Rationality & the Study of Religion

This is a collection of responses by an international group of scholars to epistemological excesses in the study of religion. This study grapples with the question of rationality within the academic study of religion, asserting that theological beliefs should be as absent from the academic study of religion as political bias within political science. The academic study of religion has made marked progress since its 19th-century origins. Nevertheless, theological agendas still characterize much discussion and research in the field, as do more recent ideological leanings. Post-modernish theory retains its appeal within this discipline, advanced by scholars who approach their studies from a belief-driven subjectivity in support of their value-oriented construction. Instead, these articles advocate the approach to religious studies from the detached background inherent in other academic disciplines and present examples from anthropology, philosophy, theology, methodology, social science, metaphysics, the humanities and history, with a concluding essay on the impact of the anti-science phenomenon. Contributors include: Michael Buchowski, Jepe Sinding Jensen, Matti Kamppinen, Luther Martin, Michael Pye, Benson Saler, Roger Trigg, Dan Wiebe and Hans G. Kippenberg.