Dorthe Enger

Perspectives on Religious Criticism Dorthe Enger 1. izdevums

Perspectives of Religious Criticism - the Challenge of Globalization presents tools for navigating in a world of many conflicting worldviews.

Religious criticism is often associated with a negative external judgement of religious teachings based on modern atheism and/or scientific materialism.

This book offers a different approach. Criticism is used in the original Greek meaning of the word; discernment. This is a broad definition that does not reduce religious criticism to the criticism that developed as a result of the Enlightenment. Religions are syncretistic phenomena, which means that their identities are constructed in collaboration or in confrontation with internal positions, with other religions and external, non-religious beliefs.

The book focuses on both internal and external religious criticism and contains three main topics:

Religion and Dogma
Religion and Gender
Religion and Science

In order to structure and interpret religious and non-religious positions, the book uses the distinctions premodern, modern and postmodern as hermeneutical tools. Present day internal and external religious criticism develops in the clashes between these perspectives. The selection of material shows how religious criticism is expressed through persuasive arguments in articles, speeches and debate books, and how literature, pictures and films bring insight into religious criticism by showing the experiential dimension. Because the book focuses on worldview literacy as a cognitive goal, the texts are accompanied with activities that stimulate personal reflection. A glossary in English is also provided.
The book can be used in English and interdisciplinary studies (AT). It also contains material where English may interact with other subjects like religious and social studies, history, Danish, physics and biology.