This is the first comprehensive survey in English of research methods in the field of religious studies. It is designed to enable non-specialists and students at upper undergraduate and graduate levels to understand the variety of research methods used in the field. The aim is to create awareness of the relevant methods currently available and to stimulate an active interest in exploring unfamiliar methods, encouraging their use in research and enabling students and scholars to evaluate academic work with reference to methodological issues. A distinguished team of contributors cover a broad spectrum of topics, from research ethics, hermeneutics and interviewing, to Internet research and video-analysis. Each chapter covers practical issues and challenges, the theoretical basis of the respective method, and the way it has been used in religious studies, illustrated by case studies.
This substantially revised second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion remains the only comprehensive survey in English of methods and methodology in the discipline. Designed for non-specialists and upper undergraduate-/graduate-level students, it discusses the range of methods currently available to stimulate interest in unfamiliar methods and enable students and scholars to evaluate methodological issues in research. The Handbook comprises 39 chapters – 21 of which are new, and the rest revised for this edition. A total of 56 contributors from 10 countries cover a broad range of topics divided into three clear parts: • Methodology • Methods • Techniques The first section addresses general methodological issues: including comparison, research design, research ethics, intersectionality, and theorizing/analysis. The second addresses specific methods: including advanced computational methods, autoethnography, computational text analysis, digital ethnography, discourse analysis, experiments, field research, grounded theory, interviewing, reading images, surveys, and videography. The final section addresses specific techniques: including coding, focus groups, photo elicitation, and survey experiments. Each chapter covers practical issues and challenges, theoretical bases, and their use in the study of religion/s, illustrated by case studies. The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion is essential reading for students and researchers in the study of religion/s, as well as for those in related disciplines.
The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion provides a comprehensive overview of the academic study of religion. Written by an international team of leading scholars, its fifty-one chapters are divided thematically into seven sections. The first section addresses five major conceptual aspects of research on religion. Part two surveys eleven main frameworks of analysis, interpretation, and explanation of religion. Reflecting recent turns in the humanities and social sciences, part three considers eight forms of the expression of religion. Part four provides a discussion of the ways societies and religions, or religious organizations, are shaped by different forms of allocation of resources. Other chapters in this section consider law, the media, nature, medicine, politics, science, sports, and tourism. Part five reviews important developments, distinctions, and arguments for each of the selected topics. The study of religion addresses religion as a historical phenomenon and part six looks at seven historical processes. Religion is studied in various ways by many disciplines, and this Handbook shows that the study of religion is an academic discipline in its own right. The disciplinary profile of this volume is reflected in part seven, which considers the history of the discipline and its relevance. Each chapter in the Handbook references at least two different religions to provide fresh and innovative perspectives on key issues in the field. This authoritative collection will advance the state of the discipline and is an invaluable reference for students and scholars.
This Handbook provides a cutting-edge survey of the state of research on religions and global development. Part one highlights critical debates that have emerged within research on religions and development, particularly with respect to theoretical, conceptual and methodological considerations, from the perspective of development studies and its associated disciplines. Parts two to six look at different regional and national development contexts and the place of religion within these. These parts integrate and examine the critical debates raised in part one within empirical case studies from a range of religions and regions. Different religions are situated within actual locations and case studies thus allowing a detailed and contextual understanding of their relationships to development to emerge. Part seven examines the links between some important areas within development policy and practice where religion is now being considered, including: Faith-Based Organisations and Development Public Health, Religion and Development Human rights, Religion and Development Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Religion Global Institutions and Religious Engagement in Development Economic Development and Religion Religion, Development and Fragile States Development and Faith-Based Education Taking a global approach, the Handbook covers Africa, Latin America, South Asia, East and South-East Asia, and the Middle East. It is essential reading for students and researchers in development studies and religious studies, and is highly relevant to those working in area studies, as well as a range of disciplines, from theology, anthropology and economics to geography, international relations, politics and sociology.
The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary resource, which frames and contextualises the rapidly expanding fields that explore yoga and meditative techniques. The book analyses yoga and meditation studies in a variety of religious, historical and geographical settings. The chapters, authored by an international set of experts, are laid out across five sections: Introduction to yoga and meditation studies History of yoga and meditation in South Asia Doctrinal perspectives: technique and praxis Global and regional transmissions Disciplinary framings In addition to up-to-date explorations of the history of yoga and meditation in the Indian subcontinent, new contexts include a case study of yoga and meditation in the contemporary Tibetan diaspora, and unique summaries of historical developments in Japan and Latin America as well as an introduction to the growing academic study of yoga in Korea. Underpinned by critical and theoretical engagement, the volume provides an in-depth guide to the history of yoga and meditation studies and combines the best of established research with attention to emerging directions for future investigation. This handbook will be of interest to multidisciplinary academic audiences from across the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Chapters 1, 4, 9, 12, and 27 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
In this comprehensive and highly interdisciplinary companion, contributors reflect on remix across the broad spectrum of media and culture, with each chapter offering in-depth reflections on the relationship between remix studies and the digital humanities. The anthology is organized into sections that explore remix studies and digital humanities in relation to topics such as archives, artificial intelligence, cinema, epistemology, gaming, generative art, hacking, pedagogy, sound, and VR, among other subjects of study. Selected chapters focus on practice-based projects produced by artists, designers, remix studies scholars, and digital humanists. With this mix of practical and theoretical chapters, editors Navas, Gallagher, and burrough offer a tapestry of critical reflection on the contemporary cultural and political implications of remix studies and the digital humanities, functioning as an ideal reference manual to these evolving areas of study across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of digital humanities, remix studies, media arts, information studies, interactive arts and technology, and digital media studies.
Religion and its History offers a reflection of our operative concept of religion and religions, developing a set of approaches that bridge the widely assumed gulf between analysing present religion and doing history of religion. Religious Studies have adapted a wide range of methodologies from sociological tool kits to insights and concepts from disciplines of social and cultural studies. Their massive historical claims, which typically idealize and reify communities and traditions, and build normative claims thereupon, lack a critical engagement on the part of the researchers. This book radically rethinks and critically engages with these biases. It does so by offering neither an abridged global history of religion nor a small handbook of methodology. Instead, this book presents concepts and methods that allow the analysis of contemporary and past religious practices, ideas, and institutions within a shared framework.
In recent decades, there has been a substantial turn towards narrative and life history study. The embrace of narrative and life history work has accompanied the move to postmodernism and post-structuralism across a wide range of disciplines: sociological studies, gender studies, cultural studies, social history; literary theory; and, most recently, psychology. Written by leading international scholars from the main contributing perspectives and disciplines, The Routledge International Handbook on Narrative and Life History seeks to capture the range and scope as well as the considerable complexity of the field of narrative study and life history work by situating these fields of study within the historical and contemporary context. Topics covered include: • The historical emergences of life history and narrative study • Techniques for conducting life history and narrative study • Identity and politics • Generational history • Social and psycho-social approaches to narrative history With chapters from expert contributors, this volume will prove a comprehensive and authoritative resource to students, researchers and educators interested in narrative theory, analysis and interpretation.
This book demystifies designing and conducting qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research with scientific rigor. Social Research Methods, benefits researchers from theology and religious studies in designing interdisciplinary research and interacting with social sciences and other disciplines to study contextually relevant issues by focusing on lived religion, lived theology, lived experience, and real-world problems. Joshua Iyadurai skillfully guides researchers with a step-by-step guide on the practical nuances of choosing a topic, engaging literature, selecting a paradigm, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting the findings, and writing a research proposal and a dissertation/thesis/article for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. A separate chapter on supervising and examining social research helps students and professors to understand each other’s role in field-based studies. Social Research Methods is an indispensable resource for researchers from theology and religious studies and a valuable practical guide for researchers from social sciences and humanities. Why Read this Book? · Instills confidence in researchers to design and conduct qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research with scientific rigor. · The first of its kind to introduce qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods strategies with guidance for choosing a topic and collecting and analyzing data for theology and religious research. · Up to date and authoritative by arraying current and leading methodology texts with examples for researching lived experiences, lived religion, and lived theology. · A step-by-step guide for writing every section of a research proposal and for writing each chapter for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods dissertation/thesis, which will make the research journey pleasant for students. · Provides tips for writing DMin dissertation and journal article. · Offers guidelines for supervisors and examiners for assisting and assessing student projects. · Review Questions and Further Help at the end of each chapter; Glossary and Index, which are among other helpful resources for researchers. · An invaluable resource for students and professors from social sciences, education, development, management, and the humanities, besides theology and religious studies. · A practical guide for researchers from churches, religious bodies, NGOs, and others. Review Quotes: “Compared to other approaches to theology and religious studies, missiology has the propensity to use social science methods. This clearly written introduction to complex terrain will enable students to navigate it and develop tools for their own project, and students are more likely to recognize their research interests in its examples. Especially useful features include the glossary and the section on student supervisors/mentors and examiners. This volume is authoritative and cognisant of other leading texts.” KIRSTEEN KIM, Pierson Professor of World Christianity, Fuller Theological Seminary, co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies “This textbook fills an important niche for postgraduate researchers embarking on empirical research in Practical Theology or Religious Studies. Those who have little or no background in the social sciences will find this a clear and well-structured introduction on how to conceive a research project and what methods are available to answer their research questions. Reading this before they embark on their journey could save a lot of problems further down the road.” ANDREW VILLAGE, Professor of Practical and Empirical Theology, York St John University, author of The Church of England in the First Decade of the 21st Century “Here is a fascinating and engaging handbook every researcher in theology and religious studies should read and assimilate. It fulfils a felt need by pooling the wealth of sociological methodologies and applying them to the scientific study of lived religion. The author has done a unique service, and his work will remain a point of reference for years.” FELIX WILFRED, Founder and Director of Asian Centre for Cross Cultural Studies, Chennai, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Christianity in Asia It is very good to see the use of social science methods being developed to aid religious studies and theological research. My hope is that this very practical book, using such up-to-date resources as Alan Bryman’s Social Research Methods (OUP) now in its fifth edition, will help to develop this important form of study further. ROBIN GILL, Emeritus Professor of Applied Theology, University of Kent, author of the trilogy on Sociological Theology “This volume fills an important gap in the field by bringing social scientific methods into theology and religious studies. All parties in this conversation have much to gain from a sustained dialogue, and this book moves us in that direction.” JOHN BARTKOWSKI, Professor - Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio “This is a valuable resource written in a way that theological students will understand, and supervisors will appreciate! It takes the student “by the hand” from the formulation of the research topic through methodological positioning and choices and closes with a chapter on supervision expectations. I look forward to prescribing it to my own postgraduate students.” NADINE BOWERS DU TOIT, Professor - Theology and Development, University of Stellenbosch, editor of Race, Faith and Inequality amongst Young Adults in South Africa: “The highly readable, yet exhaustive and authoritative text covers all aspects of the variety of methods available to contemporary scientists who either produce or evaluate empirical research. The text is intended for students and scholars of theology and religious studies, but anyone interested in how religion is practiced in different cultural contexts and want to understand individual lived experiences and interpretations will find this text an invaluable guide.” RALPH W. HOOD Jr., Professor of Psychology, University of Tennessee, co-editor of Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion series "Upon launching out on research, students and scholars are always on the lookout for good books on research methodology. In Dr Iyadurai’s book, they will find an excellent manual spanning the length and breadth of what they are looking for. I strongly recommend this book to all those engaged in research." FRANCIS GONSALVES SJ, President, Jnana Deepa: Pontifical Athenaeum of Philosophy & Theology, author of God of Our Soil: Towards Subaltern Trinitarian Theology Joshua Iyadurai has been teaching research methods to PhD students in Christian Studies for over a decade. He is an expert facilitator in this hybrid field, helping both theology and religious studies students use social research methods more rigorously and effectively. This book will be immensely helpful to anyone wanting to do research in the field of religion, as well as to those in classes focused on research methods. I highly recommend it. ROBERT K. JOHNSTON, Professor of Theology and Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary, co-author of Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue "Social Research Methods for Students and Scholars of Theology and Religious Studies is a masterpiece that draws from Joshua's experience of teaching social research for two decades. The book aims to catalyze theological scholarship using social research methods with scientific precision. Scholars, educators, and graduate students will find this text a welcome resource. I highly recommend it!" DAVID TARUS, Executive Director, Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA), author of A Different Way of Being
The potential of visual research methods in the sociology of religion is vast, but largely untapped. This comes as a surprise, however, given the visual, symbolic, and material nature of religion and spirituality. Evidence of religious faith and practice is materially present in everything from clothing and jewelry to artifacts found in people’s homes and workplaces. Not only is religion’s symbolic and material presence palpable throughout society, it also informs attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of countless people worldwide. Words-and-numbers approaches to social research, however, sometimes miss important dimensions of religion and spirituality in the contemporary world. Seeing Religion is an invitation to a visual sociology of religion. Contributors draw from their current research to discuss the application of visual methods to the study of religion and spirituality. Each chapter stimulates the sociological imagination through examples of research techniques, analytical approaches, and methodological concerns.
