title: The sacrifice of knowledge: vain debates in the social scientific study of religion.
abstract: Since its inception, the social scientific study of religion has been a battleground for scholars advocating for the advantages of one sort of methodology over against the other. I argue that these debates have more to do with the personalities of the researchers rather than any kind of justifiable proof that one method is better than another. I argue that the process by which scholars quarrel over methods is a sign of stagnation or regression in the academy; I draw broad implications for the health of the discipline of religious studies.
authors.affiliation: jkramp@drew.edu
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kramp
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D003405:Creativity; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D010551:Personality; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012072:Religious Philosophies / Q000523:psychology; D012942:Social Sciences