Prospects in Theories of Religion

The article proposes possible reasons for the avoidance of theories of religion in the discipline of religious studies. The article further discusses some main challenges for theories of religion: the complexity of the subject matter, the variety of discourses in other relevant scholarly fields and disciplines, and the various (philosophical, anthropological etc.) choices theorists have to make (and sometimes made without further reflection). These challenges are illustrated by introducing the articles of this special issue on Prospects in Theories of Religion. The introductory article points to some shared concerns and developments but also to some points of potential dialogue and matters of contention among the articles of this special issue.