History of Study
The school of religious history called the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule was a 19th century German school of thought which was the first to systematically study religion as a socio-cultural phenomenon. It depicted religion as evolving with human culture, from primitive polytheism to ethical monotheism.
The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule appeared at a time when scholarly study of the Bible and church history was flourishing in Germany and elsewhere (see higher criticism, also called the historical-critical method). The study of religion is important because religion has been a major force in many human cultures. Religion has often shaped civilizations' law and moral codes, social structure, art and music.
Read more about this topic: History Of Religions
Famous quotes containing the words history of, history and/or study:
“Universal history is the history of a few metaphors.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“You that would judge me do not judge alone
This book or that, come to this hallowed place
Where my friends’ portraits hang and look thereon;
Ireland’s history in their lineaments trace;
Think where man’s glory most begins and ends
And say my glory was I had such friends.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“To study the stars upon the wide, boundless sea, is divine as it was to the Chaldean Magi, who observed their revolutions from the plains.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)