TY - JOUR
T1 - Sociology, Protestant Theology, and the Concept of Modern Religion
T2 - William Robertson Smith and the 'Scientification' of Religion
AU - Jung, Dietrich
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - This article looks at the intersection between Protestant theology and sociology in the construction of the modern concept of religion. Set against the theoretical background of the functional differentiation of modern society, it identifies the origin of this concept in the discursive 'scientification' of religion by the emerging disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. In taking the life and work of William Robertson Smith (1846-94) as an example, the article analyzes the transformation of some specific elements of liberal Protestant theology into a set of universal features that came to represent religion as a modern concept. In this way, it argues against confusing the modern concept of religion with a 'Christian model' as such, and also against rejecting the concept as a mere ideological tool of secularist ideologies.
AB - This article looks at the intersection between Protestant theology and sociology in the construction of the modern concept of religion. Set against the theoretical background of the functional differentiation of modern society, it identifies the origin of this concept in the discursive 'scientification' of religion by the emerging disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. In taking the life and work of William Robertson Smith (1846-94) as an example, the article analyzes the transformation of some specific elements of liberal Protestant theology into a set of universal features that came to represent religion as a modern concept. In this way, it argues against confusing the modern concept of religion with a 'Christian model' as such, and also against rejecting the concept as a mere ideological tool of secularist ideologies.
KW - Modern Religion
KW - Sociology
KW - Theology
KW - William Robertson Smith
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84953878847&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1163/18748929-00804006
DO - 10.1163/18748929-00804006
M3 - Review
AN - SCOPUS:84953878847
SN - 1874-8910
VL - 8
SP - 335
EP - 364
JO - Journal of Religion in Europe
JF - Journal of Religion in Europe
IS - 3-4
ER -