Religion: The Classical Theories

by James Thrower

Overview

What is religion? This is the first text to review in a single volume the theories of religion which have been put forward by both believers and non-believers.

'Why theories of religion?' After raising and answering this question the author begins his examination of theories of religion by first looking at the explanations given by religious believers (Revelation and Religious Experience). He then considers the views of thinkers who have sought to transform religion into philosophy (Plato, Kant and Hegel), before reviewing the theories of those who have seen religion as arising out of errors in primitive thinking (Tylor, Frazer and Lévy-Bruhl) and those 'masters of suspicion', as Paul Ricoeur has called them (Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Marx and Freud) who offered what they believed to be exhaustive psychological and sociological theories of the origin and nature of religion. In the course of his discussion the author also engages with many contemporary thinkers whose discussions of religion have been based on these classical accounts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878407514
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	05/28/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	0.50(w) x 6.00(h) x 9.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James Thrower is a professor in the history of religions and director of the Centre for the Study of Religions at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
1.	Introduction	1
Part I	Religious Theories of Religion
2.	Religion as Revelation	9
3.	Religion as Experience	49
4.	Religion as Philosophy	74
Part II	Naturalistic Theories of Religion
5.	Religion as Human Construct: Some Greek and Roman Theories of Religion	93
6.	Religion as Primitive Error	99
7.	Religion as Psychological Construct	126
8.	Religion as Social Construct	161
9.	Conclusion: What is Religion?	202
	Index	206

What People are Saying About This

Robert A. Segal

Thrower’s unusually broad survey..ranges from ancient times to modern and from theological approaches to social scientific ones. His expertise in an array of religious traditions enhances the value of this book. A lucid and incisive overview of the course of theorizing about religion.

Scott C. Alexander

This book offers a rare bridge across an artificial disciplinary divide which too often separates theorists of religion into two distinct groups: the social scientists and historians of religion on the one hand, and the philosophers, on the other..a quality introduction to the truly wide range of major theories and theorists in the analytical study of religion.

From the Publisher

"This book offers a rare bridge across an artificial disciplinary divide which too often separates theorists of religion into two distinct groups: the social scientists and historians of religion on the one hand, and the philosophers, on the other..a quality introduction to the truly wide range of major theories and theorists in the analytical study of religion." -- Scott C. Alexander, Indiana University

"Thrower's unusually broad survey..ranges from ancient times to modern and from theological approaches to social scientific ones. His expertise in an array of religious traditions enhances the value of this book. A lucid and incisive overview of the course of theorizing about religion." -- Robert A. Segal, University of Lancaster

Editorial Reviews

This book covers theories of religion put forth by believers and non- believers, theologians and sociologists. Thrower (religious studies, U. of Aberdeen) begins with belief-based theories such as ancient Hebrew tradition, and follows with explanations of religion by philosophers such as Plato and Hegel, and "masters of suspicion," such as Marx and Nietzsche. He suggests that students today can benefit from his sweeping survey of theories of religion because they do not have the same kind of leisure as intellectuals in an earlier age, but it still would have been useful had he provided his readers with a bibliography or "for further reading" section, allowing them to decide how much more they might pursue this topic. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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