Hijacked? The Return of Heresy in the Study of Religion
Schmiedel, Ulrich LU
(2026)
p.322-335
- Abstract
- This chapter offers a critique of the metaphor of hijacking in the study of religion. Taking recent reflections on the role of religion in the far right as a case, it characterizes the heresiological logic of purity that is implied by this metaphor, before capturing its impact on investigations of religion from inter- and intra-religious angles. The chapter clarifies that the heresiological logic of purity prevents scholars from acknowledging and analyzing their own normative assumptions. To study ambiguous appeals to religion for promoting or preventing violence, scholars need to conceptualize religion as expansively and as elastically as possible. In conjunction with the paradigm of lived religion, such a conceptualization enables... (More)
- This chapter offers a critique of the metaphor of hijacking in the study of religion. Taking recent reflections on the role of religion in the far right as a case, it characterizes the heresiological logic of purity that is implied by this metaphor, before capturing its impact on investigations of religion from inter- and intra-religious angles. The chapter clarifies that the heresiological logic of purity prevents scholars from acknowledging and analyzing their own normative assumptions. To study ambiguous appeals to religion for promoting or preventing violence, scholars need to conceptualize religion as expansively and as elastically as possible. In conjunction with the paradigm of lived religion, such a conceptualization enables normative conversations about the interpretation of religion that exhort scholars to be critical and self-critical with the social, cultural, and political agendas in which they are always already entangled. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3ba0f2eb-5164-4643-850b-1b6aaddf2e8b
- author
- Schmiedel, Ulrich
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-09-24
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence
- editor
- Murphy, Andrew
- edition
- 2
- pages
- 13 pages
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISBN
- 9781394250592
- 9781394250561
- DOI
- 10.1002/9781394250592.ch26
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3ba0f2eb-5164-4643-850b-1b6aaddf2e8b
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-14 13:04:22
- date last changed
- 2026-09-10 09:44:03
@inbook{3ba0f2eb-5164-4643-850b-1b6aaddf2e8b,
abstract = {{This chapter offers a critique of the metaphor of hijacking in the study of religion. Taking recent reflections on the role of religion in the far right as a case, it characterizes the heresiological logic of purity that is implied by this metaphor, before capturing its impact on investigations of religion from inter- and intra-religious angles. The chapter clarifies that the heresiological logic of purity prevents scholars from acknowledging and analyzing their own normative assumptions. To study ambiguous appeals to religion for promoting or preventing violence, scholars need to conceptualize religion as expansively and as elastically as possible. In conjunction with the paradigm of lived religion, such a conceptualization enables normative conversations about the interpretation of religion that exhort scholars to be critical and self-critical with the social, cultural, and political agendas in which they are always already entangled.}},
author = {{Schmiedel, Ulrich}},
booktitle = {{The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Violence}},
editor = {{Murphy, Andrew}},
isbn = {{9781394250592}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
pages = {{322--335}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
title = {{Hijacked? The Return of Heresy in the Study of Religion}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781394250592.ch26}},
doi = {{10.1002/9781394250592.ch26}},
year = {{2026}},
}