad outlines some of the key issues that are relevant for constructing a discourse theoretical framework for religious studies.
Abby Day
Dr Abby Day is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Kent where she teaches the anthropology of religion, and also Reader in Sociology of Religion at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her qualitative longitudinal research has expanded conventional views of belief and belonging through empirical research based initially in the UK and extended through […]
October 2013 Publicity
Given that the RSP has been running for nearly 2 years now, and in light of the website redesign, David and Chris thought it was about time to have another major publicity push. The email below has already been circulated around the DOLMEN, BASR, and NSRN lists. If you are a member of any other […]
Peter Collins
Dr Peter J. Collins is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Durham University, UK. completed an MA in development studies and a PhD in social anthropology at Manchester University. His research interests include religion (especially Quakerism), ritual and symbolism; historical anthropology; qualitative research methods, particularly narrative analysis; the anthropology of Britain; aesthetics and […]
Religious Studies Opportunities Digest – 16 Aug 2013
Focusing on the important relationship between the ‘sacred’ and the ‘secular’, this book demonstrates that it is not paradoxical to think in terms of both secular and sacred or neither, in different times and places. International experts from a range of disciplinary perspectives draw on local, national, and international contexts to provide a fresh analytical approach to understanding these two contested poles.
Peter Collins on Religion and the Built Environment
Buildings dominate our skylines, they shape the nature, size, sound and smell of events within their walls, they provide a connection to the recent and distant past, and they serve as a physical, material instantiation of any number of contextual discourses. But what about the relationship between ‘religion’ and these (generally) human-made structures?
Only 60 Seconds! | Mid-Year Special 2012
Can Steve Sutcliffe talk about “habitus” for a full 60 seconds without deviation, hesitation or repetition? How much does David Wilson know about “Postmodernism”? Mr David Robertson is your host (ably assisted by Mr Chris Cotter) for this special festive episode of the Religious Studies Pro Recorded live in Edinburgh on December 20th, 2012.
Book Review – Church Growth in Britain (David Goodhew, ed)
CHURCH GROWTH IN BRITAIN: 1980 TO THE PRESENT Goodhew, D. (Ed.), Ashgate Contemporary Ecclesiology Series. 2012: Ashgate, Farnham, UK. Reviewed for The Religious Studies Project (RSP) by Christopher R. Cotter. Published 30 November 2012. This review also forms part of book review podcast, recorded by the RSP, available here. In recent years, the secularization thesis has […]
Religious Studies Opportunities Digest – 9 November 2012
Asian Literature and Translation (ALT) is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal established by the Centre for the History of Religion in Asia (CHRA), Cardiff University. The main objective of the journal is to publish research papers, translations, and reviews in the field of Asian religious literature (construed in the widest sense) in a form that makes them quickly and easily accessible to the international academic community, to professionals in related fields, such as theatre and storytelling, and to the general public.
Secular Sacreds and the Sacred Secular
“Reframing understandings of (non)religion according to types of sacred which are independent of religious categories, allows (non)religious identities to be conceptualised to acknowledge the simultaneous intersection of multiple subjectively compatible (yet seemingly contradictory) religious and/or nonreligious identities, and paves the way for scholars to take religion seriously whilst avoiding unwarranted reverence.”
The Sacred
Religion and the Sacred, the Sacred and religion. Two words that seemingly go together like hand in glove but just how accurate is that? When we talk about religion it’s very hard not to talk about the Sacred but when we talk about the Sacred does this mean we have to talk about religion? What does the Sacred even mean? This introduction began with “Sacred” but it may well be more appropriate to write “sacred”.
Non-religion
What is ‘nonreligion’? Is it atheism? Is it secularism? Is it football? Today, Dr. Lois Lee, a leading scholar of nonreligion and the founding director of the NSRN, joins Chris and Ethan to discuss this emerging field of ‘nonreligion’ and critical methods for studying the ‘nonreligious’. Tune in to learn more!