Postmodernism and the study of religions

<p>This chapter explores some of the ideas, concepts and propositions frequently associated with postmodernism and the ways in which the impact on the concerns of scholars of religion. It focusses on the outlines of some possible and frequently articulated responses to the 'postmodern challenge' and touch upon the question of what there may be beyond postmodernism. The chapter adopts a deliberately 'questioning' tone throughout: partly an attempt to define and position itself as well as the remainder of this volume in relation to existing intellectual trajectories and recent history of ideas. The ideas concentrates on raising — rather than answering or even fully addressing — a range of questions that arise from the highly heterogeneous intellectual phenomenon that is postmodernism. The chapter reviews the long list of conceptual, political and epistemological questions presented in what follows matter greatly to the study of religious histories and texts, ideas, identities and practices.</p>