서강대학교

초록 (요약문)

Ninian Smart (1927-2001) is recognized as a pioneer in Religious Studies in the United Kingdom, best known for his phenomenological framework of worldview analysis and the multidimensional structure of religion. Despite the contribution of Smart in the field, there have not been many systematic studies and evaluations of his theory and method. Critics have also pointed out issues with Smart's phenomenological stance and the insufficient focus on smaller traditions and new religious movements in his analyses. This thesis aims to address and respond to these concerns. The thesis has two objectives. The theoretical objective is to present the phenomenology of religion of Ninian Smart in a systematically comprehensible way. The practical objective is to check the applicability of that framework in the study of East Asian new religious movements, in particular the early Cao Dai and Donghak movements. By the application of various methods such as the historical method, phenomenological method, description, analysis, comparison, and translation on a large dataset of publications by Smart and materials on the Cao Dai and Donghak movements, the thesis yields findings that are contributive to both the Phenomenology of Religion and the Scientific Study of Religion. The first major contribution of the thesis is a systematic reconstruction of Smart's phenomenology. His worldview analysis can be seen in two ways. In a narrower definition, it is the dimensional structural analysis of religion. In a broader definition, it is equivalent to Ninian Smart’s phenomenology of religion which includes his theory of worldviews, methodological agnosticism, the multidimensional structure of religion, and worldview evaluation. The second key finding pertains to a typology of phenomenology within the study of religion. By comparing the phenomenological methods of Husserl, van der Leeuw, and Smart, we have established the broadest, narrower, and narrowest definitions of the phenomenology of religion. Smart's phenomenology of worldviews is positioned between the narrower and narrowest definitions due to his emphasis on structural and typological studies and his caution but not rejection of hermeneutical phenomenology. This study also reveals certain limitations within Ninian Smart's framework, specifically regarding the scientific objectivity of his worldview analysis, the incomplete dimensions of religion, and his tendency to overlook the vertical connections between worldviews. Additionally, we provide explanations for these limitations and defend Smart against several critiques from contemporary scholars in the field. The fourth contribution involves an exploration of Smart’s discourse on new religious movements, which can be encapsulated in two aspects: his definitions of new religious movements and implicit religions, and his theory regarding worldview interactions and responses. Although it was not his main area of focus, Smart kept pace with the study of new religious movements during his time. The final contribution is the application of the previous findings to the case of the early Cao Dai and Donghak to prove the applicability of worldview analysis in the study of new religious movements. This application has identified several patterns that can be theorized and are especially relevant to the examination of East Asian new religions in the context of colonialism and nationalism.