Theory for Religious Studies

In this handy volume, two professors of religious studies provide the student of religious studies - whether the motivated undergraduate, graduate student, or professor - with a brief review of theorists' work from the perspective of religious studies. For example, in 5-10 pages, the reader will get a review of Emmanuel Levinas's work as it offers insights for scholars in religious studies, followed by a selected bibliography. In short, this is a guide for students of religious studies that will take major theoretical writers in the humanities and social sciences and explain their relevance to the study of religion.

"Clear, crisp and cogent: all words the reader will use to describe this superb new reference book on contemporary theories and the study of religion. According to authors William Deal and Tim Beal, theory is a way of seeing, of viewing a subject in order to understand. The authors help us to see religion in many new ways by providing overviews of contemporary theories and their usefulness in viewing religion. Undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members will find this an excellent introduction to contemporary theories and to new ways of understanding religion." - Rebecca Chopp, Colgate University, "Clear, crisp and cogent: all words the reader will use to describe this superb new reference book on contemporary theories and the study of religion. According to authors William Deal and Tim Beal, theory is a way of seeing, of viewing a subject in order to understand. The authors help us to see religion in many new ways by providing overviews of contemporary theories and their usefulness in viewing religion. Undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members will find this an excellent introduction to contemporary theories and to new ways of understanding religion." -- Rebecca Chopp, Colgate University"Each chapter has several features that would help in teaching: a list of key concepts, a brief biographical sketch, lists of further readings by and about each thinker, and a specific discusiion of which religious phenomena might benefit from the respective theories." --Steven Engler, Mount Royal College and Pontifica Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo, Religious Studies Review

William Deal is Severance Associate Professor of Religion at Case Western Reserve University. Timothy Beal is Harkness Professor of Biblical Literature and Director of the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University; he is the author, most recently, of Religion and Its Monsters, also published by Routledge