Although this short book can surely be used as the basis for an introductory course in the academic study of religion, it certainly is not written as a textbook. Instead, its first eight chapters are written as a readable, general primer comprised of brief chapters across which an argument develops. It is my hope that these chapters will be read by a wide audience, including, but not limited to, undergraduate students. If an instructor decides to use this book in an introductory course, then these chapters (and the supporting material that follows them) sketch a way of conceiving of the material; because the theme of definition is front and center, it provides an opening for instructors to introduce their own descriptive, comparative, and explanatory information, as well as the chance for them to direct their students to the original writings of some of the scholars whose work is discussed throughout. So, if used as the basis for an entire course, my goal is for a type of collaboration to take place, involving an author such as myself who merely plays the role of table-setter, and instructors who bring on the meal in as many courses as their students have the time and inclination to eat.

But as I said, I did not just have the introductory course in mind when writing this book.