Discovering Religious History in the Modern Age

(Paperback)

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Attempts to analyze the rise of comparative religion as a response to modernization. This book tells how Western scholars began to interpret religion's history drawing on prehistorical evidence and ethnographical reports. It shows how religions that had been rejected as irrational by Enlightenment philosophers were being studied with enthusiasm.

Reviews

"Hans Kippenberg has written a masterful study of the rise of the history of religions in the European world. He begins with developments that preceded the rise of the history of religions per se, then turns to thinkers who contributed more directly to the 'discovery' of the history of religions... The faces in this parade are very familiar, but the accounts of each thinker are uniformly lucid and insightful, and both Kippenberg's selection of materials and his analysis have something to teach us... Both for its contributions and the possibilities that it raises, Kippenberg's volume is most welcome."--Gregory D. Alles, Journal of Religion "Hans G. Kippenberg has accomplished what few religion scholars have yet to do: namely, write an intelligent and accessible case for the study of comparative religion."--D. G. Hart, American Historical Review "A rich and fascinating portrayal of the formation of a discipline."--Kocku von Stuckrad, Religious Studies Review

Author Bio

Hans G. Kippenberg, Professor at the University of Bremen and Fellow at the Max-Weber-Kolleg of the University of Erfurt, is the editor of the journal Numen, the author of numerous publications in German, and the coeditor of Secrecy and Concealment and Envisioning Magic.