"McCutcheon skillfully analyzes the ideological basis for and service of the sui generis argument, demonstrating that it has been used to constitute the field's object of study in a form that is ahistoric, apolitical, fetishized, and sacrosanct. As such, he charges, it has helpe…
This book offers a powerful critique of traditional religion scholarship, and particularly the oft-repeated bromide that 'religion' is a sui generis phenomenon.
"In this new book, author Russell McCutcheon offers a powerful critique of traditional scholarship on religion, focusing on multiple interrelated targets. Most prominent among these are the History of Religions as a discipline; Mircea Eliade, one of the founders of the modern di…
The Idea of Semitic Monotheism examines some major aspects of the scholarly study of religion in the long nineteenth century--from the Enlightenment to the First World War. It aims to understand the new status of Judaism and Islam in the formative period of the new discipline. G…
This work focuses on a central issue in the modern study of religion. It emphasizes the new dualistic taxonomy of religions had major consequences and sheds new light on the roots of European attitudes to Jews and Muslims in the twentieth century, up to the present day.
While many entry level resources concentrate on providing detailed descriptions of the world's religion, this book turns its attention from the data to the analytic skills required of those studying the behaviours and institutions that we commonly name as religions.
Widely used as a primer, a class text, or just a provocation to critical thinking, Studying Religion clearly explains the methods and theories employed in the academic study of religion by tackling the problem of how we define religion. Written for newcomers to the field, its ch…
Widely used as a primer, a class text, or just a provocation to critical thinking, Studying Religion clearly explains the methods and theories employed in the academic study of religion by tackling the problem of how we define religion. Written for newcomers to the field, its ch…
The World Religions Paradigm has been the subject of critique and controversy in Religious Studies for many years. This book provides a rationale for overhauling the World Religions curriculum, as well as a roadmap for doing so. It offers concise and practical introductions to c…
A groundbreaking academic anthology that explores the emerging field of interreligious/interfaith studies. It includes sections on the field's theoretical constructions, pedagogy and classroom practices, challenges and tensions, and applications beyond the classroom from a range…