Widely used as a primer, a text and a provocation to critical thinking, 'Studying Religion' aims to develop students' skills. The book clearly explains the methods and theories employed in the study of religion. Essays are offered on a range of topics: from the history and functions of religion to public discourse on religion and the classification of religions. The works of key scholars - from Karl Marx, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Rudolf Otto to Mircea Eliade, James G. Frazer, and Sigmund Freud - are analysed and explored. 'Studying Religion' represents a shift away from the traditional focus of describing the exotic or curious religious 'Other' to an examination of how religious behaviours and institutions are studied. The book will be invaluable to students of religious studies.
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Looks not at the data but at the analytic skills required of those studying the behaviours and institutions that we commonly name as religions.
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: What is the Study of Religion? 1. What’s in a Name? 2. The History of "Religion" 3. The Essentials of Religion 4. The Functions of Religion 5. The Public Discourse on Religion 6. Religion and the Insider/Outsider Problem 7. The Resemblance Among Religions 8. Religion and Classification Afterword: The Necessary Lie: Duplicity in the Disciplines by Jonathan Z. Smith
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781845530112
Publisert
2007-12-01
Utgiver
Vendor
Equinox Publishing Ltd
Vekt
454 gr
Høyde
234 mm
Bredde
156 mm
Aldersnivå
U, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet

Biographical note

Russell T. McCutcheon is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama.