Tagged: buddhism

Gender & Sexuality / Sociology of Culture

The Other (Religious) Dimensions of Sexuality

(Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Religious_items#/media/File:Fastentuch.jpg)   One of the main ideologies of religion, which Ninian Smart has pointed out, is that of the ethical, and legal dimension. Smart states, “the law which a tradition or subtradition incorporates into its fabric can be called the ethical dimension of religion” (Smart 18; 1998). History has proved how social customs, usually stemming from religious ideologies, tend to become laws, and govern social norms. When thinking about American society, society claims there is a separation between the Church,...

Sociology of Culture

Guest Post: Finding ‘Religion’ in Asia: personal reflections on a Singaporean appointment

Bryan S. Turner National University of Singapore     In general dons don’t leave Cambridge University. They die there or they get thrown out, but generally speaking the charm and prestige of the place are sufficiently strong to secure life-long loyalty. I was unusual; I left.  Having been appointed in 1998 as the new professor of sociology, I was soon teaching four ‘papers’ (lecture courses), supervising six PhD students, giving supervisions to college students, managing MA candidates, and sitting on...