1. Rels 205 Lecture 2.1 Research Methods for Studying Religion and Ritual

2. Lecture Outline for Part One of Rels 205.01 Week 2 Lecture 1 Ritual and the Study of Religion Lecture 2 Religious and Secular Traditions Week 3 Lecture 1 Sacral Sentiments Lecture 2 The meaning of myth Week 4 Lecture 1 Arguments for Belief in God Lecture 2 Traditional Christianity Week 5 Lecture 1 Changing Worldviews Lecture 2 Review Week 6 Reading Week Week 7 Lecture 1 First in class test

3. Studying Religion

4. Religious Studies Discipline or area? Problem of inter-disciplinary research Jack of all trades master of none

5. Marx on Prodhon In France where philosophy in king they call him an economist, in Germany, where economics is King, they call him a philosopher, I say he is neither. Pierre Joseph Prodhon (1809-1865)

6. Ninian Smart on methods Religion history philosophypsychology social

7. Practical methods History Philosophy (logic) Social: anthropology/ sociology Religion

8. Common valid methods Interdisciplinary approach Participant observation Life history interviews Random sample survey research Historical research Archival research Analysis of texts Content analysis of literature

9. Anthropology – Sociology Originally: Anthropology= non-Western societies Sociology= Western societies Today: Anthropology=qualitative methods Sociology = quantitative methods

10. Anthropological methods Participant observation Life history interviews Topical interviews Survey research

11. Sociological methods Survey research Participant observation Life history interviews Topical interviews

12. Flawed Methods Use of proof texts Reliance on testimony of ex-members Selective survey research Uni-disciplinary approach

13. Reliance on testimony of ex-members

14. Selective survey research Elda Susan Morran and Lawrence Schlemmer, Faith for the Fearful?, Center for Applied Social Sciences, Durban, 1984.

15. Selective survey research Elda Susan Morran and Lawrence Schlemmer, Faith for the Fearful?, Center for Applied Social Sciences, Durban, 1984.

16. Faith for the Fearful Snowball sample. They said only 5% of Church members were Blacks when over 60% were Black one year later. Made no distinction between language Groups. Compared working class Afrikaners with English elite.

17. Use of proof texts “Judas went out and hanged himself” Luke 27.5 “Go thou and do likewise” Luke 10.37

18. Uni-Disciplinary Religion history Catholics do not eat meat on Fridays. Therefore, meat sales in the Italian areas of Chicago are significantly reduced on Fridays.

19. Triangulation No one method is reliable. Therefore more than one method is needed. Results must be checked against other results. Life history interviews Survey research Participant observation

20. Pitfalls http://www.ucalgary.ca/~hexham/study/plag.html http://www.ucalgary.ca/~hexham/study/T-2.html http://www.ucalgary.ca/~hexham/study/T-1.html Bias Faulty references Plagiarism

21. “A set of institutionalized rituals …”

22. Ritual Repetitive behaviour, fixed by tradition, that signifies a meaning or reality beyond the act itself.

23. Cultural Adaption – Modernizing Rituals

24. Religious Rituals

25. Victor Turner (1920-1983)

26. Rites of Passage A social transition from one stage of life to another. e.g. birth, puberty, marriage, birth, divorce, re-marriage, old age, death. Trauma and life-crises

27. Source for Rites of Passage Victor Turner The Ritual Process Chicago, Aldine Publishing, 1969 Arnold van Gennep, Rites of Passage

28. Rites of Passage illustrated Original state Liminality New state Trauma

29. Mary Douglas (1921-2007)

30. Purity and Danger (1966) “You shall be Holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2

31. Natural Symbols (1970) Vatican II (1962-1965) and “the bog Irish”

32. Perceived Constraints What prevents you from doing whatever you want?

33. Constraints of Group and Grid Grid = rules Group = Personal

34. Social Structure Grid Group Ridged rules e.g. Army No rules or personal constraints. e.g. Californian society Personal power e.g. Patriarchal society Abraham: Gen. 12-50 Rules with personal influences. e.g. Medieval Kingship