Abstracts
Résumé
Le littéralisme biblique est un aspect du christianisme évangélique souvent réduit à des croyances dogmatiques et anti-intellectuelles. Pourtant, sur le terrain, on constate qu’il renvoie à un engagement épistémologique particulier, ancré dans une histoire intellectuelle éminemment moderne. S’appuyant sur une recherche de terrain approfondie au sein d’une église évangélique à Nashville, au Tennessee, cet article soutient que se concentrer uniquement sur le contenu propositionnel des croyances littéralistes occulte les engagements intellectuels des évangéliques. Après un survol des débats théoriques sur le concept de croyance en anthropologie, l’auteur souligne le processus rationnel par lequel les croyants évangéliques évaluent leurs convictions. L’histoire intellectuelle de l’évangélisme étatsunien est mise en relief, en particulier son lien avec la pensée positiviste du siècle des Lumières. Abordant le croire comme une activité socio-épistémologique, la perspective analytique adoptée dans cet article prône une meilleure compréhension de la façon dont les croyants eux-mêmes vivent les enjeux intellectuels de la vie religieuse.
Mots-clés :
- anthropologie de la connaissance / du savoir,
- évangélisme étatsunien,
- histoire des sciences,
- herméneutique,
- éthique et politique de la connaissance
Abstract
Biblical literalism is an aspect of evangelical Christianity often reduced to dogmatic, anti-intellectual beliefs. On the ground, however, we see that it indexes a particular epistemological commitment rooted in an eminently modern intellectual history. Drawing on extensive research in an evangelical church in Nashville, Tennessee, this article argues that focusing solely on the propositional content of literalist beliefs obscures the extent to which evangelicals actually care about intellectual matters. After providing a brief overview of theoretical debates on the concept of belief in anthropology, the author underscores the rational process by which evangelical believers evaluate their convictions. The intellectual history of American evangelicalism is highlighted, in particular its link with 19th-century positivist thought. By approaching belief as a socio-epistemological activity, the analytical perspective adopted in this article advocates a better understanding of how believers themselves experience the intellectual stakes of religious life.
Keywords:
- anthropology of knowledge,
- evangelicalism in the United States,
- history of science,
- hermeneutics,
- ethics and politics of knowledge
Appendices
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