My view on the issue of Mormon studies.
Update and Clarification: Several people have apparently misunderstood my use of the term Mormon studies. Mormon studies is typically used in two ways.
First, as a description of the study of anything to do with Mormonism--history, art, literature, politics, religion, economics, etc.
Second, Mormon studies is used in parallel to Islamic studies or Hindu studies--that is, as a subset of religious studies.
This is from Mark Hamblin and I think he raises some very valid concerns about Mormon Studies that I have been thinking about in the past few weeks.
"The goal of a religious studies scholar should be to describe a religion in a way that believers who read his book will truthfully respond, “That’s
exactly right. That’s what I believe.” Unfortunately, religious studies scholars in general, and
Mormon studies specifically, regularly fail to do this. Their works too often leave the believer
puzzled, wondering how there could be another religion called Mormonism which is so
fundamentally different from the religion the believer knows and practices and loves. While
non-Mormons can certainly study Mormonism and offer whatever insights they may have, we as
Mormons would be very unwise to allow ourselves to be defined by the assumptions and dictates
of Mormon studies."
