Religion Clichés

Authors

  • Tenzan Eaghll University of Toronto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.v44i1.26746

Keywords:

Ninian Smart, method and theory, education, cliches

Abstract

Framed as a critique of a 1972 article by Ninian Smart, this essay seeks to expose some of the popular and academic clichés associated with the study of religion. Exploring the historical and philosophical context of clichés such as religion is the sacred or religion is about peace, the author suggests that the academic study of religion is intertwined with a series of essentializations that obscure the political context of the religious education. The essay is simultaneously an attempt to update the list of clichés first identified by Smart, and to expose the philosophical and political assumptions represented by the study of religion.

Author Biography

  • Tenzan Eaghll, University of Toronto

    Tenzan Eaghll is a PhD candidate in the Department for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, Canada.

References

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Published

2015-04-07

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Eaghll, T. (2015). Religion Clichés. Bulletin for the Study of Religion, 44(1), 33-38. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsor.v44i1.26746