ABSTRACT
The philosophy of religion will have to expand its scope, beyond those conceptions, in order to allow other questions and concerns to come into view. Daniel Gold contrasts explanatory theories of religion with a kind of scholarly writing that he calls ‘interpretive’. Interpretive religious studies, on Gold’s definition, attempt to engage the audience or reader in some part, however small, of the lived mindset of a practitioner who is inspired or motivated by myths, symbols or texts belonging to their religion. This semiotic approach may appeal to those who have doubts about the reduction of ‘religion’ to either a doxastic phenomenon or a social or sociological phenomenon. Finally, one might wonder whether it is useful to offer an account that only captures the general nature of a kind of symbolism, without offering clues as to what might differentiate effective symbols from ineffective symbols, or differentiate moving works/gestures from uninspired ones.
