Once More into the Lion’s Mouth: Another Look at Van Der Leeuw’s Phenomenology of Religion

Abstract

It is unusual that a communication is delivered in this forum on the subject of religious studies; but it is hoped that a way can be shown to link the concerns of the study of religion and those of the other human sciences in their common search for “foundations.” First, though, a word about the title of this paper. It is a weak pun, combining a line from Shakespeare’s version of Henry V’s encogement to his troops to go “once more into the breach” of the wall at Azincourt, and a reference to the name of the subject of the paper, Van Der Leeuw. Gerardus Van Der Leeuw’s work is the object of attention here. Van Der Leeuw was a Dutchman, and “leeuw” is the Dutch word for “lion.” It is possibly useful for people to know these things, since not everyone reads Dutch for pleasure and profit. Perhaps that is a loss for us, since an enormous amount of writing in the phenomenology of religion has been produced in more than a century just past; but since Dutch is a minority language in Europe, only a Dutch scholar’s most important works are — even today — written in an international language (usually German), and we are, for the most part, cut off from them. Furthermore, since the best known of Van Der Leeuw’s work available in English, Religion in Essence and Manifestation, 1 is now out of print, we may be saying “open wide” for the last time.