What Is Religion? - Debating the Academic Study of Religion

Controversies over how to define the word "religion" have persisted for decades, culminating in those who now choose to study the word itself and not just what it is said to name. What is Religion?: Debating the Academic Study of Religion invites readers to eavesdrop on scholarly debates over the limits of, and uses for, a word commonly used but infrequently defined in a precise manner. This volume takes the temperature of the modern field of Religious Studies by inviting a diverse group of international scholars to offer their own substantive contribution that builds on the shared opening prompt, "Religion is...".