Collection of previously published essays

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Phenomenology of religion: theory, method and application
Methodological views on African religions
The contributions of T.G.H. Strehlow to the contemporary global study of indigenous religions
Missionaries, the phenomenology of religion and 're-presenting' nineteenth-century African religion: a case study of Peter McKenzie's Hail Orisha!
Part II. The phenomenological subject and object of study. Religious typologies and the postmodern critique
African identities as the projection of Western alterity
Phenomenological perspectives on the social responsibility of the scholar of religion
Part III. Classifications and definitions: on delimiting the field of indigenous religions. The transmission of an authoritative tradition: that without which religion is not religion
Reflecting critically on indigenous religions
Kinship and location: in defence of a narrow definition of indigenous religions
Part IV. Indigenous religions in global contexts. Secularizing the land: the impact of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act on indigenous understandings of land
The study of religion and non-religion in the emerging field of 'non-religion studies': its significance for interpreting Australian aboriginal religions
Global intentions and local conflicts: the rise and fall of Ambuya Juliana in Zimbabwe
Part V. Affirming indigenous agency. The debate between E.B. Tylor and Andrew Lang over the theory of primitive monotheism: implications for contemporary studies of indigenous religions
T.G.H. Strehlow and the repatriation of knowledge
Conclusion: phenomenology at the cutting edge: affirming local agency

"This book compiles James L. Cox's most important writings on a phenomenology of Indigenous Religions into one volume, with a new introduction and conclusion by the author. Cox has consistently exemplified phenomenological methods by applying them to his own field studies among Indigenous Religions, principally in Zimbabwe and Alaska, but also in Australia and New Zealand. Included in this collection are his articles in which he defines what he means by the category 'religion' and how this informs his precise meaning of the classification 'Indigenous Religions'. These theoretical considerations are always illustrated clearly and concisely by specific studies of Indigenous Religions and their dynamic interaction with contemporary political and social circumstances. This collection demonstrates the continued relevance of the phenomenological method in the study of religions by presenting the method as dynamic and adaptable to contemporary social contexts and as responsive to intellectual critiques of the method"-- Provided by publisher.

College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Studies Master of Arts in Philosophy

In English