Interpreting Religion: Making Sense of Religious Lives (Interpretive Lenses in Sociology)

This collection brings together a diverse range of interpretivist perspectives to find fresh takes on the meanings of religion. Cutting across paradigms, traditions, and levels of analysis, experts from the UK, US and India apply their varied lenses to a range of substantive topics, from totalitarianism in China to the Eastern Orthodox practice of fasting – with research based on in-depth interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, historical methods and survey data from scholars trained in sociology, anthropology, and history. What unites these diverse studies is a central concern with meaning-making, and a shared commitment to the study of meaning as intersubjective, relational, and situated, and as a result, to the importance of scholarly reflexivity. Each chapter demonstrates the power of interpretive approaches for moving us toward expanded notions of causality – explanations that take seriously mutually constituting and contingent relationships between meanings, their foundations and evolutions, and their consequences for social action. Often asking “how” rather than what or why, the interpretive approaches highlighted in this volume allow us to see the dynamic and complicated interplay between stability and fluidity, tradition and innovation, history and the present, as well as between structure and agency, individual and collective, explicit and implicit, both within and beyond “the religious proper.” They also reveal how interpreting religion is itself an unfolding, dynamic, and constitutive process which is generated through both deliberative reflection and embodied understanding. This volume provides an orienting toolkit for interpretive scholars who seek to make sense of religious life. Front Cover Half Title Series page Interpreting Religion: Making Sense of Religious Lives Copyright information Table of contents List of Figures and Tables Notes on Contributors Series Editors’ Preface: Interpretive Lenses in Sociology – On the Multidimensional Foundations of Meaning in Social Life Notes References Introduction: Interpretive Approaches in the Study of Religion Scholarship as interpretation Interpreting religion and beyond Note References 1 Making Sense of Queer Christian Lives Shifting narratives Rewriting the script Reconciliation scripts Apologetics Mosaic expansion/radical inclusion Reconciliation scripts in context Beyond contradiction? The significance of affirmative communities Sociotemporal context and the articulated/actualized self Self-actualization quests and social movements Notes References 2 The Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma: Religion, Spirituality, and Ritual among Children and Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors Methodology and the researcher as witness Survivorship and the intergenerational transmission of religious beliefs Belief in a higher power Descendant spirituality and the turn toward immanence Ritual: emotion and innovation among descendants of survivors Culture bearing and the reinvention of Jewish ritual among descendants Conclusion References 3 Doing It: Ethnography, Embodiment, and the Interpretation of Religion Bodies and souls: grasping the corporeal effects of religious praxis From the somatic to the symbolic: interpreting practices from within Conclusion Notes References 4 Mind the Gap: What Ethnographic Silences Can Teach Us Silence at the shared table Sitting with silence The sounds of difficult silence Self-silencing Conclusion: silence as presence Notes References 5 The Public Sphere and Presentations of the Collective Self: Being Shia in Modern India The Shia in India Sociology of religion and collective identity Identity and boundary making in the public Sectarian controversies and the Piggot Committee: prior to 1919 Between Khilafat and freedom: 1919–47 Hindutva and Islamophobia in contemporary India: 1990s and beyond Conclusion Notes References 6 The Power of Meaning: Toward a Critical Discursive Sociology of Religion Discourse as social practice Meaning in the service of power The “folk church” as ideology1 Church and state, according to the Church “Folk church” in parliamentary politics Conclusion Notes References 7 The Religion of White Male Ethnonationalism in a Multicultural Reality White supremacy in the United States Whiteness as religion Decisive moments when white people embraced racism Reconstruction after the American Civil War Twentieth-century labor movements The Evil Other The rite of white American restorative violence Conclusion References 8 Totalitarianism as Religion Introduction The founding act and the constitution of a new world The sacred The underside of the sacred From the sublime to the grotesque: the transition From inevitability to eternity: the rise of the new deity Notes References 9 The Heritage Spectrum: A More Inclusive Typology for the Age of Global Buddhism Categorical erasure Typologies of Buddhist practitioners outside Asia and their shortcomings Typologies of Buddhist institutions and their shortcomings The heritage spectrum The heritage spectrum: zooming out at the big picture The heritage spectrum: zooming in on FPMT Conclusion Notes References 10 Interpreting Nonreligion The interpretive challenge for nonreligion The typical solution: disaggregation A different solution: the interpretive approach Conclusion Notes References Afterword: Approaching Religions – Some Reflections on Meaning, Identity, and Power Neosecularization or repaganization Religion and ideology Religion and identity Notes References Index Back Cover Front Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Interpreting Religion: Making Sense Of Religious Lives -- Copyright Information -- Table Of Contents -- List Of Figures And Tables -- Notes On Contributors -- Series Editors' Preface: Interpretive Lenses In Sociology -- On The Multidimensional Foundations Of Meaning In Social Life -- Notes -- References -- Introduction: Interpretive Approaches In The Study Of Religion -- Scholarship As Interpretation -- Interpreting Religion And Beyond -- Note -- References -- 1 Making Sense Of Queer Christian Lives -- Shifting Narratives -- Rewriting The Script Reconciliation Scripts -- Apologetics -- Mosaic Expansion/radical Inclusion -- Reconciliation Scripts In Context -- Beyond Contradiction? -- The Significance Of Affirmative Communities -- Sociotemporal Context And The Articulated/actualized Self -- Self-actualization Quests And Social Movements -- Notes -- References -- 2 The Intergenerational Transmission Of Trauma: Religion, Spirituality, And Ritual Among Children And Grandchildren Of Holocaust Survivors -- Methodology And The Researcher As Witness -- Survivorship And The Intergenerational Transmission Of Religious Beliefs Belief In A Higher Power -- Descendant Spirituality And The Turn Toward Immanence -- Ritual: Emotion And Innovation Among Descendants Of Survivors -- Culture Bearing And The Reinvention Of Jewish Ritual Among Descendants -- Conclusion -- References -- 3 Doing It: Ethnography, Embodiment, And The Interpretation Of Religion -- Bodies And Souls: Grasping The Corporeal Effects Of Religious Praxis -- From The Somatic To The Symbolic: Interpreting Practices From Within -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 4 Mind The Gap: What Ethnographic Silences Can Teach Us -- Silence At The Shared Table Sitting With Silence -- The Sounds Of Difficult Silence -- Self-silencing -- Conclusion: Silence As Presence -- Notes -- References -- 5 The Public Sphere And Presentations Of The Collective Self: Being Shia In Modern India -- The Shia In India -- Sociology Of Religion And Collective Identity -- Identity And Boundary Making In The Public -- Sectarian Controversies And The Piggot Committee: Prior To 1919 -- Between Khilafat And Freedom: 1919-47 -- Hindutva And Islamophobia In Contemporary India: 1990s And Beyond -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References 6 The Power Of Meaning: Toward A Critical Discursive Sociology Of Religion -- Discourse As Social Practice -- Meaning In The Service Of Power -- The Folk Church As Ideology1 -- Church And State, According To The Church -- Folk Church In Parliamentary Politics -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 7 The Religion Of White Male Ethnonationalism In A Multicultural Reality -- White Supremacy In The United States -- Whiteness As Religion -- Decisive Moments When White People Embraced Racism -- Reconstruction After The American Civil War -- Twentieth-century Labor Movements -- The Evil Other Edited By Erin Johnston, Vikash Singh. Description Based Upon Print Version Of Record. The Rite Of White American Restorative Violence. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Electronic Reproduction. Baltimore, Md Available Via World Wide Web. This edited collection harnesses a diversity of interpretivist perspectives to provide a panoramic view of the production, experiences, contexts, and meanings of religion. Scholars from the US, South Asia and Europe explore religious phenomena using ethnographic, comparative historical, psychosocial, and critical theoretical approaches. Each chapter addresses foundational themes in the study of religion - from identity, discourse and power to ritual, emotion, and embodiment. Authors examine dynamic intersections of race, gender, history, and the present within the religious traditions of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, as well as among the non-religious. Cutting boldly across religious traditions and paradigms, the book investigates areas of harmony and contradiction across different interpretive lenses to achieve a richer understanding of the meanings of religion.This edited collection harnesses a diversity of interpretivist perspectives to provide a panoramic view of the production, experiences, contexts, and meanings of religion. Scholars from the US, South Asia and Europe explore religious phenomena using ethnographic, comparative historical, psychosocial, and critical theoretical approaches. Each chapter addresses foundational themes in the study of religion - from identity, discourse and power to ritual, emotion, and embodiment. Authors examine dynamic intersections of race, gender, history, and the present within the religious traditions of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, as well as among the non-religious. Cutting boldly across religious traditions and paradigms, the book investigates areas of harmony and contradiction across different interpretive lenses to achieve a richer understanding of the meanings of religion This collection brings together a diverse range of interpretivist perspectives to find fresh takes on the meanings of religion. Cutting across paradigms and traditions, experts from the UK, US, and India apply different approaches to engagement with beliefs and themes, including identity, ritual, and emotion.