Insider Definition Of Religion

DEFINING THE TERMS

With regards to religion, an Insider is someone who is actively involved in a particular religion. There are both strengths and weaknesses to the insider perspective. They are the people who have the first-hand accounts of what their religion believes and practices. The insider can provide a valuable source of information that those not involved with their specific religion do not have access to. They have an emotional connection to the religion that an outsider does not have and due to this, may have a deeper understanding to what their religion believes and practices. The insider takes what we term an emic position. “Those who practice a religion will certainly know the fundamental practices required of its adherents, how

The complete observer is someone who studies a singular or multiple religions from a distance. They have a level of objectivity that a complete insider may not have. An outsider could possibly view religion within a broader context than an insider would. An outsider uses what is termed an etic position. According to Kim Knott, “this is a position often associated with the psychology and sociology of religion, particularly with studies in which the researcher observes by means of the scientific use and analysis of questionnaires or structured interviews” (KNOTT 2010: 262). The next position on can take after the complete observer is observer as participant. The observer as participant is someone who, although coming initially from an outsider perspective, they aim to gather knowledge of a religion by direct communication with the insiders of the religion and temporarily participating in their community or rituals and to then apply the outsider principals of objectivity and critical

They are by default the insider. The theologian’s aim is not to be objective, but to find a way to prove his religion’s beliefs. This is their motivation. (CHRYSSIDES, GEAVES 2007). There are numerous ways that a theologian can go about this. A theologian can take a philosophical, Historical, sociological, anthropological or psychological approach. These areas of research are mostly associated with an outsider approach to the study of religion. This is where the importance of understanding the motivations for the study of religion becomes relevant. Let’s take the case of Fatima Mernissi. Fatima Mernissi is a Muslim feminist sociologist born in Morocco in 1940. Although not a trained theologian, she approaches the issue of women’s rights within an Islamic context. “Why is it that we find some Muslim men saying that women in Muslim states cannot be granted full enjoyment of human rights?” (MERNISSI 1987: vii). Here we have an example of a religious insider taking a sociological and historical issue of feminism and applying it within her own religious tradition. We can see that Fatima Mernissi is using a historical perspective to try and make a point about a sociological issue within her own religion in the modern world. This issue highlights the ability for an insider with an emic point of view to use certain elements of a reductionist