Big Gods, historical explanation, and the value of integrating the history of religion into the broader academy

This article discusses critiques raised by historians of religion concerning Ara Norenzayan's Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013), offering some defense of Norenzayan's position, but also discussing in detail the more su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion
Main Author: Slingerland, Edward G. 1968- (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group [2015]
In: Religion
Year: 2015, Volume: 45, Issue: 4, Pages: 585-602
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Norenzayan, Ara 1970-, Big gods / Discussion / Religion / Rise of / Science of Religion / Cognitive psychology / Interdisciplinarity
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AE Psychology of religion
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This article discusses critiques raised by historians of religion concerning Ara Norenzayan's Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013), offering some defense of Norenzayan's position, but also discussing in detail the more substantive challenges. It concludes with some reflections on the current position of the history of religion within the Academy, and an argument for why large-scale explanatory projects and interdisciplinary collaboration should be part of the future of our field.
ISSN:0048-721X
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2015.1073487