Margit Warburg

William Robertson Smith and the study of religion

Abstract This article discusses William Robertson Smiths significance to the study of religion in the light of some important themes in his Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. Although rooted in an evolutionist frame of understanding which in Robertson Smiths case represented a particular theological variation, this work pointed forward to the functionalist theory of religion as a social phenomenon. Robertson Smiths theory of sacrifice as a communion has been abandoned for more than half a century, but it is interesting in the way it draws upon the major, yet controversial source to early Semitic sacrifice, the Narratio ascribed to Nilus. The reasons for the contemporary view of the Narratio as an unreliable source are reviewed, and it is shown that Robertson Smiths use of the Narratio reflects his own preassumed model of religion. Robertson Smith does not stand alone with this model. On the contrary, the conformation of the Narratio of both past and present prejudices explains its popularity as ...

Counting niqabs and burqas in Denmark: Methodological Aspects of Quantifying Rare and Elusive Religious Sub-cultures

Muslim women wearing face-covering clothing are the subject of politically heated debates in a number of European countries, but reliable data on the number of these women (niqabis) are generally lacking. At the request of the Danish government, the authors conducted a survey of niqabis in Denmark; this work is the first attempt to quantify niqabis in a European country by sampling new data from several different kinds of sources. Sociologically, niqabis represent a rare and elusive group, which presents particular methodological challenges. The methods discussed and used, such as stratified sampling, use of key informants, and location sampling, are relevant in the studies of many contemporary religious sub-cultures. Extensive triangulation of the different data provided an estimated number of niqabis of 150, with an uncertainty range of 100–200. This corresponds to 0.1–0.2% of Muslim women in Denmark. These figures tally with current rough estimates in other European countries.

An Alternative National-Religious Space: The Danish Seamen’s Church in Singapore

Immigrants settling permanently in their new country may eventually acquire new citizenship, but the majority of them do not change their religion. As already noted by Will Herberg half a century ago, it was primarily through their religion that immigrants to the United States, and their descendants, in the great wave of immigration before the 1920s “found an identifiable place in American life” (1960, 27–28). They did so by anchoring their national background in religious associations rather than by joining the churches of their co-believers from different national backgrounds (Herberg 1960, 110–11). The Scandinavian immigrants to the American Midwest in the late nineteenth century are illustrative of this trend: although the vast majority of Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians shared the same Evangelical-Lutheran faith and their languages were closely related, independent Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian churches were established on American soil (Simonsen 1990).

De danske udlandskirker. En religionsdemografisk model for migrantmenigheder

From the perspective of sociology of religion, the Danish churches abroad are similar to other migrant congregations, primarily by caring for broader social and cultural needs among the members of the congregation than what is usually the case in the home country. Abroad, the Danish churches are ethnic minority churches, and I analyse their demographic development on the basis of a new, general model for migrant congregations. On the basis of this model I argue that like other immigrant congregations the Danish churches abroad have to consider the issue of assimilation and the issue of proselytising. These issues are decisive for the long-term survival of the congregations and their position in the Danish model of religion. Fra et religionssociologisk perspektiv ligner de danske udlandskirker forst og fremmest andre migrantmenigheder ved, at de daekker bredere sociale og kulturelle behov blandt menighedens medlemmer, end hvad der normalt er tilfaeldet i hjemlandet. I udlandet er de danske kirker etniske minoritetskirker, og deres demografiske udvikling bliver analyseret med udgangspunkt i en ny, generel demografisk model for migrantmenigheder. Ud fra modellen kan man argumentere for, at de danske udlandskirker er tvunget til at forholde sig til nogle helt centrale sporgsmal, som gaelder alle migrantmenigheder, nemlig sporgsmalet om assimilation og sporgsmalet om mission. Svarene pa disse sporgsmal er afgorende for menighedernes overlevelse pa laengere sigt og deres placering i den danske religionsmodel