Rels 205 Lecture 2.1Research Methods for Studying

Religion and Ritual

Lecture Outline for Part One of Rels 205.01

Week 2Lecture 1 Ritual and the Study of ReligionLecture 2 Religious and Secular TraditionsWeek 3Lecture 1 Sacral SentimentsLecture 2 The meaning of mythWeek 4Lecture 1 Arguments for Belief in GodLecture 2 Traditional ChristianityWeek 5Lecture 1 Changing WorldviewsLecture 2 ReviewWeek 6 Reading WeekWeek 7Lecture 1 First in class test

Studying Religion

Religious Studies

Discipline or area?

Problem of inter-disciplinary research

Jack of all trades master of none

Marx on Prodhon

In France where philosophy in king they call him an economist, in Germany, where economics is King, they call him a philosopher, I say he is neither.

Pierre Joseph Prodhon(1809-1865)

Ninian Smart on methods

Religion

history

philosophy psychology

social

Practical methods

History

Philosophy (logic)

Social:anthropology/sociology

Religion

Common valid methodsInterdisciplinary approach

Participant observation

Life history interviews

Random sample survey research

Historical research

Archival research

Analysis of texts

Content analysis of literature

Anthropology – Sociology

Originally:Anthropology = non-Western societiesSociology = Western societies

Today:Anthropology = qualitative methodsSociology = quantitative methods

Anthropological methods

Participant observation

Life history interviews

Topical interviews

Survey research

Sociological methods

Survey research

Participant observation

Life history interviews

Topical interviews

Flawed Methods

Use of proof texts

Reliance on testimony of ex-members

Selective survey research

Uni-disciplinary approach

Reliance on testimony of ex-members

Selective survey researchElda Susan Morran and Lawrence Schlemmer, Faith for the Fearful?,

Center for Applied Social Sciences, Durban, 1984.

Selective survey research

Elda Susan Morran and Lawrence Schlemmer, Faith for the Fearful?,

Center for Applied Social Sciences, Durban, 1984.

Faith for the Fearful

Snowball sample. They said only 5% of Church members were Blacks when over 60% were Black one year later.

Made no distinction between language Groups. Compared working class Afrikaners with English elite.

Use of proof texts“Judas went out and hanged himself”Luke 27.5

“Go thou and do likewise”Luke 10.37

Uni-Disciplinary

Religion history

Catholics do not eat meat on Fridays.Therefore, meat sales in the Italian areas of

Chicago are significantly reduced on Fridays.

Triangulation

No one method is reliable. Therefore more than one method is needed. Results must be checked against other results.

Life historyinterviews

Surveyresearch

Participantobservation

Pitfalls

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~hexham/study/plag.html

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~hexham/study/T-2.html

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~hexham/study/T-1.html

Bias

Faulty references

Plagiarism

“A set of institutionalized rituals …”

Ritual

Repetitive behaviour, fixed by tradition, that signifies a meaning or reality beyond the act itself.

Cultural Adaption – Modernizing Rituals

Religious Rituals

Victor Turner (1920-1983)

Rites of PassageA social transition from one stage of life to another.

e.g. birth, puberty, marriage, birth, divorce,re-marriage, old age, death .

Trauma and life-crises

Source for Rites of Passage

Victor Turner The Ritual ProcessChicago, Aldine Publishing, 1969

Arnold van Gennep, Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage illustrated

Original state Liminality New state

Trauma

Mary Douglas (1921-2007)

Purity and Danger (1966)

“You shall be Holy; for I the Lordyour God am holy.”

Leviticus 19:2

Natural Symbols (1970)

Vatican II (1962-1965) and “the bog Irish”

Perceived Constraints What prevents you from doing whatever you want?

Constraints of Group and Grid

Grid = rules

Group = Personal

Social StructureGrid

Group

Ridged rulese.g. Army

No rules or personal constraints.e.g. Californian society

Personal powere.g. Patriarchal societyAbraham: Gen. 12-50

Rules with personalinfluences.e.g. Medieval Kingship