SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Since the last war there has been a renewed interest among anthropologists in the study of religion. To date, however, there has not been any comparative analysis and evaluation of these recent developments in religious anthropology, The purpose of this thesis is an investigation into contemporary anthropological approaches to the study of religion, Six significant contemporary anthropologists of religion, representing social, cultural, and structural anthropology, have been singled out for analysis. Their approaches are contrasted with each other as well as examined in relation to the traditional anthropological approaches to religion. The final section of the thesis contains a general criticism of these various approaches and offers suggestions for the development of religious anthropology.