Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto: 62 (Wiley-Blackwell Manifestos) - Hardcover

Schilbrack, Kevin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1444330527 ISBN 13: 9781444330526

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014

Synopsis

Philosophy and the Study of Religions: A Manifesto advocates a radical transformation of the discipline from its current, narrow focus on questions of God, to a fully global form of critical reflection on religions in all their variety and dimensions. * Opens the discipline of philosophy of religion to the religious diversity that characterizes the world today * Builds bridges between philosophy of religion and the other interpretative and explanatory approaches in the field of religious studies * Provides a manifesto for a global approach to the subject that is a practice-centred rather than a belief-centred activity * Gives attention to reflexive critical studies of 'religion' as socially constructed and historically located

About this title

Review:

"Here, informed by the work of a wide range of social theorists, anthropologists, and others, Schilbrack seeks to draw philosophers of religion out of their cultural insularity, through a consideration of concepts such as 'embodied knowledge, ' to contemplate what 'religion' might be, feel like, and mean in 'the rest' of the world." (Church Times, 4 September 2015)

"The book adds considerable momentum to the most innovative developments in philosophy of religion today." (Int J Philos Religion, 1 March 2015)

"Schilbrack concludes with strong arguments on the cross-cultural study of religion and suggests a combination of functional (the work religion does in human lives) and substantive (what religion enables people to know). Each chapter includes a bibliographic essay that will make this book a delight for classroom use. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above." (Choice, 1 January 2015)

"This book is a valuable resource for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in either field. Similarly, scholars will find important issues raised in this volume that they often ignore given, as Schilbrack argues, the insularity that characterizes the philosophy of religion." (Religious Studies Review, 1 September 2014)

From the Back Cover:

The knowledge we share of the world is growing and its boundaries shrinking, and consequently the field of religious studies is developing and changing as we become more familiar with the variety of religions across the globe in the twenty-first century. It is within this context of growth that Schilbrack provides a rallying call for a long-overdue transformation of the philosophy of religion. He argues for a shift from its current narrow focus on questions of God - primarily of interest to Christian theologians - to one providing a fully global critical reflection on religions in all their variety and dimensions. The time has come to shed the restrictive nature of traditional philosophy of religion, and open the discipline to the religious diversity that characterizes the world today.

This is a manifesto for a philosophy of religion centered on the study of how religions are lived and practiced rather than an imposition of a set of intellectual values. It advocates a cross-cultural approach, not limited to questions of classical monotheism, but one in conversation with other fields of religious study. Philosophy of religion was invented in the Enlightenment and reflected the Eurocentric understanding of the world in that day; this manifesto persuasively argues that the discipline now needs reinventing in order to function in, and reflect our present, more complicated world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1444330527
• ISBN 13: 9781444330526
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 246