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==Intellectual foundation and background==

==Intellectual foundation and background==

[[Image:wmjames.jpg|right|thumb|"Portrait of Wm. James, fr. Pajares, F. biography with photographs of Wm. James.  [[www.emory.edu]]"]]  

[[Image:wmjames.jpg|right|thumb|"Portrait of Wm. James, fr. Pajares, F. biography with photographs of Wm. James.  [[www.emory.edu]]"]]  

Before religious studies became a field in its own right (e.g., flourishing in the US as of the late-1960s), several key intellectual figures explored religion from a variety of perspectives. One of these figures was the famous [[Pragmatism|pragmatist]] [[William James]]. His [[1902]] [[Gifford lectures]] and book ''[[The Varieties of Religious Experience]]'' examined religion from a psychological-philosophical perspective and is still influential today. His essay ''[[The Will to Believe]]'' defends the rationality of faith.  

Before religious studies became a field in its own right (e.g., flourishing in the US as of the late-1960s), several key intellectual figures explored religion from a variety of perspectives. One of these figures was the famous [[Pragmatism|pragmatist]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James William James]. His [[1902]] [[Gifford Lectures|Gifford lectures]] and book ''[[The Varieties of Religious Experience]]'' examined religion from a psychological-philosophical perspective and is still influential today. His essay ''[[The Will to Believe]]'' defends the rationality of faith.  

[[Max Weber]] studied religion from an economic perspective in ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'', his most famous work. As a major figure in [[sociology]], he has no doubt influenced later sociologists of religion.  

[[Max Weber]] studied religion from an economic perspective in ''[[The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]'', his most famous work. As a major figure in [[sociology]], he has no doubt influenced later sociologists of religion.