Social Construction and Social Critique: Haslanger, Race and the Study of Religion

Lynch, T. (2017) Social Construction and Social Critique: Haslanger, Race and the Study of Religion. Critical Research on Religion, 5 (3). pp. 284-301. ISSN 2050-3032

[thumbnail of Lynch, 2017, Social Construction and Social Critique: Haslanger, Race and the Study of Religion, Critical Research on Religion 5,3) pp. 284-301. Copyright © 2017. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.] Text (Lynch, 2017, Social Construction and Social Critique: Haslanger, Race and the Study of Religion, Critical Research on Religion 5,3) pp. 284-301. Copyright © 2017. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.)
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Abstract

Recent critiques of the category religion discuss the category as socially constructed, but the nature of this social construction remains underdeveloped. The work of Sally Haslanger can supplement existing discussions of ‘religion’ while also offering a new perspective on the connection between social construction and social critique. Her analysis of race provides resources for developing a philosophical account of the social construction of religion and can help scholars of religion conceptualize racialized religious identities. I offer an example of this approach by using Haslanger’s work on race to consider historical and contemporary intersections of race and Muslim identity. I conclude that the ongoing ideological work of ‘religion’ means that the concept remains an analytically useful term, but that scholars should aim at the gradual abolition of ‘religion’.

Publication Type: Articles
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races > HT1501 Races
Divisions: Academic Areas > Institute of Arts and Humanities > Theology, Philosophy and Religion
Depositing User: Tommy Lynch
Date Deposited: 22 Jun 2017 14:28
Last Modified: 14 May 2018 13:11
URI: https://eprints.chi.ac.uk/id/eprint/2742

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