Explaining and Interpreting Religion

-In this fine collection of essays Robert Segal demonstrates once again his ability both to explicate the interpretive and explanatory intentions of those social scientists thought by scholars in religious studies to be compatible with the latter's interpretive aims and to identify the methodological confusions of scholars in religious studies imprisoned in the hermeneutic hall of mirrors. I attach particular importance to his brilliant essay on meanings and causes because these categories provide the context for the battleground for all scholars engaged in the study of religion.- (E. Thomas Lawson, Western Michigan University)
-In a series of briskly written, no-nonsense studies, Segal leads the reader through a thicket of conceptual and logical problems raised by both classical and contemporary students of religion. Readers will be grateful for the direction Segal provides.- (Ivan Strenski, University of California, Santa Barbara)
-This brilliant book, full of insights capable of further extension, is a must for anyone wanting to come to grips with methodological issues in the study of religion seriously.- (Arvind Sharma, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion)
-Universities with religious studies departments should have this book in their library.- (Lorne Dawson, Studies in Religion)
-Those who wish to find a convenient point of access into the debate over explanation and interpretation in the study of religion will be well served by this volume...These essays break large, programmatic statements down into clear, thorough, and useful arguments.- (Tim Murphy, Religious Studies Review)
"