Critical analysis of the methodology of religious studies of contemporary Iranian intellectuals (based on Mustafa Malekian)

جستارهایی در فلسفه و کلام

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 27 April 2025

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/epk.2025.90366.1377

Author

Seyed Vahid Kashani^*

Member of the faculty of Al-Mustafa International University, assistant professor

Abstract

Religion is a multi-faceted phenomenon that makes every religious researcher and theologian, in facing this phenomenon, use different methods that have a direct impact on the research results. Mostafa Malekian is one of the contemporary enlightened thinkers whose theological discussions have received considerable attention. In this article, Malekian's attitude towards the nature of religion and religious studies has been examined first, and then his methods in dealing with religious studies have been analyzed. This article is written with a descriptive and analytical method using the sources, articles, lectures and books of Mustafa Malekian. Malikian has a hybrid method in religious research that contains four main method elements. These elements are: rational method, functional or practical method, delivery method and process method. Despite the success of this character in some parts of religious studies, it has problems such as: reducing the spiritual burden of religion, the ineffectiveness of the delivery element in the combined method, the reduction of religion in the applied method, and the lack of criteria in the process method.

Keywords

Mostafa Malekian; religion; delivery method; rational; practical; process