PerspektifInsider-Outsider dalam StudiAgama: Membaca Gagasan Kim Knott

Abstract

this article elucidates a viewpoint of Kim Knott as a “new outline” on religious studies. Knott attempts to eliminate the subjective intentions by using two basic perspectives of methodology: insider and outsider. He has classified the concept of inter-connection between social and religious role into four elements: pure participant, researcher as participant, participant as researcher and pure researcher. However, this concept remains an important problem concerning to standard of objectivity. Are the outsiders on Islamic research really objective, reliable and valid compared by the view of the insiders? Knott‟s approach tries to place researcher on the margin of appreciation as a border line between insider-outsider.