Theories Of Religion
Sociological and anthropological metatheories of religion generally attempt to answer at least two interrelated questions: what is the origin of religion and what is its function. This article is about metatheories (usually just called "theories") that explain the formation of religious beliefs as studied in the social sciences. These theories, for the most part, attempt to explain certain universal characteristics of religious belief and practice. It does not address theological explanations of religion nor the histories of specific religions or religion generally.
Read more about Theories Of Religion: History, Classification of Theories of Religions, Methodologies, Karl Marx, Edward Burnett Tylor and James George Frazer, Émile Durkheim and Functionalism, Max Weber, Sigmund Freud, Rudolf Otto, Mircea Eliade, E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Clifford Geertz, Rational Choice Theory, Evolutionary Theories, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words theories and/or religion:
“Our books of science, as they improve in accuracy, are in danger of losing the freshness and vigor and readiness to appreciate the real laws of Nature, which is a marked merit in the ofttimes false theories of the ancients.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Religion is an attempt to get an irrefragably safe investment, and this cannot be got, no matter how low the interest, which in the case of religion is about as low as it can be.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)