Categorising “Religion”: From Case Studies to Methodology

The category of “religion” is often referred to as slippery or problematic. As such, scholars have sought to deconstruct the term in order to be free of its weight. But what happens after the deconstruction – where we go from there? How do we study particular cases? How are new groups officially recognised? What roles to scholars play in the application of the term to new groups? In this interview, Dr Teemu Taira discusses the role of marginal traditions in understanding the application of the term “religion” in differing context, in particular he discusses Karhun Kansa, the People of the Bear. This leads onto a methodological discussion on the use of the term and the role scholars play in this discourse.

Want to check out all of the great responses Taira’s podcast has prompted?

• “The Deconstruction of Religion: So What?”
• “Theoretical Veganism: Practicing Religious Studies without Religion”
• “Whither the Study of Religion and Culture?” 
• “On deconstructing the deconstruction of the deconstruction of the category of religion”
• “‘What happens after the deconstruction?’”
• “The Blind Leading the Seeing”
• “Shivers Up My Spine“

Related podcasts:

• “Religion and the Media”
• “Studying Nonreligion in Religious Studies”
• “Religion in the UK 2011 Census“