The term
religion is indispensable to the subject matter of both religious studies and theology. Many approaches attempt a reductive , essentialist, functionalist, or other type of unifying definition, but these approaches tend to rest on various, often controversial sets of presuppositions. Indeed, it seems impossible to overcome the vast plurality of understandings of
religion as the academic fields that deal with religion splinter and proliferate, thereby inhibiting the rational treatment of a very important dimension of modern society. The present volume undertakes an intense interdisciplinary examination of a seminal modern text that religious scholars agree helped spawn religious studies and modern theology as we know it, namely Schleiermacher's
Reden über die Religion, which lays out the most important and controversial themes under discussion by theologians and religious studies scholars: first, the significance of emotion for the understanding of religion; second, the role of imagination and religious utterances in religious belief; third, the importance of religion for the social world; and fourth, the political implications of religion.
Mit Beiträgen von: Andreas Arndt,
Thorsten Dietz,
Andrew Dole,
Thomas Erne,
Volker Gerhardt,
Wilhelm Gräb,
Mathias Gutmann,
Hans Joas,
Jörg Lauster,
Georg Northoff,
Wayne Proudfoot,
Thandeka,
Theodore VialTable of contents:
Dietrich Korsch und
Amber L. Griffioen: Introduction
Volker Gerhardt: Faith. A Feeling Borne by Reason
Section I: Religion and Emotion Thorsten Dietz: Emotions between Body and Mind. Philosophy of Emotion and Schleiermacher's Concept of Feeling -
Thandeka: Schleiermacher's Brain Science. A Translation Project -
Georg Northoff: Brain and Religion - What are the Neuronal and Neuro-Epistemic Predispositions of Religious Belief? -
Jörg Lauster: Religion as Feeling. Schleiermacher's Program as a Task for Theology
Section II: Religion and Imagination / Representation Wayne Proudfoot: Intuition and Fantasy in »On Religion« -
Andreas Arndt: On the Amphiboly of Religious Speech. Religion and Philosophy in Schleiermacher's »On Religion« -
Thomas Erne: Schleiermacher on Music and Religion. The »Sound« of Schleiermacher in Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Music
Section III: Religion and the Social World Andrew Dole: Religion: Human Nature and Social Nurture -
Hans Joas: Schleiermacher and the Turn to Experience in the Study of Religion -
Mathias Gutmann: Life and Human Life. Some Methodological Considerations on the Relation of the Hermeneutic and Scientific Concept of Life
Section IV: Religion and Politics Theodore Vial: Religion and Politics. Schleiermacher's Reden in the Perspective of Religious Studies -
Wilhelm Gräb: Religion and Politics - The Contribution of Schleiermacher's »Speeches on Religion« in an Ongoing Debate: A Discussion with Ted Vial's Paper
