{"title":"Timothy Fitzgerald and the Revival of Religious Studies","authors":"N. Goldenberg","doi":"10.1558/imre.40964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.40964","url":null,"abstract":"The Ideology of Religious Studies is described as foundational for the developing sub-field of \"critical religion.\" Central tenets of Fitzgerald's work are highlighted as challenges to conventional assumptions and oft-repeated bromides that characterize religious studies as a discipline. Fitzgerald's current work that aims beyond \"religion\" to deconstruct other terms and paradigms of Western thought is gently critiqued - especially in regard to his rejection of politics as a meaningful category. In fact, it is suggested that Fitzgerald enlarges religious studies and shows its relevance to other fields by uncovering political contingencies behind the reification of \"religion\" and its attendant vocabulary.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47787951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Connecting Fitzgerald and Latour for the Sake of Democratic Religious Studies","authors":"Milan Fujda","doi":"10.1558/imre.41065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.41065","url":null,"abstract":"There is a theoretical and methodological toolbox for postcolonial, i.e. truly democratic, religious studies which is available and ready for use. Through it, the discipline can drop the analytical categories of \"religion\" and \"belief \" completely from its vocabulary. Timothy Fitzgerald's criticism of the colonising rhetorical structure of \"religion\" can thus be carried into completion. This was made possible by redesigning a social science methodology within the study of science and technology. Bruno Latour and his colleagues refined it by employing approaches from ethnomethodology and symbolic interactionism. This paper demonstrates how to transplant this symmetrical approach to religious studies. The distinctiveness of the discipline won't be lost if religion remains in the background as a completely vague horizon-idea arranging the range of heterogeneous interests of various scholars in the field together. Its etic (theoretical) use, however, must be strictly prohibited in order to foster the elaboration of precise descriptive language capturing the exact components operating in the ordering processes under scrutiny.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44288492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Historicization of “Religion” and The Devastation of Study of Religion Departments: Siamese Twins or Contingent Acquaintances?","authors":"T. Taira","doi":"10.1558/imre.40996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.40996","url":null,"abstract":"Two main arguments of Timothy Fitzgerald’s The Ideology of Religious Studies (2000) (IRS) are that religion is an analytically useless (and even harmful) category and that study of religion departments could be rearranged as departments of cultural studies, theoretically informed ethnographic studies or humanities that study the institutionalized values of specific societies. This article introduces Fitzgerald’s argument, examines the reception of Fitzgerald’s work, and then proceeds to argue that, contrary to the opinion of many commentators, Fitzgerald’s first criticism opens up important research possibilities for scholars of religion. However, this article takes a slightly more critical view on the second argument, despite agreeing with the necessity of interdisciplinary research. Finally, this article suggests that historicizing the category of religion can enliven study of religion departments, rather than representing a reason for their problems.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48900490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Religion as the Transmission of An Authoritative Tradition: The Significance of Timothy Fitzgerald’s Critique of Religious Studies for a Socially Embedded Definition of Religion","authors":"J. Cox","doi":"10.1558/imre.40991","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.40991","url":null,"abstract":"Timothy Fitzgerald’s critique of the category “religion” was based on two main objections: the study of religion as a distinct discipline has grown out of the historical collusion with colonial interests that has culminated in the modern division between religion and the secular; by associating the term “religion” with sacred entities, theological assumptions have been smuggled into so-called scientific studies of religion. In this paper, I offer my own non-theological, sociocultural working definition of religion in an effort to separate “the sacred” from “religion.” I argue that religion consists of identifiable communities that adhere to traditions that are transmitted from generation to generation with an overwhelming authority. I conclude that Fitzgerald’s critique of religion does not require scholars to abandon the category, but to re-think how they use the academic findings they have extracted from their research subjects. To advance beyond Fitzgerald’s argument, I contend that academics need to work collaboratively with the religious communities they are researching by acknowledging them as the legitimate owners of the knowledge that is embedded in their authoritative traditions.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48775294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“That’s the Spiritual Side of Me”: Men’s Autobiographical Accounts of Recovery in Twelve Step Fellowships","authors":"Lymarie Rodriguez-Morales","doi":"10.1558/imre.38499","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.38499","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores young adult men’s lived experience of addiction recovery through their involvement in Twelve Step fellowships’ spirituality. Although there is a large body of research on Twelve Step’s recovery model, few studies have examined young adult men’s psychological and identity transformation in light of its spiritual principles. Ten men participating in Twelve Step fellowships in the UK were recruited and invited to write a topical autobiography of their recovery. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants in early recovery (six months to two years in recovery) provided accounts mostly concerned with maintaining abstinence and incorporating the Twelve Step spiritual principles and practices into their lives. Participants in long-term recovery (five to ten years) portrayed ‘personal growth’ narratives, reflecting on their involvement with the fellowships through their life-course. Values of belonging, authenticity, care and love were identified as significant themes in their narratives and continue to infuse their identities long after initial sobriety establishment. The findings suggest that participants’ spirituality evolves into a loving and caring masculine identity, which is key to their psychological development into mature adulthood. It is suggested that amidst the variety of spiritual recovery experiences (religious, atheist or secular) within the Twelve Step programmes, members share life-enhancing values that support the transcendence of their addiction.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48834704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Kleśas and Pretas: Therapy and Liberation in Buddhist Recovery from Addiction","authors":"W. Dossett","doi":"10.1558/imre.40694","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.40694","url":null,"abstract":"This article offers an analysis of Buddhist approaches to addiction recovery in the terms of some of the key debates in addiction/recovery studies. Buddhist recovery teachings are analysed for the extent to which they embody models of addiction which construe the problem as a disease, as a moral problem, as a problem of powerlessness, as a problem of control, as a choice, as a social or a personal problem, and as continuous (or not) with putative sa?s?ric experience. They are also analysed for the extent to which recovery is modelled as a change of identity or of practices, and how far ‘recovery ideals' align with Buddhist soteriology. The article exposes philosophical and epistemological diversity across Buddhist recovery pathways, and argues that the therapeutization of Buddhism (Metcalf 2002) is inadequate as a categorical frame","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45648879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Alcoholics Anonymous Help Grow the Spiritual but not Religious Movement?","authors":"Linda A. Mercadante","doi":"10.1558/imre.40699","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.40699","url":null,"abstract":"Both the 12 Step movement of Alcoholics Anonymous and the spiritual-but-not-religious (SBNR) movement insist there is an important difference between spirituality and religion. Briefly, it is claimed that spirituality is personal and heart-felt, while religion consists of human-created doctrines, institutions, and outward rituals. However, the two routes to that definition differ in significant ways. For AA the dichotomy has been functional to allow a diverse membership and reduce an undercurrent of societal judgmentalism. For SBNRs, the claim has been boundary-marking, facilitating the movement away from organized religion. Nevertheless, as AA has progressed, it has become more of a portal away from religion and toward the SBNR ethos. This essay shows some of the more significant theological themes that have facilitated this movement.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48871268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Religion, Spirituality and Addiction Recovery: Introduction","authors":"W. Dossett, Liam Metcalf-White","doi":"10.1558/imre.40695","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.40695","url":null,"abstract":"Religion, spirituality, non-religion, and the secular (Lee 2014, 2015) are unstable categories that are nonetheless routinely reified by academics, clinicians and practitioners alike, and positioned as fundamental to experiences of addiction recovery. For instance, addiction is often framed, dramatically, as a spiritual malady, yet, just as often, as simply a poor moral choice. While ideas associated with religion or spirituality play out differently in those contrasting diagnoses, the role of religion and spirituality in their aetiology is evident. We (Wendy Dossett and Liam Metcalf-White) argue that the categories of religion, spirituality, and non-religion, as they to relate to addiction recovery, need further analysis than they receive in the clinical literature. This literature frequently presents them as extra “technologies of the self ” (Foucault 1988); either functionally worthwhile or not (Szalavitz 2017); rather than as embedded in the very culture and discourses in which addiction and recovery are named and experienced. We argue for a focus on the latter as more productive for an understanding of the field.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44384268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In/visible Recoveries: Display events, Stigma and Spirituality in a Therapeutic Community in Northern Mexico","authors":"Ethan Sharp","doi":"10.1558/imre.37987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.37987","url":null,"abstract":"Based on ethnographic research in Northern Mexico, this article describes the efforts of men within a therapeutic community closely tied to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to manage perceptions of AA recovery pathways, and to define for themselves and the larger public the nature of the spirituality that they acquired in recovery. Through an analysis informed by discourse studies and linguistic anthropology, the article shows that through discourse and symbolic actions in public display events, the men reinforced a belief in the effectiveness of AA recovery pathways by affirming their stigmatized identities as “addicts,” and by framing experiences such as rejection by family, an arrest or an encounter with death as possibilities for demonstrating honesty and authenticity, and for developing a sense of spirituality and the confidence needed to do the work of recovery. The men’s spirituality did not rely on any kind of consistent religious or spiritual practice; rather, it involved recognizing God as a force in their lives and remaining open to new discoveries and insights.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46702040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recovering Theism: Three Biographical Case Studies in Alcoholics Anonymous","authors":"Paul K. McClure","doi":"10.1558/imre.37830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.37830","url":null,"abstract":"Recent studies in the sociology of religion have shown that religion and spirituality are related yet distinct concepts which impact social life in a variety of ways. Since its founding in 1935, the popular program known as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has offered an approach to addiction recovery that manifestly adopts spirituality as a means to sobriety while at the same time eschewing certain organized religious beliefs. This paper seeks to understand how participants perceive spirituality to be integral to addiction recovery as featured through three biographical case studies of unrelated AA members living in different cities in the United States. While the particularities of these three case studies should not be taken as representative of the AA population since they are tied to specific contexts, the similarities of their stories and the emphasis each respondent places on spirituality should prompt researchers to consider the evident connection between spirituality and recovery through AA participation. Suggestions for future research studies and the implications of these results will be discussed.","PeriodicalId":53963,"journal":{"name":"Implicit Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47744372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}