Robert A. Segal is Sixth Century Chair in Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. He is also Honorary Professor at the University of Essex and Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Vienna.

Nickolas P. Roubekas is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Vienna.

Explore a rigorous but accessible guide to contemporary approaches to the study of religion from leading voices in the field
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion delivers an expert and insightful analysis of modern perspectives on the study of religion across the humanities and the social sciences. Presupposing no knowledge of the approaches examined in the collection, the book is ideal for undergraduate students who have yet to undertake extensive study in the humanities or social sciences.
The book includes perspectives from those in fields as diverse as globalization, cognitive science, the study of emotion, law, esotericism, sex and gender, functionalism, terror, the comparative method, modernism, and postmodernism. Many of the topics covered in the book clearly hail from religious studies, while others are grounded in other areas of academia.
All of the chapters contained within are written by recognized authors who show how their chosen discipline contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon of religion. This book also includes topics like:
* A comprehensive exploration of multiple approaches to religious study, including anthropology, economics, literature, phenomenology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theology
* A review of various topics germane to the study of religion, including the study of the body, cognitive science, the comparative method, death and the afterlife, law, magic, music, and myth
* A selection of subjects touching on modern trends in extremism and violence, including chapters on terror and violence, fundamentalism, and nationalism
* A discussion of the influence of modernism and postmodernism in religion
Ideal for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students in humanities and social science programs taking courses on religion and myth, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion will also earn a place in the libraries of specialists working in the fields of Religious Studies, Theology, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Political Science, History, and Philosophy.

List of Contributors viii
About the Editors x
Introduction xi
Robert A. Segal
Part I Approaches 1
1 Anthropology of Religion 3
Fiona Bowie
2 Economics of Religion 25
Rodney Stark
3 Literature and Religion 44
Eric Ziolkowski
4 Phenomenology of Religion 65
Thomas Ryba
5 Philosophy of Religion 93
Charles Taliaferro
6 Psychology of Religion 113
Roderick Main
7 Sociology of Religion 135
Titus Hjelm
8 Theology 152
Ian S. Markham
Part II T opics 169
9 Body 171
Yudit Kornberg Greenberg
10 Cognitive Science 184
Jesper Sorensen
11 Comparative Method 197
Paul Roscoe
12 Death and Afterlife 209
Douglas J. Davies
13 Emotion 219
Tony Milligan
14 Esotericism 229
Karl Baier
15 Ethics 241
G. Scott Davis
16 Functionalism 253
Robert A. Segal
17 Fundamentalism 265
Henry Munson
18 Globalization 277
Michael Wilkinson
19 History 289
Robert A. Yelle
20 Law 302
Winnifred Fallers Sullivan
21 Magic 315
Kocku von Stuckrad
22 Modernism and Postmodernism 325
Paul-Francois Tremlett
23 Music 335
Guy L. Beck
24 Myth 348
Robert A. Segal
25 Nationalism 361
Mark Juergensmeyer
26 Pilgrimage 371
Simon Coleman
27 Ritual 382
Part I by Catherine Bell -- Part II by Jens Kreinath
28 Science 400
Ralph O'Connor
29 Secularization 414
Steve Bruce
30 Sex and Gender 429
Ivan Strenski
31 Terror and Violence 440
Lorne L. Dawson
Index 451