Theoretical-methodological aspects of researching the area of religion and public administration

Abstract

This article, commissioned by the editors of Public Policy and Administration, contributes to the theoretical and methodological groundworks for the development of research in religion and public administration. It does so in three ways. The first part contrasts different approaches to defining the concept of religion, those from the vantage of academic observers against those from within religious traditions themselves. Several theoretical and methodological challenges for public administration follow. Part two sets out two theoretical concerns; first, the role of religious belief in intentional explanations of public administration activity; second, the institutionalised position of secularity in the recently freighted concept of a religious regime. Part three identifies a clutch of methodological concerns associated with these theoretical issues. A final section concludes with a summary of the contribution of the article to the nascent research programme in public administration for a post-secular world.