Dr Neville Buch
Abstract
In the contemporary intellectual landscape, Gary Jaron’s (2021/2022) definition of Religious Studies as the study of the sacred and our response to what we consider sacred serves as a vital catalyst for moving the field beyond the limited recognition of supernatural entities toward a study of human action. Dr. Neville Buch evaluates this shift through the lens of Spiral Historiography and the ”topological turn,” arguing that while Jaron correctly identifies the sacred as a continuum of human values, this meaning must be anchored ”in rebus” (in the thing itself) within specific historical and physical landscapes. This essay explores Buch’s take on Jaron, utilizing the Dynamic of Cognition (DoC) framework to contrast “potted thinking” and “historical forgetfulness” with a humanistic ascent toward Human Authorship and Planetary Wisdom.
Featured Image: Conceptual-Systems-for-Studies-in-Religion

Neville Buch
Latest posts by Neville Buch (see all)
- Agency, Cultural Construction, and Synoptic Vision: On Matt Patterson’s Comprehensive Examination in Sociological Theory (2009) – September 20, 2026
- Human Existence, Existential Angst, and the Protestant Worldview: An Essay on Buch’s Existential Thesis – September 20, 2026
- Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto. Ciceronian Statecraft, Spinozan Toleration, and Prophetic Praxis – September 19, 2026
