Alternative Voices: A Plurality Approach for Religious Studies. Essays in Honor of Ulrich Berner (Critical Studies in Religion/ Religionswissenschaft (CSRRW) - Band 004) - Hardcover

Oliver Freiberger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3525540175 ISBN 13: 9783525540176

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013

Synopsis

When scholarship presents the histories, belief systems, and ritual patterns of specific religious groups, it often privileges victorious and elite fractions of those communities to the detriment and neglect of alternative, dissonant, and resurgent voices. The contributions in this volume, which include case studies on various religious and academic contexts, illustrate the importance of listening to those alternative voices for the study of religion. At the same time, they are meant to honor Professor Ulrich Berner, on the occasion of his 65th birthday, and the inspiration his plurality approach gives for studying religion and religions. As the book shows, following this approach brings to light numerous religious beliefs and practices that were neglected by previous scholarship, and it exposes the discourses, conflicts, and power relations in each particular context. It forces scholars to study religion as an ever-contested and dynamic process rather than a static institution, as it is normally conceptualized by dominant religiouselites. The chapters in this book deal with the contested category 'religion'; the plurality of voices in religious, cultural, and ethnic encounters; alternative voices within specific religious traditions; and plurality in the study of religion itself. They demonstrate that listening to alternative voices is not only interesting but methodologically essential for a better understanding of religion.

About this title

About the Authors

Dr. phil. Magnus Echtler is a research assistant at the Department of Religious Studies of the University of Bayreuth.

Afe Adogame is Associate Professor of World Christianity and Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Edition details

• Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3525540175
• ISBN 13: 9783525540176
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 347
• Editor: Oliver Freiberger, Magnus Echtler, Afe Adogame