{"title":"Scientific Studies Of Religion: Inquiry And Explanation","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"learned-practice-of-religion-in-the-modern-university-book-donald-wiebe-9781350103436","title":"The Learned Practice of Religion in the Modern University","description":"In these essays, Donald Wiebe unveils a significant problem in the academic study of religion in colleges and universities in North America and Europe - that studies almost always exhibit a religious bias. To explore this issue, Wiebe looks at the religious and moral agendas behind the study of religion, showing that the boundaries between the objective study of religion and religious education as a tool for bettering society have become blurred. As a result, he argues, religious studies departments have fostered an environment where religion has become a learned or scholarly practice, rather than the object of academic scrutiny.    This book provides a critical history of the failure of 20th- and 21st-century scholars to follow through on the 19th-century ideal of an objective scientific study of religious thought and behaviour. Although emancipated from direct ecclesiastical control and, to some extent, from sectarian theologizing, Wiebe argues that research and scholarship in the academic department of religious studies has failed to break free from religious constraints. 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In these studies, cognitive scientists of religion have applied the theories, findings and research tools of the cognitive sciences to understanding religious thought, behaviour and social dynamics. Each chapter is written by a leading international scholar, and summarizes in non-technical language the original empirical study conducted by the scholar. No prior or statistical knowledge is presumed, and studies included range from the classic to the more recent and innovative cases.    Students will learn about the theories that cognitive scientists have employed to explain recurrent features of religiosity across cultures and historical eras, how scholars have tested those theories, and what the results of those tests have revealed and suggest. Written to be accessible to undergraduates, this provides a much-needed survey of empirical studies in the cognitive science of religion.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50373214568721,"sku":"CIN1350033685G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1350033685.jpg?v=1750985729"},{"product_id":"unnatural-history-of-religions-book-leonardo-ambasciano-9781350062382","title":"An Unnatural History of Religions","description":"An Unnatural History of Religions examines the origins, development, and critical issues concerning the history of religion and its relationship with science. The book explores the ideological biases, logical fallacies, and unwarranted beliefs that surround the scientific foundations (or lack thereof) in the academic discipline of the history of religions, positioning them in today’s ‘post-truth’ culture.    Leonardo Ambasciano provides the necessary critical background to evaluate the most important theories and working concepts dedicated to the explanation of the historical developments of religion. He covers the most important topics and paradigm shifts in the field, such as phenomenology, postmodernism, and cognitive science. These are taken into consideration chronologically, each time with case studies on topics such as shamanism, gender biases, ethnocentrism, and biological evolution.   Ambasciano argues that the roots of post-truth may be deep in human biases, but that historical justifications change each time, resulting in different combinations. The surprising rise of once-fringe beliefs, such as conspiracy theories, pseudoscientific claims, and so-called scientific creationism, demonstrates the alarming influence that post-truth ideas may exert on both politics and society. Recognising them before they spread anew may be the first step towards a scientifically renewed study of religion.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50373281939729,"sku":"CIN1350062383G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52655323775249,"sku":"NLS9781350062382","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1350062383.jpg?v=1751987285"},{"product_id":"philosophical-foundations-of-the-cognitive-science-of-religion-book-robert-n-mccauley-9781350105867","title":"Philosophical Foundations of the Cognitive Science  of Religion","description":"Robert N. McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson are considered the founders of the field of the cognitive science of religion. Since its inception over twenty years ago, the cognitive science of religion has raised questions about the philosophical foundations and implications of such a scientific approach. This volume from McCauley, including chapters co-authored by Lawson, is the first book-length project to focus on such questions, resulting in a compelling volume that addresses fundamental questions that any scholar of religion should ask.  The essays collected in this volume are those that initially defined this scientific field for the study of religion. These essays deal with issues of methodology, reductionism, resistance to the scientific study of religion, and other criticisms that have been lodged against the cognitive science of religion. The new final chapter sees McCauley reflect on developments in this field since its founding.   Tackling these debates head on and in one place for the first time, this volume belongs on the shelf of every researcher interested in this now established approach to the study of religion within a range of disciplines, including religious studies, philosophy, anthropology and the psychology of religion.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50373400396049,"sku":"CIN1350105864G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52585003614481,"sku":"NLS9781350105867","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1350105864.jpg?v=1751986381"},{"product_id":"construction-of-the-supernatural-in-euro-american-cultures-book-benson-saler-9781350239531","title":"The Construction of the Supernatural in Euro-American Cultures","description":"This book describes aspects of the concept of the supernatural from the intellectual history of Euro-American cultures. These samplings shed light on issues in the study of religions and religion rather than attempting to provide either a lineally coherent or exhaustive account of a somewhat fraught and complicated notion. Observations include uses of the term among the ancient Greeks and medieval Christian theologians and 19th- and 20th-century social scientists. This book highlights more recent academics who draw on the cognitive and evolutionary sciences in attempting to make sense of recurrent features of the representations and meta-representations of different cultures. This includes such counter-intuitive notions as “the mysterious” among the Wayuu of Columbia and Venezuela and “vampires” in Europe and North America.    These observations are concluded in a final essay – “Toward a Realistic and Relevant Science of Religion” – which presents considered opinions on how we might draw on the cognitive and evolutionary sciences to establish the foundations for a genuinely scientific study of religions and religion.  Benson Saler sadly passed away shortly after writing this book. An appreciation of his work, written by Armin W. 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Described as \"the grandfather of the cognitive science of religion,\" Lawson offers a unique perspective on the development of the field and the principles that underlie it, which will be relevant to both newcomers and established scholars.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50698672013585,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50698673815825,"sku":"NGR9781350355866","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52685654884625,"sku":"NLS9781350355866","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1350355860.jpg?v=1751460427"},{"product_id":"modeling-religion-book-wesley-j-wildman-9781350367340","title":"Modeling Religion","description":"What role has religion played in the major civilizational transformations associated with the Neolithic Revolution, the Axial Age, and Modernity? 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The book tackles the urgent question of what sort of civilizational transformations might be possible in a world where the influence and significance of religion continues to decline wherever technology, education, freedom, and cultural pluralism are most advanced.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52100914872593,"sku":"NGR9781350367340","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53021980098833,"sku":"NLS9781350367340","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781350367340.jpg?v=1757091362"},{"product_id":"mind-of-mithraists-book-luther-h-martin-9781472584199","title":"The Mind of Mithraists","description":"The Roman cult of Mithras was the most widely-dispersed and densely-distributed cult throughout the expanse of the Roman Empire from the end of the first until the fourth century AD, rivaling the early growth and development of Christianity during the same period. 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The first book-length treatment that focuses specifically on costly signalling, sexual selection, and related evolutionary theories to explain religion, The Attraction of Religion will be an important contribution to the field and will be of interest to researchers in the fields of evolutionary psychology, religion and science, the psychology of religion, and anthropology of religion.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52434610487569,"sku":"NLS9781472534620","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781472534620.jpg?v=1759181094"},{"product_id":"understanding-religion-through-artificial-intelligence-book-justin-e-lane-9781350241312","title":"Understanding Religion Through Artificial Intelligence","description":"In Understanding Religion through Artificial Intelligence, Justin E. 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