PHENOMENOLOGY OF RELIGION. Philosophical phenomenology is one of the major twentieth-century philosophies, and the phenomenology of religion is one of the major approaches within religious studies. Although the phenomenology of religion emerges as both a major field of study and an extremely influential approach to religion, formulating an essay on this subject poses serious difficulties. The term has become very popular and is used by numerous scholars who share little if anything in common.

Uses of the Term

For the sake of organization, it is possible to differentiate four major groups of scholars who use the term phenomenology of religion. First, there are works in which phenomenology of religion is used in the vaguest, broadest, and most uncritical of ways. Often the term seems to mean nothing more than an investigation of the phenomena of religion. Second, from the Dutch scholar P. D. Chantepie...