A Critical Analysis of the Capacity of the Modern Study of Religion in Statement-Making about Religion

In Religious Studies, two broad types of claims or conclusions may be distinguished. In the first type, specific aspects of religion are explored and conclusions are limited to that particular aspect. In the second type, conclusions dealing with ‘religion in general’ are expressed in totalizing statements. The second type of conclusion, claiming to express something about ‘religion in general’ is usually of more farـreaching concern for believers than the first type. This study intends to explore the question of how believers should position themselves with respect to general statements issuing from the academic discipline of Religious Studies via its two main branches – i. e., the socialـscientific and the phenomenological approaches. Beginning with the observation that Religious Studies starts from an aspect of religion, the article scrutinizes the ‘transition from an aspect of religion to religion’ in the discipline. The following effectively summarizes what this study substantiates: No statement about religion in general or religion in particular (i. e. a specific religion) made by Religious Studies is trustworthy for believers.