Social Scientific Study of Religion

Paul S. Chung (Dr Habil.) specialises in theology at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and in sociology of religion at the University of California, Berkeley, CA. After serving as associate professor at Luther Seminary, MN, he was nominated to be distinguished professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Chicago. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Historians' Debate - Public Theology website and teaches in Berkeley.

• Foreword by Ulrich DuchrowAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Sociological Enquiry and World Religion2. Hermeneutics of Life-world, Religion, and Constructive Theology3. Sociological Hermeneutics, Power Relations, and Immanent Critique4. Phenomenology and Social Construction of Reality5. Social Construction of Religion, Schleiermacher, and Constructive Theology6. Sociological Enquiry into Hinduism and Comparative TheologyEpilogueBibliographyIndex

The range and depth of Chung's analysis is an original contribution to the construction of comparative theology. The hermeneutical lens that informs his work draws upon interdisciplinary perspectives from sociology, critical theory, phenomenology, and religious studies to disclose creative new facets of theological investigation. Incorporating insights from Luther, Troeltsch, and Barth, among others, this project boldly joins rigorous ethical commitment to the imperative of interreligious engagement. Craig L. Nessan, Academic Dean and Professor of Contextual Theology and Ethics, Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.A.Comparing multiple theological explanations of reality requires crossing over and coming back enriched. Paul Chung takes us on this journey and brings us home again, richer.Ted Peters, author of God - The World's Future: Systematic Theology for a Postmodern Era.This interdisciplinary theological inquiry into 'constructive theology of comparative religions', more widely known as comparative theology, takes interfaith engagement in a whole new level. Skillfully combining resources from a plethora of disciplines, Chung works out a comparative theological resource capable of tackling complex pluralities of the third millennium. Breathtaking in its scope, this work, part of a two-volume project, has the promise of becoming a current classic on all things interfaith issues.Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Docent of Ecumenics, Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki