History
Prescientific theories have been proposed since presocratic times. Herodotus (484 – 425 BCE) stated that the gods of Greece were the same as the gods of Egypt. Euhemerus (appr. 330– 264 BCE) wrote that gods were excellent historical persons who eventually became worshiped.
Theorizing beyond mere speculation became possible after data from tribes and peoples all over the world became available in Europe and the United States in the 18th and 19th century. The founder of the scientific study of religion is generally considered to be Max Müller (1823–1900), who advocated comparative religion. Later, serious doubts were raised by Geertz among others, about the question of whether it is possible to provide a general theory of all religions.
Read more about this topic: Theories Of Religion
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“There are two great unknown forces to-day, electricity and woman, but men can reckon much better on electricity than they can on woman.”
—Josephine K. Henry, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 15, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
“If man is reduced to being nothing but a character in history, he has no other choice but to subside into the sound and fury of a completely irrational history or to endow history with the form of human reason.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)