Religion and the Social Sciences : Figures and Themes Paperback / softback

The relationship between religion and the social sciences has had a long and contentious history.

There are those who argue that the social sciences are commited to reducing the origin, function, and subject matter of religion to something non-religious.

Whereas other scholars, most notably Mircea Eliade, have argued that religion must be studied as something irreducibly religious.

Since the debate started, the advent of postmodernism has challenged the social scientific view of objectivity and profoundly altered the view of the social sciences held by scholars of religious studies.

In this debate, Robert Segal has been recognized as one of the most important and brilliant voices.

In this new book he examines the chief themes and figures involved in the study of religion, both historical and contemporary, describing how the debate has unfolded and developed.

He also examines the future of the study of religion in the light of changes in the social sciences.