ABSTRACT
The second chapter is devoted to the task of providing a general theory of religion that can help to guide the discussions of subsequent chapters. This theory works with earlier versions of the theory presented in two previous books (Crosby 1981 and 2002). It analyzes the nature of religion in terms of six role-functional concepts, showing how these concepts can be applied to the religions of the world. The author argues that such a theory can take into account six principal roles played by religious ultimates such as God, gods, goddesses, nirvana, Dao, Mandate of Heaven, Brahman, nature, and the like, while allowing for the many quite different attributes among those ultimates. He also explores relations and tensions of these role-functions with one another as one way of interpreting and understanding such relations and tensions in religious systems.
