The Comity and Grace of Method

A work that at once celebrates and extends the enduring contributions of the late Edmund Perry to the study of religions, this comprehensive collection brings together three generations of distinguished scholars to consider the history, theory, and applications of the comparative method in religious study. Both the title and the content of this volume reflect Perry's conviction that the comparative religionist is morally bound to contribute to a comity of religions - the voluntary and courteous recognition of the dignity and truth present in all religions. Following the general framework advocated by Perry for this pursuit, the volume reveals the strengths of such a framework - and of Perry's lifelong interest in theory and method - for religious understanding. The essays in the first section - ""Theory and Method in the History and Study of Religion"" - clarify the role of scientific, phenomenological, and comparative approaches within the history of the study of religion; collectively, they represent a pluralistic statement about re-occurrent and subtle problems in the field. In the second section - ""Theories and Methods in Application"" - the authors move from overarching theoretical concerns to the application of these methods in specific religious traditions, Western and Eastern. The third section - ""Theory, Method, and Inter-Religious Dialogue"" - demonstrates the effectiveness of these theories and methods as guidelines for promoting global inter-religious comity. More than simply a tribute to a revered and influential scholar, this book provides even those who know nothing of Perry with some idea of his influence, the intellectual program in which he was a co-laborer and the issues in religious studies that he found most intriguing.