Religious studies

, also known as the study of religion, is an academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.

Quotes

 * The study of religion is guided by what academics call methodological agnosticism. We believe, however, that irrespective of any theological issue scholars can and should take a firm stand for [natural] rights and freedom of religion or belief.
 * Massimo Introvigne and Karolina Maria Kotkowska, with Rosita Šorytė, "The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. 5. Why Are They Persecuted?", Bitter Winter (April 9, 2024)


 * When one permits those whom one studies to define the terms in which they will be understood, suspends one’s interest in the temporal and contingent, or fails to distinguish between “truths,” “truth-claims,” and “regimes of truth,” one has ceased to function as historian or scholar, In that moment, a variety of roles are available: some perfectly respectable (amanuensis, collector, friend and advo­ cate), and some less appealing (cheerleader, voyeur, retailer of import goods). None, however should be confused with scholarship.
 * Bruce Lincoln 1996, p. 227, quoted in Ibn Warraq - The Quest for the Historical Muhammad-Prometheus Books (2000) quoting Lincoln, Bruce. “Theses on Method.” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 8 (1996): 2 2 5 -2 7.