Free Essay On Phenomenological Methods

Religious studies

As per Cunninghams' investigation of religion, religion is something that is followed by the factions of humankind, all through history and around the globe; religion influences what individuals do. Phenomenology is frequently denounced for being subjectivist on account of its accentuation upon the deliberateness of cognizance. The phenomenological concept they used is that religion is an ultimate comprehension. Phenomenology is apparently the most persuasive methodology to the investigation of religion in the twentieth century.
Even though, phenomenological approach to the study of a religion has remained under intense critiques from various scholars of different subjects and philosophies. However, it is nonetheless termed as an important part of history. Some of the key strengths and weaknesses of using a phenomenological approach to the study of a religion can be illustrated as follows;

Strengths

Using a phenomenological approach allows an individual to become aware of the differences between sacred and holy things that take place in his/her religion, as it focuses on gather data on an individual basis.

Phenomenological approach also assists in understanding the meaningful perspectives and views of various people holding the same religion.

This approach plays its contribution in linking the newly developed theories of a religion to the ancient one in order to avoid any sort of discrepancies in the advancements.
This approach merely focuses on the collection of real and natural data of a religion rather than that based on fiction or artificial information.

Weaknesses

Since phenomenological approach for the study of religion focuses on individual data, so collection of this data requires plenty of resources and time in order to come up with some conclusion.
Even though, this approach has made its mark in history for studying a religion. However, religious policy makers still don’t give much credibility to it.
Role of participants and their truthfulness matter a lot in this approach, as false data could lead to failure of a phenomenological approach while studying a religion.
Looking at study of Cunningham and Kelsay it is discovered that they studied the primary peculiarities of religion with great clarification and some subtle element. They direct their study in the convention of Eliade. Like, Eliade they believed that Religion implies those methods for survey the world which relates to a thought of sacrosanct reality, shown in human involvement in their way of feeling, considering and acting. The Eliades' investigation of religion is viewed as a holy story, on the grounds that it generally deals with reality. A few of the key components of Eliade's viewpoint are grounded in experiential recognitions. As indicated by Eliade, homo religious is the main choice we need to handle the genuine significance of myths. As indicated by Eliade, Religion is the condition of being gotten a handle on by an extreme concern, a worry which qualifies all different concerns as preparatory and which itself contains the response to the topic of the significance of life.
For Eliade, religion is essentially the experience of the holy identified with the thoughts of "being", "signifying" and "truth". Cunningham does not give any express gleams on his writings. From one perspective, this implies that the substitute is not preferential for or against any specific methodology or hypothesis. In the meantime, the absence of even a general articulation of principal inquiries makes it hazy what those inquiries are. Eliade's hypothesis is reductionist. He tries to indicate how any of various religious encounters or exercises symbolizes the experience of an individuals with the entirely other. This is a basic distinction among Cunningham and Eliade. Another significant contrast among of Eliade and Cunningham is that Eliade plainly accepts the experience with the consecrated to be a consistent part of human life. Cunningham has dismissed this perspective to keep away from making speculations regarding human instinct. Driving attestations are scattered all through his distributions on the historical backdrop of religions, speculative chemistry, imagery, launch, myth, and so forth welcoming his perusers either to make a prompt understanding or to seek after the inquiry further into the shrubbery of his work.

End notes

Cunningham, Lawrence S., John Kelsay, R. M. Barineau, and H. J. McVoy. "The Sacred Quest." An lnvitation to the Study of Religion, 2d ed.(Englewood Cliff, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995) 45 (2013).
Eliade, Mircea. The myth of the eternal return: Cosmos and history. Vol. 46. Princeton University Press, 2005.