Droogers & van Harskamp/Methods for the Study, Part I Introduction

Methodology tells scholars how to proceed. When it is our intention to study religion and religions, we must be aware of the concepts we use, such as “religion,” since they define the limits of our field. They also fill our toolbox. If we wish to extend our field, as is proposed here, to include worldviews, whether religious or secular, the same condition prevails. We may have to change the contents of our toolbox. In this part of the book, to take stock of concepts, of views on the mission of our trade or on the type of knowledge we wish to gather, and of the changes that are occurring in our field.