Book Forum

Abstract

On 12 October 2022, a seminar was held in the University of Edinburgh to review, discuss and critique James L. Cox’s book, A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions: Theory and Practice (2022, Bloomsbury). This article contains revised papers from that event as prepared by the speakers, including Cox’s introduction and response to the presentations. The papers explore various themes, comprising a consideration of Religious Studies as a discipline, Indigenous Religions and the World Religions Paradigm, issues surrounding the formulation of research questions, the role of a researcher in relation to those being researched, the notion of the ‘sacred’ in the study of Indigenous Religions, and questions about who can be classified as a phenomenologist of religion. Cox responds to each of these issues by emphasizing local agency among Indigenous groups as the key concept undergirding what he calls ‘relational research’. The participants’ papers, which have been revised for publication in this article, are presented in the order they were delivered at the seminar.