The academic study of religion has been an interdisciplinary endeavor since its inception at the end of the nineteenth century. Much of the theoretical vocabulary that is needed to study religion has been imported from adjacent disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, historiography, theology, philology, literary studies, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, and political sciences. It is the strength of the academic study of religion to bring these approaches into conversation with one another. The Vocabulary for the Study of Religion provides an excellent platform to sustain this conversation. Written by experts with a background in a variety of disciplines, over 400 entries collected in the Vocabulary offer a unique overview of critical terms in the study of religion(s), as well as the themes and issues that have to be addressed in future research. This is the first dictionary in English that covers such a broad spectrum of theoretical topics. The Vocabulary is an indispensable tool for all students of religion and it will influence the academic discussion for many years.
The online version of the Vocabulary for the Study of Religion can be found here.
Robert A. Segal is Sixth Century Chair in Religious Studies, University of Aberdeen. He writes and teaches on modern theories of myth and on modern theories of religion.
Kocku von Stuckrad, PhD (1999), is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Groningen. He has published extensively on the cultural history of religion in Europe, with a focus on pluralities of knowledge systems (including science, esotericism, astrology, shamanism, and nature-based spirituality), as well as on methodology and theory in the study of religion.
The Vocabulary for the Study of Religion is the first dictionary in English to cover a broad spectrum of theoretical topics used in the academic study of religion, including those from adjacent disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, historiography, theology, philology, literary studies, psychology, philosophy, cultural studies, and political sciences.