DECOLONIAL CHALLENGES TO RELIGIOUS STUDIES

In recent times, an ideological critique of the main concepts of religious studies has been carried out. However, that same criticism is not made in relation to the very notion of science. Rather, these critiques reveal the close connection between religious studies and a conception of modernity and science. The purpose of this article is to show how the radicalization of this criticism through decolonial theories leads to openness to other epistemologies, which challenges some assumptions made in religious studies. The central question is: would opening up to other rationalities imply the dissolution of religious studies into many regional theologies? In other words, to what extent would the resistance to this decolonial radicalization through the affirmation of scientific and social approaches to religion, observed in certain trends in current religious studies, reveal a challenge brought by the decolonial theory to religious studies? To address this problem, this article is divided into three sections. In the first part, it points to the main features of what is understood as decolonial, adopting the thought of Walter Mignolo as a reference. In the second part, the article highlights the close connection between religious studies and modern epistemological values. Finally, the article raises some questions and implications that come from the decolonial turn toward the field of religious studies.