“In this second edition of a book designed primarily to introduce students to the academic study of religion, Herling (Marymount Manhattan College) defends the role that theory plays in opening religious studies to academic inquiry. Focusing on theoretical literacy as a way to advance the understanding of religion in general, the author reviews with discernment and cogency classic theories of religion?Otto, James, Durkheim, Geertz, Turner, Marx, Freud, Jung, Eliade, Smart, Tillich, W. C. Smith?then turns his attention to women’s experiences, religion and violence, religion and science, race and ethnicity, globalization, and material culture as these topics today affect methodological developments in religious studies as a field. Herling addresses the difficulty of defining religion, the insider/outsider problem in studying religion, the need for students to defamiliarize objects of study, and issues related to the separation of theology from the academic study of religion. Well written and accessible, this book will be a welcome resource in introductory academic religion classes. The insightful review of theoretical and methodological issues in the contemporary study of religion will no doubt prove beneficial to specialists. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.” - CHOICE

Bradley L. Herling is Professor of Religious Studies at Marymount Manhattan College, USA.