All Religion Is Inter-Religion: Engaging the Work of Steven M. Wasserstrom

Calling on religious studies scholars to rethink their work, this book is an important contribution to the way religion is defined and used. Described as a contemporary classic by the Journal of American Academy of Religion, Steven M. Wasserstroms publication Religion after Religion (1999) provided a theoretical reorientation for the study of religion. This book takes that reorientation further, showing scholars a way to break out of debates between theologizers and reductionists. Drawing on Wasserstroms work, former students and colleagues show that religions can and must be understood through comparison with other religious and social phenomena. Through comparative work and empirical studies, these essays test his concepts of inter-religion and deep pluralism, and present new perspectives on topics including Hemeticism, Gnosticism, modernism, Judaism and inter-Abrahamic thought. The book also explores the influence of Western mysticism on the modern study of religion, and the relationship between modernity, idealism, Judaism, and Islam.