Naming religious groups in the late Roman empire

Abstract

What are scientifically valid and interpretatively meaningful names for adherents of religious cults or traditions in the Mediterranean world of late antiquity? This question lies behind the articles in this issue of Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses, which consider the meaning and validity of five names used in studies of religion in the late Roman empire: "pagans," "Jews," "Christians," "Gnostics" and "Manichaeans." This paper, an introductory essay to the issue, proposes that, when answering this question, one adopt Benson Saler's prototype approach to the categorization of religious groups. It argues, further, that a prototype approach must include etic categories of analysis and that it requires specific and detailed studies of similarities and differences within and between groups.