Professor Martin Stringer is no stranger to the RSP, having previously appeared in May 2013 speaking with David on the topic of "Situational Belief". He is currently serving as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at Swansea University in the UK, and was formerly Head of Theology & Religion at the University of Birmingham. Martin trained as a social anthropologist, and his research has focused on Christian groups in the UK and diversity among inner-city communities. His theoretical approach is to use anthropological methods of ethnography in detailed and extended studies of real life situations, where he believes religion can be most fruitfully understood. Publications of particular relevance to the RSP include Discourses on Religious Diversity: Explorations in an Urban Ecology (2013) and Contemporary Western Ethnography and the Definition of Religion (2008).
In this interview, we discuss the broad topic of diversity, contrast this with concepts of 'difference', and ask what on Steven Vertovec might mean by the concept of 'super-diversity' (2007). We then ask why scholars might be interested in situations of 'religious diversity',...
“Belief” is a critical category in the study of religion. Indeed, for some scholars, it is the very essence of religion; as Clifford Geertz wrote, “To know, one must first believe.” Others, however, see the emphasis on belief as part of the Protestant bias in the development of the discipline, and have proposed various ways of avoiding talking about it at all. In this interview, ...
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