The research project Reading with Meaning: Unravelling Bible Interpretation in Missional Small Groups in the Netherlands examines the interaction between readers as they engage with the text.
Ancient religious texts continue to resonate with millions of people, shaping the lives of individuals and communities. These texts are read in individual and collective settings. This study explores the dynamic relationship between religious texts and their readers and the interactions among readers in the context of reading groups. The central aim in many empirical studies and hermeneutical analyses concerning contemporary readings of religious texts is to explore how people read, focusing on the interaction between the reader and the text. This study primarily examines the interaction between readers as they engage with the text, focusing on collective aspects of interpretation. Therefore, the central question is: How do people read together? This research seeks to elucidate the process of collaborative interpretation and the value and complexities inherent in communal interpretation in the quest for meaning.
The study employs an empirical design. Data will be collected at reading group meetings in missionary contexts in the Netherlands. I examine how personal contexts (religious, cultural, and social backgrounds) and the communal context in which the interpretation takes place shape interpretations and whether and how these interpretations evolve across multiple reading sessions. This leads to questions like: Do readers of religious texts actively support each other's perspectives? How do they critique each other's interpretations? Do they build their interpretations upon one another? How is the interpretive process guided?
The answers to these and other relevant questions reveal the dynamic nature of communal reading of religious texts and whether and how shared interpretation emerges in the studied context.
The study also contributes to a broader goal: understanding how religious texts are interpreted is vital for conducting interfaith dialogue in our multicultural society, as it deepens our understanding of the world we live in and the people we encounter within it.
More about this research project
Start/End Date
2023-2028
Team
Leader: Prof. dr. Peter-Ben Smit
Contextual Biblical Interpretation and Theologies
Fund
NWO (Doctoral Grant for Teachers)