COMPARATIVE RELIGION IN ACADEMIC DISCOURSE:METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS, EPISTEMOLOGICAL TENSIONS, AND CROSS-TRADITIONAL DIALOGUE

Abstract

Comparative Religion, alternatively referred to as Religionswissenschaft, science of religion, or simply religious studies, is a particular branch of academia that exists in an idiosyncratic, often contentious, position relative to other humanities disciplines. This paper will focus on analyzing the methodologies involved in the comparative study of religions, looking into its intellectual origins, beginning from the seminal contributions of Friedrich Max Müller during the nineteenth century until now when it has become the subject of criticism by postcolonialism and feminism. The paper posits that, while the use of comparisons is an essential technique for conducting research, one must exercise constant self-reflection about the inherent power dynamics in engaging in such comparisons. Through the use of specific examples from the religions of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism, the paper will investigate how common human concerns, theodicy, eschatology, rituals, and ethics are dealt with across different faiths, and how these intersections and differences reveal the nature of religious experiences. Lastly, the paper asserts that interreligious dialogue is possible only when one goes beyond mere neutral phenomenology, and that a more profound epistemological modesty is necessary based on the understanding that religious beliefs cannot be reduced to sociology or psychology alone.