Reconstructing Eliade: Making Sense of Religion

By Bryan S. Rennie

Book Overview

Provides a coherent and defensible interpretation of Eliade's thought which allows less familiar readers to approach Eliade with a greater clarity and precision. Foreword by Mac Linscott Ricketts, a leading translator of Eliade's writings.

Reconstructing Eliade is a concept-by-concept analysis of the thought of Mircea Eliade and a re-evaluation of his analysis of religion. It illustrates how a thorough familiarity with Eliade's work can produce an interpretation of his thought as systematic, coherent, and fully rational. Part One provides an analysis of the terms of Eliade's understanding of religion-hierophany, the sacred and the dialectic of the sacred and profane, homo religiosus, myths and symbols-and thus of the meaning of religion implied throughout his work. Part Two inspects various problems which arise in light of this analysis, particularly relativism and the role of commitment. Part Three applies this analysis to certain problems-religion in the modern world and Eliade's unfinished analysis of the modern, the postmodern phenomenon, implicit religion, and various related problems in the study of religion. Far from being outmoded and inadequate, Eliade's thought is suggested to be fertile ground for the reconception of religious realities in the contemporary world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791427641
• ISBN13: 9780791427644
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 293 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Passionate and insightful work

Rennie's work is technical and hard-going in places, but he is passionate and insightful not just on bringing out the ideas of Prof. Eliade, but also on describing the character and role of religion in the modern world. The book deserves careful and thoughtful reading and study. His defense of Eliade's early political involvements seems reasonable and fair. His defense and explanation of an inclusive definition of religion are compelling and helpful. We still have much to learn from Eliade.