approaches to the study of religion→
psychology: attends to emotion and links to identity
sociology: economics to law to politics and their religious connection
phenomenology: try to immerse themselves into practice to better understaid
anthropology: study of cultures
history and comparative method
all religions contain 3 components:
religion as a "boundary phenomenon" → conduct boundary between us and them
three sources of religious diversity in america
→ the religious clause of the first amendment: congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
→ immigration
→ regionalism and stereotyping
two sources of religious sameness