Bloomsbury 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. Review Steven M. Wasserstrom's masterful interventions in numerous subfields within the academic study of religion are well known. The essays collected in this volume show clearly just what an important thinker he is and, just as importantly, the influence he has had on students and colleagues.Aaron W. Hughes, Philip S. Bernstein Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Rochester, USAThis remarkable collection serves as a fitting and inspiring tribute to the lifelong work of Steven M. Wasserstrom as scholar and a teacher.R. Michael Feener, Sultan of Oman Fellow, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford, UKWhether you are a sceptic or a believer, or both, you will find new trajectories of religion charted in this capacious book. A major, unparalleled achievement.Bruce B. Lawrence, Professor of Islamic Studies Emeritus, Duke University, USA About the Author Kambiz GhaneaBassiriis Professor of Religion and Humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, USA.Paul Robertson is Lecturer in Classics, Humanities, and Italian Studies at the University of New Hampshire, USA.