(Re)thinking Religious Studies

Abstract

The world religions paradigm (WRP), often regarded as hegemonic in research and education in religious studies, has long been criticized for being modeled on predominantly Protestant, Christian, and Western ideas about religion, and thus running the risk of reductionism and of a failure to recognize expressions of religion that do not fit this framework. Despite this, it is difficult to get rid of the prevailing WRP, especially in education. In addition, nonconfessional, nonreligious, secular education in religion may be biased by norms and values that assume that religion as such is outdated and irrational. The seemingly neutral, nonreligious, or agnostic position that is present in religious studies at the higher education level can then be seen as aligned with an institutional, not necessarily personal, secular bias that rules out religion from the very outset. Consequently, higher level education about religion runs the risk of presenting religion in terms of flawed stereotypes. In this article, Daniel Enstedt addresses these two interrelated and subject‐specific problems by examining them through the lens of Gert J. J. Biesta's educational philosophy, and in particular in relation to his discussion about the three domains of education: qualification, socialization, and subjectification.

Deconstructing spiritual care: Discursive underpinnings within palliative care research

“…We also see how spirituality is connected to the concept of "transcendence." It is worth noting that in a Christian theological context, the word "transcendence" is often used to describe "God" (Enstedt, 2020).…”

Recasting Assessment in Continuing Professional Development as a Person-Focused Activity

“…Biesta argues, however, that, “…this is not all there is to education. We always aim for students to end up a subject in their own right; as individuals who can make up their own mind, draw their own conclusions, and take responsibility for their actions.” 30 Biesta calls this purpose of education “subjectification.” Subjectification is when the qualification and socialization purposes of education become an integral part of (or transform) how a person considers, assesses, and evaluates 67 ; it is how the person develops their unique existence within the profession 30,68 or, as some would say, their own practice. 69 Biesta provides us with an example to highlight the interaction between the three purposes, “Teaching a particular skill is not just about learning to do that skill (qualification), but this also communicates something about the importance of that skill in the profession (socialization) and simultaneously has an impact on the agency of the one learning, that is, by mastering this skill they are able to act differently.…”

Realitas Keagamaan dan Problematika Keilmuan Islamic-Studies

“…Di mana reduksionisme ini, seperti simpulan riset Lewin, memang telah berkembang di berbagai pengajaran keagamaan di universitas atau pun di sekolah (Lewin, 2020). Bahkan Enstedt dalam artikel "Re-thinking Religious Studies" mensinyalir bahwa reduksionisme sangat terlihat jelas terjadi dalam studi agama di perguruan tinggi (Enstedt, 2020). Prevalensinya begitu mengakar, tersebar luas serta mampu mencegah pengakuan manifestasi keagamaan di ranah personal maupun komunal (Zand, 2019).…”