Abstract

When the study of religion emerged in Leiden in the nineteenth century, there was a brief moment in which history and philosophy of religion were combined. When this union, which brought the study of religion in conversation with philosophy, came to an end, the two fields drifted apart. Philosophy of religion lost touch with the study of religion, and the study of religion lost touch with philosophy tout court. The place of philosophy at the centre of the study of religion was taken over first by a hybrid field known as ‘the phenomenology of religion’ and, when that tradition was demolished, with an equally hybrid field known as ‘method and theory’. Building on this very local history, this article supports those philosophers of religion who wish to engage with the study of religion and calls upon students of religion to recover an interest in philosophy.