]]>

Top 5 Problems in the Study of Religion

Admin
By -
0

 

Top 5 Problems in the Study of Religion


The study of religion as an academic discipline has some basic problems. This article is dedicated to the examination of the multi-faceted problems that face the study of religion. This article marks the end of the section that deals with the study of religion as an academic discipline.

By the end of this article, you will be able to discuss the problems facing the study of religion due to the nature of religion itself, highlight the obstacles that personal biases pose to the study of religion, identify the social issues involved in the study of religion, discuss the political angle to the study of religion and examine the problem the economy poses to the study of religion.




Top 5 Problems in the Study of Religion

1. The Nature of Religion

One of the major problems facing the study of religion has to do with the nature of religion itself. Religion by its very nature is an attempt to study and understand the supernatural. This is the most ironic of all the problems of the study of religion. This is because in reality, it is highly impossible for the natural to study the supernatural.

In addition, the fact remains that religion is highly subjective. It has to do with the issues of what people believe, and what their values are.

Consequently, most of the data to be collected in the study of religion are mot scientifically verifiable as is the case of other fields of study.

For example, in the realm of the sciences, it is possible to observe for example, how many times per second the heart beats and state it categorically; or to identify the various reactions that the mixture of certain chemicals will give.

In the realm of the social sciences too, it is possible to do statistical analysis to measure certain things to a certain degree. For example, you can measure the reaction of a certain group of people to certain events and arrive at a postulation.

However, in the study of religion, it is impossible to measure whether someone believes what he/she says he/she believes. The realm of religion is thus viewed in the light of subjectivity, and this is what makes the study of religion from an academic perspective very problematic.

 

2. Personal Biases

Another great obstacle to the study of religion is the subjectivity of the researcher which intervenes with the study of religion more often than not. It has always been very difficult for most scholars of religion to separate their personal faith from the study of religion as an academic discipline.

In fact, the veracity of this point can be seen in the fact that even if an atheist studies religion, he/she would be doing so from an atheistic point of view.

Let us cite some practical examples: if a Christian is studying the Islamic religion, most of the time he/she evaluates the teachings, doctrines and practices of the Islamic faith from the perspective of his/her own Christian faith and vice versa.

For example, Christians may criticise Muslims for denying the divinity of Jesus Christ, while Muslims on the other hand may criticise Christians for serving three gods. To obtain objective results in the study of religion however, all forms of personal biases must be removed.


Also read: 7 Various Approaches to the Study of Religion


3. Social Problems

The social issues involved in the study of religion are due to the fact that because religion has a sociological dimension and it usually overlaps with religion to the extent that distinctions between the two become blurred. This is because most of the time, especially in hyper-religious communities, most societal laws are coded in religious forms thus giving them a quasi-divine legitimacy.

 

4. Political Problems

As it had been pointed out in other courses, there has always been a very close relationship between religion and politics, and the two have always been used to exploit each other. For example, in Nigeria, there have been many religious riots that have been politically motivated.

On the surface, it may appear as if it is the religion in itself that is problematic, but the problem lies in those that are using religion to advance certain political goals.

 

5. Economic Problems

The greatest problem that economy poses to the study of religion lies in the fact that it costs a lot of money to conduct a good research. Consequently, since most people do not have enough to attend to those things considered important, the tendency is to neglect to pay attention to the issue of religion, let alone budget money for its study. The researchers into religion then have no choice but to use only that which is available for the study of religion.

 



Conclusion on Top 5 Problems in the Study of Religion

It can be safely concluded that there are various problems facing the academic study of religion ranging from the nature of religion itself to other socio-economic problems as well as political factors.

The following are the major points learnt in this article:

The nature of religion makes objectivity in the study of religion difficult to attain, personal biases affect the study of religion, the relationship between politics and religion makes it difficult to study religion as it should be studied and The relationship between the society and religion makes it difficult to study religion as it should be studied.

Tags:

Post a Comment

0Comments

Post a Comment (0)