General Introduction

Abstract

Phenomenology of Religion is the systematic treatment of History of Religion. That is to say, its task is to classify and group the numerous and widely divergent data in such a way that an over-all view can be obtained of their religious content and the religious values they contain. This general view is not a condensed History of Religion, but a systematic survey of the data. The different religions present a rich variety of facts. The ritual acts and doctrinal tenets within each separate religion do indeed exhibit a certain similarity; they bear the stamp of that particular religion, but the religions differ in character from one another. The correspondences are only partial. History of Religion leads only to consideration of the particular; the over-all view that it gives, which we call general History of Religion, is not systematic or comparative. It is this systematic view that Phenomenology of Religion attempts to provide.