Eight Theories of Religion

Eight Theories of Religion offers summary, analysis, and appraisal of a number of landmark modern efforts to explain the origin and function of religion. Beginning in the middle decades of the nineteenth century, it considers the Victorian anthropology of E.B. Tylor and James Frazer, the "reductionist" social science of Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, and Karl Marx, the non-reductionist approaches of Max Weber and Mircea Eliade, and the alternatice paradigms that have arisen
from the fieldwork of E.E. Evans-Pritchard and the interpretive sociology of Clifford Geertz. The book is ideal for use as a supplementary text in introductory religion courses or as the main text in theory and sociology of religion courses.

(Oxford)

Bli först med att recensera och betygsätt boken Eight Theories of Religion - du kan vinna 200 kr varje månad i tävlingen "Månadens recension".

Edwin Koster, International Journal in Philosophy and Theology This is a very valuable textbook for students of religious studies or theology, but also for scholars who are in need of a first introduction to the study of religion.

(Oxford)

1. Animism and Magic; E.B. Tylor and J.G. Frazer; 2. Religion and Personality; Sigmund Freud; 3. Society as Sacred; Emile Durkheim; 4. Religion as Alienation; Karl Marx; 5. A Source of Social Action; Max Weber; 6. The Reality of the Sacred; Mircea Eliade; 7. Society's Construct of the Heart; E.E. Evans-Pritchard; 8. Religion as Cultural System; Clifford Geertz; 9. Conclusion; Index

(Oxford)