study of religion: References & Edit History
Additional Reading
Jan de Vries, The Study of Religion (1967), a fairly useful and brief historical survey of the development of the subject; H. Pinard de la Boullaye, L’Étude comparée des religions, 2 vol. (1922–25), a thorough and excellent account; J. Milton Yinger, The Scientific Study of Religion (1970), an attempt to indicate the multidisciplinary approach to the study of religion; J. Hastings (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, 13 vol. (1908–26), dated in many respects but still enormously important; Paul Edwards (ed.), Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 8 vol. (1967), many entries on world religions, doctrines, and religious thinkers; John Macquarrie, Twentieth Century Religious Thought (1963), a survey, despite its title, of both 19th- and 20th-century thinkers, including many important in the history and phenomenology of religion (also a good general guide to issues in modern Western theology); G. van der Leeuw, Phänomenologie der Religion (1933; Eng. trans., Religion in Essence and Manifestation, 1938), the most wide-ranging and ambitious attempt at a systematic and classificatory phenomenology of religion; Rudolf Otto, Das Heilige (1917; Eng. trans., The Idea of the Holy, 2nd ed., 1950), a highly influential classic; J. Wach, The Comparative Study of Religion (1958), and Sociology of Religion (1962), still useful compendiums; J. Hinnells (ed.), The Comparative Study of Religion in Education (1970); Michael Banton (ed.), Anthropological Approaches to Religion (1966); E. Evans-Pritchard, Theories of Primitive Religion (1965), which, with Banton, indicates the main issues about the genesis and function of religion debated by anthropologists; Thomas O’Dea, The Sociology of Religion (1966), a useful survey; and Max Weber, Religionssoziologie (1922; Eng. trans., The Sociology of Religion, ed. by Talcott Parsons, 1963), a good introduction to the thought of Weber. Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy (also published as The Social Reality of Religion, 1969), more speculative but a stimulating example of modern sociological theorizing about religion; V. Lanternari, The Religions of the Oppressed (1963), an example of comparative sociology of religion; and J. Hick, The Philosophy of Religion (1963), a useful survey of issues in the philosophy of religion. Mircea Eliade wrote widely from a standpoint that combines elements drawn from depth psychology, phenomenology, and the history of religions: his Sacred and the Profane (1961) and The Quest (1969) give an insight into his general approach.
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Robert Segal
- Ninian Smart
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Added cross-reference and replaced images. | Nov 06, 2025 | ||
| Links added. | Aug 11, 2023 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Jan 25, 2023 | ||
| Fixed typo. | Mar 17, 2021 | ||
| Images added. | Oct 12, 2018 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 12, 2018 | ||
| Image added. | May 30, 2012 | ||
| Changed "The Netherlands" to "the Netherlands." | Sep 08, 2010 | ||
| Changed "Borobuḍur" to "Borobudur." | Sep 08, 2010 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Aug 04, 2009 | ||
| Article revised. | Sep 05, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |