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A Theory of Evolution of Religious Knowledge in a Post-Revolutionary Iran: And a New Frontier for Sociology of Knowledge

Hashemi, Morteza; Bagherpour, Amir R.

Authors

Amir R. Bagherpour



Contributors

Mikael Stenmark
Editor

Steve Fuller
Editor

Ulf Zackariasson
Editor

Abstract

Abdolkarim Soroush is a prominent figure in the religious intellectualism movement in post-revolutionary Iran. In 1991, he published a controversial book, The Theoretical Contraction and Expansion of the Sacred Law, on the social evolution of religious and non-religious types of knowledge, as well as their co-dependence. His main argument, which was ground-breaking at the time, could be summarized in three theses: first, there is a constant dialogue between those two types of knowledge and they are not mutually exclusive. Second, theoretical contraction and expansion of non-religious knowledge will influence (if not shape) our understanding of religious knowledge. Third, like other types of knowledge (such as science and philosophy), religious knowledge evolves. Nevertheless, as a religious intellectual and a believer, he tried to distinguish between religion on the one hand and religious knowledge on the other. He hoped that the division could be a basis for future reformist movements. The history of dialogue between Soroush and his opponents on truth and relativism has shaped the intellectual life of Iranians since the 1990s. This chapter will critically examine those exchanges and ask what sociology of knowledge, in a post-truth era, could learn from them.

Citation

Hashemi, M., & Bagherpour, A. R. (2018). A Theory of Evolution of Religious Knowledge in a Post-Revolutionary Iran: And a New Frontier for Sociology of Knowledge. In M. Stenmark, S. Fuller, & U. Zackariasson (Eds.), Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society (71-83). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96559-8_5

Online Publication Date Sep 18, 2018
Publication Date 2018
Deposit Date May 5, 2024
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
Pages 71-83
Book Title Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society
Chapter Number 4
ISBN 9783319965581
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96559-8_5
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/34351856
Publisher URL https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-96559-8_5