Introduction

Whichever methodological approach one pursues there are a number of key issues addressed by scholars involved with religions. Gender is obviously an important subject and is addressed here by Darlene Juschka. An issue which is often discussed is the problems caused by insider and outsider perspectives as discussed by Kim Knott. Jeremy Carrette discusses some of the key developments in post structuralist theories of religion. ‘Orientalism’ has been a subject of recent debate and the issues related to religions are discussed by Richard King who also discusses issues concerning mysticism and spirituality. Theories of secularization and studies of New Religious Movements are discussed by Judith Fox. Contrary to what ‘rationalist’ approaches to society might have expected, fundamentalism (often a misused term) seems to have become more prominent in various cultures and countries (Henry Munson). Myths and rituals are interpenetrating and central to religions and cultures (Robert Segal). The question of authority is a major feature in most traditions, both in the sense of religious individuals and their charisma, and in the sense of authoritative texts (Paul Gifford). Of course texts are not static; the words may not change, but their interpretation does – an issue at the heart of hermeneutics (Garrett Green). Religions do not exist in a vacuum so there are chapters on how religions have been involved in, interacted with or been seen through the prism of politics (George Moyser), popular culture (Gordon Lynch), the financial world (Larry Iannaccone and William Bainbridge), advances in scientific discoveries and thought (Thomas Dixon) and environmental concerns (Roger Gottlieb). Increasingly scholars have become interested in the notion of sacred space (Kim Knott). The chapter on religion and cognition by Luther Martin looks at one of the most challenging forms of current approaches to religious studies. Back in the 1960s and 1970s international migration increased dramatically. It was assumed by many that migrants would, over a couple of generations, ‘assimilate’ and leave their religion behind. The reverse has happened, resulting in the growth of the study of diasporas (Sean McLoughlin). As religions have met and interacted – and sometimes experienced tensions – so religious pluralism has become an issue that many people have had to address (Michael Barnes).