TRENDS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Abstract

Traditional topics 111 the comparative study of religion seem to recede into the background as more and more writers choose to con- tribute on subjects which earlier did .110texist or were only borderline issues. That the indubitably religious themes such as liberation, moksha, God., sin, man and redemption, grace, sacraments and rituals no longer enthuse the scholars as much as the peripheral or borderline issues is no indication that the interest in religious studies is steadily on the decline. Though the awareness that there are other areas as vital and significant as the traditional ones waiting to be explored for a better understanding of one's own religion is a new phenomenon, it has to be regarded as a boon in the field of the humanistic study of religions. One such area is religious pluralism. Religions exhibit a strong urge for asserting their uniqueness as well as univer- sality, along their claim to the title of the true religion. When one is wholly involved in oneself any counter claim made by an outsider would be regarded as a hostile gesture. But if one makes an honest attempt to examine human religiosity from the point of view of the religion of the ether, he would immediately be struck by the fact of reli- gious pluralism. The new theological problem it gives rise to is that each of these religions appears to be an existential possibility offered to every person. Hence the study of the ways in which the world religions have reacted and are reacting to the challenge of pluralism can truly become a fertile topic in the comparative study of religion.