Towards a New Methodological Perspective: Concluding Reflections on Cross-cultural Research in the Study of Religions
Researching Global Religious Landscapes - A Methodology between Universalism and Particularism - Peter Nynäs
Peter Nynäs [+ ]
Åbo Akademi University
Ruth Illman [+ ]
The Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture
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Rafael Fernández-Hart [+ ]
Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, Lima, Peru
Description
This concluding chapter brings together the main findings, discussions and perspectives developed over the preceding chapters. From a variety of theoretical starting points, these chapters have addressed the worldviews of young adults around the globe, elucidating what diversity means in practice on the overarching societal level, on the locally embedded cultural level, and for the individual. The chapter also discusses questions of methodology and research ethics. How should we as researchers navigate conceptually in a global landscape of complex religious and secular worldviews? Furthermore, the goal of dismantling dichotomies and illuminating the multiple identifications and diversity prevalent on all levels of analysis in our research lies not only in the descriptions that have been presented, but also in what they suggest. Can we meet the challenge of taking other and alternative voices seriously?