Author(s): Hüseyin KÃFTÃRCÃ, Ahmet ONAY
With the increase of interaction and communication means, nowadays, studies in the history of religions gained more importance. This discipline, which is an effective science in the understanding of the modern age, make efforts to better understand different religions through its methodological studies it has developed. History of religions consists of words of religion and history. The definitions of religion differ in terms of essential features of religion, culture, geography, traditions, understanding of life and so on. Definition of religion consists of some essential concepts such as God, congregation, holy book, prophet, founder, worship, belief system and moral values. History is a concept that reveals the time of occurrence. The history of religions that shed light on the stages of man's intellectual and spiritual development is a social science investigates religion, its historical development, belief, worship, moral conditions and cultural characteristics. This discipline makes evaluations via historical and comparative approaches. History of religions uses qualitative, comparative and phenomological methods. Aiming to be objective through methods developed such as a new comparative method, history of religions tries to reveal differences and similarities between the religions. Works of methodology in history of religions, which are the subject of human encounter with the sacred, were influenced by factors such as ideological approaches in history, colonialism, art, culture, ecology and gender. Historians are committed to taking scientific knowledge and neutrality as a method. It is also worth note that Western historians have pioneer role in the field through their current and effective works.
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