Religious studies: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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Religious studies scholar Robert A. Segal characterised the discipline as "a subject matter" that is "open to many approaches", and thus it "does not require either a distinctive method or a distinctive explanation to be worthy of disciplinary status."{{sfn|Segal|2021|p=xvii}}

Different scholars operating in the field have different interests and intentions; some for instance seek to defend religion, while others seek to explain it away, and others wish to use religion as an example with which to prove a theory of their own.{{sfn|Capps|1995|p=xvi}} Some scholars of religious studies are interested in primarily studying the religion to which they belong.{{sfn|Herling|2016|p=15}} Other scholars take a more unbiased approach and broadly examine the historical interrelationships among all major religious ideologies through history, focusing on shared similarities rather than differences. <ref> Grande, L. 2024. The Evolution of Religions. A History of Related Traditions. Columbia University Press.</ref>Scholars of religion have argued that a study of the subject is useful for individuals because it will provide them with knowledge that is pertinent in inter-personal and professional contexts within an increasingly [[Globalization|globalized world]].{{sfn|Herling|2016|pp=6–7}} It has also been argued that studying religion is useful in appreciating and understanding [[Sectarian violence|sectarian tensions]] and [[religious violence]].{{sfn|Dawson|2018|pp=141–164}}{{sfn|Herling|2016|pp=7–10}}{{sfn|Mani|2012|pp=149–169}}

==Etymology==