Why People Who Don’t Study Religion Need to Understand Religion. Yes, Even You
Nathan McGovern
Associate of Asian Religions
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
“I don’t study religion, so why should I care about religious studies theory?” Area studies such as Southeast Asian Studies draw from many disciplinary perspectives, which in theory work together to provide a robust picture of the geographical region. Religious studies, however, as a relatively young discipline, has specific contributions to make that are often little understood in the broader academy. In this talk, based on his new introductory religion textbook, Seeing Through Religion, Nathan McGovern argues that scholars of all disciplinary backgrounds need to take heed of the disciplinary insights of religious studies. By not doing so—likely out of a disinterest in the normative claims of religion—they ironically risk reinscribing normative religious claims in their own scholarship.
