The comparative method is an integral part of religious studies.
All the technical terms that scholars of religion use on a daily
basis, such as ritual, hagiography, shrine, authority,
fundamentalism, hybridity, and, of course, religion, are
comparative terms. Yet comparison has been subject to criticism,
including postcolonialist and postmodernist critiques. Older
approaches are said to have used comparison primarily to confirm
preconceptions about religion. More recently, comparison has been
criticized as an act of abstraction that does injustice to the
particular, neglects differences, and establishes a mostly Western
power of definition over the rest of the world. In this book,
Oliver Freiberger takes a closer look at how comparison works.
Revisiting critical debates and examining reflections in other
disciplines, including comparative history, sociology, comparative
theology, and anthropology, Freiberger proposes a model of
comparison that is based on a thorough epistemological analysis and
that takes both the scholar's situatedness and his or her agency
seriously. Examining numerous examples of comparative studies,
Considering Comparison develops a methodological framework for
conducting and evaluating such studies. Freiberger suggests a
comparative approach - which he calls discourse comparison - that
confronts the omnipresent risks of decontextualization,
essentialization, and universalization. This book makes a case for
comparison, arguing that it is indispensable for a deeper
analytical understanding of what we call religion. The book is
intended to enrich the practice of both aspiring and seasoned
comparativists, stimulate much-needed further discussions about
comparative methodology, and encourage more scholars to produce
responsible comparative studies.
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