ABSTRACT
Discussions about the field of Religious Studies often focus on the orientation that scholars adopt-or, more sharply, should adopt-toward their subject matter. There have been various attempts to offer an adequate and enduring definition of religion and, more generally, to supply a convincing account of the origin and function of religious phenomena. These attempts consistently fall short. The fact that the Christian theologian inhabits an intellectual and institutional context in which others do not share her beliefs ought to be considered A Good Thing, and certainly not a problem that awaits resolution. While Butler supplies a powerful theorization of what it means to give an account of oneself in the context of philosophy and critical theory, it is useful to imagine what an exchange on these terms involves in the context of Religious Studies. Religious Studies find its sole center in critical analyses of power, and that alternative approaches to diverse religious discourses have no place in the modern university.
