Interpreting the Sacred : Ways of Viewing Religion

Rating:
Summary: Good Subject Matter, Poorly Written
Review: I was assigned this book for a Religious Studies Class, and while I found the subject matter insightful and well presented, the author got caught up in trying too hard to appear smart in his writing. I found myself trying to interpret too much of the writing (big words and rhetoric), instead of enjoying the book.

Rating:
Summary: A Rich Summary
Review: This introduction to the study of religion (and to thinking about what the very term "religion" itself can mean as a tool for thought) is a superbly written and organized little book, a model of summary without loss of richness. I am especially impressed with his chapters on the social/anthropological frame of interpretation (Durkheim, et al.) and his chapter on the psychological frame of interpretation (Jung,et al.). The bibliography is a treasure trove of key works for preparatory and advanced study. Prof. Paden gives a lucid account of interpretative frames imposed on the phenomena of religion from the "outside" (etic frames) as well as those emerging from within religion itself (emic frames). His aim is neither to debunk nor to syncretize in any facile way but rather to achieve an overall and systemic understanding. This compact volume will no doubt be difficult for even a passionately interested undergraduate to work through, demanding from him serious note-taking, thinking, and discussion, but the intellectual "pay-off" down the road will be worth it. The book is the perfect platform from which to jump into further study.

Rating:
Summary: A Rich Summary
Review: This introduction to the study of religion (and to thinking about what the very term "religion" itself can mean as a tool for thought) is a superbly written and organized little book, a model of summary without loss of richness. I am especially impressed with his chapters on the social/anthropological frame of interpretation (Durkheim, et al.) and his chapter on the psychological frame of interpretation (Jung,et al.). The bibliography is a treasure trove of key works for preparatory and advanced study. Prof. Paden gives a lucid account of interpretative frames imposed on the phenomena of religion from the "outside" (etic frames) as well as those emerging from within religion itself (emic frames). His aim is neither to debunk nor to syncretize in any facile way but rather to achieve an overall and systemic understanding. This compact volume will no doubt be difficult for even a passionately interested undergraduate to work through, demanding from him serious note-taking, thinking, and discussion, but the intellectual "pay-off" down the road will be worth it. The book is the perfect platform from which to jump into further study.

Rating:
Summary: A Perspective on Perspectives
Review: William Paden presents, in Interpreting the Sacred, an enlightening overview of the ways in which scholarly disciplines have made sense of religious belief and practice. After elaborating in the initial chapters the notion of perspective as a way of creating and ordering experience, the author focuses particularly on the perspectives offered by sociology, psychology, theology, and the religions themselves. Paden's "meta-cognitive" approach thus succinctly traces the genesis of particular scholarly traditions and exemplifies the manner in which cognitive hierarchies and valuations can produce their subject matter while also explicating it. Written as it is in a lucid, non-jargonic style, I would recommend requiring this book for undergraduate introductions to religious studies, and I believe that more advanced scholars could benefit from the book's postmodern but pragmatic approach to the study of religion.