Mapping Religion and Spirituality in a Postsecular World

Giordan, Giuseppe; Pace, Enzo

doi:10.1163/9789004230231

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this article, I argue that studying ultimate questions as "potential mediators" of religious worldviews (Berger 1974:130; see also Berger, 2003Berger, , 2014 allows the sociology of religion to explore religion outside institutional boundaries in secular fields of social life (e.g., Cadge 2011;Cornelio et al 2021;Giordan 2016;Woodhead 2012). I thus analyze the emergence and discussion of ultimate questions in science, specifically in PCS, which plays a role in influencing people's attitudes toward the science-religion relationship and religious views more broadly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, the expanded view of ultimate questions emerging in PCS reflects religious trends that characterize contemporary societies, particularly Western ones. Among these are the free and creative combination of both religious (Western and Eastern) and secular sources (Ammerman 2013;Cornelio et al 2021;McGuire 2008;Woodhead 2013) and the search for a more direct and experiential relationship with the sacred that does not involve reference to codified beliefs or practices (Berzano 2019;Giordan 2016;Heelas and Woodhead 2014;Palmisano and Pannofino 2020). Above all, the expanded view shows that many scientists perceive that "the modern immanent frame of explicability and calculation is open to something beyond" (Ammerman 2013:269; see also Taylor 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This property of ultimate questions becomes particularly important in the context of secularization, in which, because of institutional differentiation, religion increasingly manifests itself outside institutional boundaries "in informal and allegedly secular contexts" (Cadge 2011:441). See also Cornelio et al 2021;Giordan 2016;Woodhead 2012). Therefore, I argue that the study of ultimate questions can significantly increase scientific knowledge of contemporary religion that manifests in unexpected social domains and, at the same time, helps the sociology of religion not only to revise conventional categories (Cadge 2011:447) but also to develop innovative qualitative methodologies "to understand how our contemporaries connect the search for meaning in life and their relationship with the transcendent" (Giordan 2016:214).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Expanded View of Ultimate Questions in Public Communication of Science: Qualitative Discourse Analysis of Genetics and Neuroscience

Nicoli

2024

Scientific Study of Religion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article argues that studying ultimate questions as “potential mediators” of religious worldviews increases sociological knowledge of religion outside institutional boundaries, as research on secularization indicates. Concurrently, other studies demonstrate that the public communication of science (PCS) influences public orientations toward religion. Integrating these contributions, I deploy a qualitative discourse analysis of 78 genetics and neuroscience PCS monographs to investigate whether and how they raise and discuss ultimate questions together with religious references. The analysis reveals two models for relating science and religion in PCS, conflict and integration, and indicates that the latter prevails. Within the integration model, I conceptualize the “expanded view” of ultimate questions in PCS and discuss in detail its main features, especially its nondualistic approach. Lastly, I discuss the possible social consequences of the expanded view and the contribution of my findings to the sociology of religion and the sociology of religion and science.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Expanded View of Ultimate Questions in Public Communication of Science: Qualitative Discourse Analysis of Genetics and Neuroscience

Nicoli

2024

Scientific Study of Religion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With globalisation and transnationalism, people from around the world are living in a culture of pluralism and this has impacted on the role of religion (Giordan and Pace, 2012). Indeed, in many monocultural societies, religious institutions used to have almost a monopology of faith.…”

Section: Post-secularismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freedom of Religion in post-secular Australia

Possamaï

Possamai‐Inesedy

2021

Social Compass

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Habermas coined the term post-secularism to reflect a time period in which religions are given a more central part in social and political life. Even if there is more openness to religion, many religious groups would claim that Western societies are nevertheless still dominated by secularism and want to ensure that freedom of religion and belief remain protected and promoted. This article explores the recent Australian Religious Freedom Review as a case study of the social tension between freedom for and from religion to argue that we might have moved beyond a post-secular sphere in this country. In this phase, what is meant by freedom of religion has shifted from a focus in having all religious groups being able to freely practice their faith to a focus by some mainstream religions to remain free to discriminate on the basis of their faith.

show abstract

“…Religion is metamorphosing into new, renewed and different forms at various levels (Lyon, 2000). Furthermore, with globalization and migration movements, we are living in a culture of pluralism which redefines the role of religion (Giordan and Pace, 2012). This proves to be a challenge for religious institutions which used to have the monopoly of faith in mono-cultural societies.…”

Section: Popular Religion Spirituality and Mysticismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Popular and lived religions

Possamaï

2015

Current Sociology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article discusses the sociological understanding of popular religion by first exploring the theories of Gramsci. It then critiques this approach by arguing that the social construction of popular religion in contrast to institutionalized religion is not as clear cut in our late modern, multi-faith and global world as it was in the early modern period. Indeed, through consumer culture, some institutionalized religions are now reaching for the popular. Through the use of new Internet methodologies (e.g. Ngram Viewer), the article explores the various understandings of the words popular religion, mysticism and spirituality. It discovers that the usage of these words has evolved over time and reflects wider socio-cultural changes. The article then argues that spirituality (technical or unchurched) can be sociologically understood as an outcome of two processes that intertwine within late modernity; that is the gentrification of popular religion and the democratization of mysticism. Downloaded from Current Sociology of the established religion to their own liking, bringing eclectic elements into a syncretic set of beliefs from other religions that are not officially recognized, or simply by following a previous religion in opposition to a new official one. In Parker's (1998: 205) view, '[u]nlike the [official] religion of reason characteristic of the intellectual elites and clergy, popular religion is a religion of rites and myths, of dreams and emotions, of body and the quest for this-worldly well-being'.The concept 'popular religion' is difficult to define from a social-scientific point of view (Martin, 2009) as what is meant by popular religion is context-dependent. For example, in a location where there is a sharp contrast between an urban and rural setting, the official religion is often dominant in cities whereas popular religion (e.g. syncretic aspects of Catholicism with nature religion or animism) tends to be practised more in villages and among illiterate peoples. However, this does not stop urbanites from tapping into popular religion and seeking the help of, for example, a spiritual healer who will perform alternative rituals to the ones performed within institutionalized religion. Another context is that of a colonized country in which the official religion is the one brought by the new dominant ethnic group, and popular religion is the one practised by the dominated ethnic group (see below). Although popular religion comprises a multitude of unorganized elements, often in contradiction, some theorists define popular religion not in terms of a urban/rural divide or a colonial context but specifically with regards to class divide; the upper class belonging to official religion and the lower to popular religion. These theorists, following the legacy of Gramsci, sometimes see popular religion as a form of contestation against dominant culture.This article first uses the theories of Gramsci in a western setting as a point of entry to the debate on how to theorize popular religion. It then unpacks the li...

show abstract

Mapping Religion and Spirituality in a Postsecular World

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

Expanded View of Ultimate Questions in Public Communication of Science: Qualitative Discourse Analysis of Genetics and Neuroscience

Expanded View of Ultimate Questions in Public Communication of Science: Qualitative Discourse Analysis of Genetics and Neuroscience

Freedom of Religion in post-secular Australia

Popular and lived religions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About