The ideology of religious studies

the long version

"This book argues that "religion" is not a genuine analytical category since it does no useful work in helping us to understand the world we live in. While it appears to have something important and meaningful to say about societies and cultures and personal experiences, when one looks at its actual use in a wide spectrum of descriptive and analytical contexts it becomes clear that so much is included in the term that it becomes indistinguishable from "culture." By failing to specify any distinctive kind of experience or social institution, it inhibits and hinders the flow of intellectual development in the humanities."--Jacket.