CONTEMPORARY HISTORY OF RELIGIONS: THEORETICAL PREMISES, METHODOLOGICAL ORIENTATIONS AND RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES

Polazeći od pretpostavke da je religija jedan od konstitutivnih čimbenika conditio humana u dugome povijesnom trajanju, u članku se iz metateorijske pozicije ispituju interpretativno-eksplanatorne mogućnosti i istraživačke perspektive religijske historije u okviru suvremene historijske znanosti. Nakon sažetog pregleda povijesti religijske historije, slijedi elaboracija teorijskih i metodoloških konzekvencija tzv. epistemologije ambivalencije kao mogućega heurističkog okvira za promišljanje i konceptualiziranje religijskih fenomena i praksi (npr. politetička definicija religije, metodološki agnosticizam). Konačno, na osnovi uvjerenja da suvremena religijska historija mora temelje vlastite disciplinarne politike graditi na epistemološkoj otvorenosti i pluralizmu, ukazuje se na teorijske i metodološke poticaje koje suvremenoj religijskoj historiji mogu ponuditi koncepti i paradigme srodnih društveno-humanističkih znanosti poput sociologije, fenomenologije, simboličke i kulturne antropologije, psihoanalize, rodne i postkolonijalne teorije te, od historijskih subdisciplina, historijska antropologija, rodna historija, psihohistorija, historijska imagologija i komparativna historija.Assuming that religion is one of the most important constitutive factors of conditio humana through history, this article is focused upon interpretative and explanatory possibilities and research perspectives of the history of religions within the contemporary historical discipline. After short historical overview of the history of religions, the main emphasis is put on the elaboration of theoretical and methodological consequences of the so-called epistemology of ambivalence as a possible heuristic framework for rethinking and reconceptualization of the religious phenomena and practices (e.g. polythetic definition of religion, methodological agnosticism). Starting from the premise that contemporary history of religions must build its foundations on the epistemological openness and plurality, in the concluding part of the article are discussed inspiring theoretical and methodological impulses derived from concepts and paradigms of related disciplines, such as sociology, phenomenology, symbolic and cultural anthropology, psychoanalysis, gender and postcolonial theories, as well as from other historical sub-disciplines like historical anthropology, gender history, psychohistory, historical imagology and comparative history