Uskonnontutkimus prosessina
Russell T. McCutcheonin kirjoitukset kiistelyn, nyökyttelyn ja neuvottelun kohteena
Nyckelord:
Nina Kokkinen, Russell T. McCutcheon, uskontokritiikkiAbstract
Russell T. McCutcheon has emphasized the role of theorizing in the study of religion. In his writings McCutcheon describes research process in which theory is the primary factor: it is placed before methods and data both in order and in significance. Although the importance of theorizing is generally agreed upon, this article reconsiders how theories can be chosen before the researcher is more familiar with his or her data. Theories cannot become ready-made formulas or patterns that are followed blindly. When theory is understood to be an ad hoc tool, it can also be chosen in dialog with the data. A scholar of religion can utilize three methods in making decisions between different theories and revising chosen theories during the research process: he or she can (1) recycle (theoretically based) questions until the data seems to give proper answers, (2) pay attention to little details and (3) use radical contextualization in order to find more interesting questions and connections. McCutcheon’s dichotomy between naive humanists and critical scholars of religions is also questioned in this article.
