The Study of Religion on the Other Side of the Good Religion/Bad Religion Binary

One of the most resolute dichotomies in the modern and contemporary study of religion is that between good/bad religions. The bases for making such judgments are fluid, but the outcome is generally recognizable; “good” religions and good religious practitioners adhere to the expectations and norms o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Orsi, Robert A. 1953- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2022
In: Journal of religious ethics
Year: 2022, Volume: 50, Issue: 2, Pages: 312-317
Further subjects:B Meir Kahane
B Judaism
B Israel
B Shaul Magid
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Summary:One of the most resolute dichotomies in the modern and contemporary study of religion is that between good/bad religions. The bases for making such judgments are fluid, but the outcome is generally recognizable; “good” religions and good religious practitioners adhere to the expectations and norms of the bourgeois modern. The reasons for the endurance of the good/bad religion dichotomy are historical, rooted in the rise of the study of religion as an academic discipline, globally and in the United States; economic, reflecting recent trends in giving to higher education; and ideological. But in Meir Kahane, Shaul Magid upends the good/bad distinction, using a “bad” religious actor, in this case, a virulent anti-Black racist, demagogue, and violent street fighter as a lens through which to explore recent Jewish history in the US and Israel. Magid's steadfast refusal to render Kahane safely other to this broader religious story is a powerful challenge to scholars of religion.
ISSN:1467-9795
Reference:Kommentar in "The Afterlives of Meir Kahane: A Response (2022)"
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religious ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jore.12397