Understanding Theories of Religion

Featuring comprehensive updates and additions, the second edition of Understanding Theories of Religion explores the development of major theories of religion through the works of classic and contemporary figures.

• A new edition of this introductory text exploring the core methods and theorists in religion, spanning the sixteenth-century through to the latest theoretical trends
• Features an entirely new section covering religion and postmodernism; race, sex, and gender; and religion and postcolonialism
• Examines the development of religious theories through the work of classic and contemporary figures from the history of anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and theology
• Reveals how the study of religion evolved in response to great cultural conflicts and major historical events
• Student-friendly features include chapter introductions and summaries, biographical vignettes, a timeline, a glossary, and many other learning aids

Ivan Strenski is Holstein Family and Community Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Riverside, USA. He served as North American editor-in-chief of the international journal Religion from 1979 to 2004, and is the author of numerous books, including Why Politics Can't Be Freed from Religion (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), Émile Durkheim (ed. 2009), The New Durkheim: Essays on Philosophy, Religious Identity and the Politics of Knowledge (2006), Thinking about Religion: A Reader (ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2006), Theology and the First Theory of Sacrifice (2003), and Contesting Sacrifice: Religion, Nationalism and Social Thought (2002).