GENERAL SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES FOR THE STUDY OF MATERIALS OF RELIGIOUS CONTENT

Abstract

In conducting religious expertise (hereinafter RE), it is essential to follow the general scientific principles governing the study of materials of religious content (hereinafter MRC), which implies adherence to methodological standards. Equally important is recognising the interdisciplinary character of religious studies. Emerging about a century and a half ago in Western Europe as an independent scientific field, religious studies—distinct from theology and atheism—possess their own conceptual framework and employ the methods of other disciplines such as history, sociology, psychology, philology, and cultural studies in providing a secular assessment of religion.

The purpose of conducting RE in the Republic of Uzbekistan is to determine, through the authorised body, whether MRC contain elements that contradict existing legislation, deviate from religious law, or distort its principles, in order to decide whether to permit or prohibit their production, import, or dissemination within the country. The identification of “deviations from or distortions of religious laws” within MRC is resolved through theological research.

Thus, there is an observable harmonisation between secular and religious knowledge, which has yielded positive results in religious-educational and ideological work promoting spiritual and moral values. The aim of this research is to determine, from a methodological standpoint, the extent to which ideological techniques are appropriate in the scientific examination of MRC conducted through religious expertise.

Through a comparative analysis of general scientific and theological methods, the study defines the scope of methods acceptable for RE, highlights the methodological requirements for both scientific and theological approaches, identifies their distinguishing features, and evaluates the practice of integrating them.

The general scientific principles for studying materials of religious content (MRC) were examined comprehensively, leading to the following conclusions:
At the research stage of religious expertise (RE), it is necessary to adhere to the methodological requirements of accuracy, focus, and axiological neutrality characteristic of scientific methods. In theological research, however, it is essential to observe the specific methodological traditions of each religion — such as qiyas (analogical reasoning) and taqlid (emulation) in Islam, and hermeneutics and contextual theology in Christianity, among others. At the final stage of RE, the consensus-based conclusions jointly formulated by the religious scholar and the theologian should be duly considered.