Sociology, Protestant Theology, and the Concept of Modern Religion: William Robertson Smith and the 'Scientification' of Religion

Dietrich Jung

doi:10.1163/18748929-00804006

Sociology, Protestant Theology, and the Concept of Modern Religion: William Robertson Smith and the 'Scientification' of Religion

Dietrich Jung^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Centre for Resolution of International Conflicts

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Religion in Europe
Volume	8
Issue number	3-4
Pages (from-to)	335-364
Number of pages	30
ISSN	1874-8910
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-00804006
Publication status	Published - 2015

Keywords

Modern Religion
Sociology
Theology
William Robertson Smith

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10.1163/18748929-00804006

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abstract = "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.",

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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.

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Sociology, Protestant Theology, and the Concept of Modern Religion: William Robertson Smith and the 'Scientification' of Religion

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Keywords

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