If religion is continually in a state of flux how can the study of religion critically examine contemporary religious beliefs and values? 'Representing Religion' critically examines this "crisis of representation".

Introduction: The "Crisis of Representation" and the Study of Religion in Culture Part I Phenomenology, Consciousness, Essence: Critical Surveys of the History of the Study of Religion Chapter One: Religion, Self, and Culture: A Critique of William James's Psychological Approach in The Varieties of Religious Experience Religion Chapter Two: The Concept "Essence and Manifestation" in the History of the Study of Religion Chapter Three: The Concept "Entwicklung" in German Religionswissenshaft: Before and After Darwin Chapter Four: The Total Hermeneutics of the New Humanism: Mircea Eliade's Agenda for Religionswissenschaft Part II Towards a Nietzschean Semiotics of Religion Chapter Five: Nietzsche, Poststructuralism and the Phenomenology of Religion Chapter Six: Rhetoric, Substance, Subject Chapter Seven: Interpretation, Power, Text: From Subject to Subject Position Chapter Eight: Towards a Semiotic Theory of Religion Appendix I

"Exciting, well-written and cogent. Murphy's thoughtful foray into this genre offers a kind of clarity to emulate. His book is smart and well written and will help to advance thinking in our field." - Religion