ABSTRACT
Religious studies as a stand-alone academic field is a relatively recent creation. In this chapter, we briefly introduce religious studies, how it differs from theology, and some of the features of the field. While religious studies is an academic discipline in and of itself, its focus on people and phenomena, rather than a particular approach or method like other academic disciplines, results in a situation where various humanities and social scientific approaches and methods are utilized when doing research. The lack of specific methods and approaches makes doing research in religious studies difficult for beginners, who often have to learn new approaches and methods as their needs arise, but the breadth of the field expands the possibilities for the types of questions we can ask and answer.
