Studying Religion: An Introduction

by Russell T. McCutcheon

Widely used as a primer, a text and a provocation to critical thinking, 'Studying Religion' aims to develop students' skills. The book clearly explains the methods and theories employed in the study of religion. Essays are offered on a range of topics: from the history and functions of religion to public discourse on religion and the classification of religions. The works of key scholars - from Karl Marx, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Rudolf Otto to Mircea Eliade, James G. Frazer, and Sigmund Freud - are analysed and explored. 'Studying Religion' represents a shift away from the traditional focus of describing the exotic or curious religious 'Other' to an examination of how religious behaviours and institutions are studied. The book will be invaluable to students of religious studies.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[leni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5
Very informative, easy to read and provided a completely new way of looking at the study of religion, at least for me. It is a very short, but is an incredibly information-packed book that can be read in a day.

[Isaac Soon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book; very clear and useful for students.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed using this as a text for my class Religious Literacy! Great case studies that helped illustrate the concepts and ideas.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unconventional textbook, but a good one. The chapters are really short, but packed with info. The actual content of the book's chapters make up roughly 55-60 pages (accounting for blank and half-filled pages). The chapters begin with little abstracts and address some of the major issues that you'd expect a religious studies scholar like McCutcheon to highlight:

Intro: What is the Study of Religion?
1: What's in a Name? [on definition-related issues]
2: The History of "Religion" ["religion" as a modern, second-order category; but this chapter is only 3.5 pages]
3: The Essentials of Religion [reviewing the essentialists]
4: The Functions of Religion [the functionalists]
5: The Public Discourse on Religion [First Amendment, etc.]
6: Religion and the Insider/Outsider Problem [about participants and non-participants studying religion]
7: The Resemblance among Religions [briefly exploring Lincoln's approach]
8: Religion and Classification
Afterword: "The Necessary Lie: Duplicity in the Disciplines" by Jonathan Z. Smith

The chapters average around 5-8 pages each and are very terse, while McCutcheon's grammatical style is a bit complex and dizzying at times. The glossary of terms and one for scholars, however, is about as long as the chapters! In my own course, I opted instead for Craig Martin's recent intro (which students loved), used Pals' review of theorists with supplements from McCutcheon's scholar summaries (and a couple from Deal and Beal), and tried to get the religion-as-modern-category narrative with Nongbri (which students didn't like for stylistic reasons). I think the students found McCutcheon's glossaries on terms and scholars to be excellent resources. I certainly do.

Personally, I wish I had a textbook that combined the accessible style of Craig Martin, the expertise and perspective of McCutcheon, the theoretical coverage of Martin and McCutcheon, as well as targeted discussions of theorists like Pals (but from McCutcheon's perspective instead of Pals, who bashes the "aggressive reductionists" and valorizes the essentialists).

I can't really see assigning this volume as a textbook without any supplementation.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the way the topics of the chapters are broken down. I appreciate the glossary. I'm not sure what to do with 74 pages of 2 pages overviews of scholars. Chapter 6 "The Insider/Outsider Problem" is, in my opinion, one of the better framed presentations of the topic.

BUT the writing is ATROCIOUS. Almost every page has ridiculously long & complex sentences with parentheses, brackets within parentheses, dashes, subordinate clauses etc. etc.

I don't think this a good text for first year Intro to Religious Studies classes because the clause-filled, stilted writing overshadows the generally good ideas and explanations in the text. *I* had to decode some of the 15 line, clause-heavy sentences AND I'VE TAUGHT INTRO TO COLLEGE STUDENTS. As much as I like the way McCutcheon breaks his book into relevant and useful topics I just don't think it will be good for my students.

I do think it's a useful textbook for college instructors, however. I will definitely refer to it as I prepare for the next time I teach Intro.

Blerg! I have mixed feelings about this book.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've now read three of McCutcheon's books. While his basic idea is great, it seems that in all of his writing he mostly repeats himself. For example, in this book I was hoping to get some ideas of methodology in studying religion. But it didn't happen. Basically, he mostly likes to write about how Eliade and Rudolf Otto were wrong, and how most religious scholars follow them, therefore being incorrect also.

The argument is that Eliade and Otto say that religion is a thing into itself. It has formed out of a human interaction with what humans believe to be sacred. In this sense religion is then sui generis (it produces itself), rather than being a human - historically and culturally - produced phenomena.

If you are looking for a McCutcheon book to get a basic understanding of this approach to Religion Studies, then Studying Religion may be the best one to get. It is a simpler read than Manufacturing Religion (which was based on his PhD dissertation).

[Shannon Whitaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book might be less than 200 pages but it is packed full of information.