Global Phenomenologies of Religion : An Oral History in Interviews (The Study of Religion in a Global Context)

The phenomenology of religion is a branch of religious study that claims to represent the core of the study of religion as an autonomous discipline. First used as a term by the Dutch scholar Chantepie de la Saussaye in 1887, it was developed by Gerdardus van der Leeuw in the 1930s and 40s, became popular in the 1960s and 70s and then subsequently met severe criticism, virtually disappearing by the beginning of the twenty-first century. This volume investigates how the phenomenology of religion was accepted and developed in different national contexts. It consists of interviews with senior scholars, who are experts on the development of the phenomenology of religion in their countries, along with commentary and analysis. It examines the reasons why it disappeared so abruptly in each country and reveals how scholars of religion currently evaluate the phenomenology of religion in their countries.