Craig Martin - A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion

The best textbook for teaching an introductory course in religious studies has just gotten better with a new edition. Martins ability to make critical theory not only understandable, but also useful, to beginning students, is the primary strength of his book. His choice of examples, illustrating the complex theoretical issues he addresses, guarantees student learning will be both significant and dare I say it enjoyable.

Charles William Miller, University of North Dakota, USA

A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion provides key strategies for disentangling the category religion and examining religious traditions as complex social phenomena. The text is an effective introduction to explanatory socio-functional approaches, which enable students to ask new sets of questions of their subject. The second edition is a comprehensive model for a new vision of Religious Studies.

Kristian Petersen, University of Nebraska Omaha, USA

A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion introduces the key concepts and theories from religious studies that are necessary for a full understanding of the complex relations between religion and society. The aim is to provide readers with an arsenal of critical concepts for studying religious ideologies, practices, and communities. This thoroughly revised second edition has been restructured to clearly emphasize key topics including:

• Essentialism
• Functionalism
• Authority
• Domination.

All ideas and theories are clearly illustrated, with new and engaging examples and case studies throughout, making this the ideal textbook for students approaching the subject area for the first time.

Craig Martin is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at St. Thomas Aquinas College, USA.

Second Edition

Craig Martin

First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.

2017 Craig Martin

The right of Craig Martin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Martin, Craig, 1976 author.

Title: A critical introduction to the study of religion / Craig Martin.

Description: Second edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa Business, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016043235 | ISBN 9781138202245 (hbk) | ISBN 9780415419932 (pbk) | ISBN 9781315474410 (ebk)

Subjects: LCSH: ReligionStudy and teaching.

Classification: LCC BL41 .M344 2017 | DDC 200.71dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016043235

ISBN: 978-1-138-20224-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-41993-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-47441-0 (ebk)

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I ask the pardon of those teachers who, in dreadful conditions, attempt to turn the few weapons they can find in the history and learning they teach against the ideology, the system and the practices in which they are trapped. They are a kind of hero. But they are rare and how many (the majority) do not even begin to suspect the work the system (which is bigger than they are and crushes them) forces them to do.

Louis Althusser, Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays (2001, 106)

This book is dedicated to such heroes, including Erica