The Study of Religion An Introduction to Key Ideas and Methods

by Chryssides, George D.; Geaves, Ron

• ISBN13: 9780826464484
• ISBN10: 0826464483
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-08-28
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Increasingly, recognition is given to the importance of methodology in the study of religion and methodological issues are generally taught to first-year students in order to equip them for systematic academic study of the topic. Unfortunately many of the theories that relate to methodology are explained in a highly complex way, which even advanced students find hard to understand. This indispensable new textbook for undergraduate religion students unravels the complexity of these issues by introducing the history and methodology pertaining to the study of religion (including ideas of key theorists) and by discussing the main problems in current scholarship in world religions. Book jacket.

Author Biography

George D. Chryssides is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, UK Ron Geaves is Professor of Comparative Religion at Liverpool Hope University, UK

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vi
Introduction	p. vii
The Tools of the Trade	p. 1
Methodology in Religious Studies	p. 35
The Concept of a World Religion	p. 65
Key Figures in the Study of Religion	p. 110
Levels of Religion	p. 143
Authenticity and Diversity	p. 176
Phenomenology and its Critics	p. 210
Fieldwork in the Study of Religion	p. 238
Does Size Matter?	p. 275
Religion and Gender	p. 314
The Question of Truth	p. 343
The Internet as a Resource in the Study of Religion	p. 382
Bibliography	p. 404
Index	p. 421
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