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Rating: 
Summary: Well worth the money...
Review: A rigorous, compelling anlaysis of the intellectually atrophied state of contemporary religious studies. That the views it propounds are considered controversial at all -- and the fact that it has been so hotly attacked in academic reviews by the ultra-orthodox Christian scholarly community -- indicate that Russell has touched a nerve that needed to be tweaked. The book tackles its subject directly, with minimal pretensions, but with theoretical sophistication. Not to be missed by anyone concerned with the current state of scholarship in religious studies and in cultural studies generally.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Every Serious Scholar of Religion
Review: McCutcheon's MANUFACTURING RELIGION is in my opinion one of the most important works on the state of Religious Studies today. Anyone seriously committed to the academic study of "religion" should be required to read this book in order to understand the polarized nature of modern Religious Studies scholarship. McCutcheon makes a clear and convincing argument for the naturalistic study of religion against the dominant wishy-washy sui generis claims. The central thesis of this book is a forceful critique of much that goes on in today's Religious Studies departments. His arguments, however, can easily be applied to various other academic departments of higher education which seek to insulate themselves from criticism by appealing to concepts claimed to be outside of history. As a student of Dr. McCutcheon, I can honestly say that his ideas--and this book in particular--have had a major impact on my own thoughts and have permanently shaped the direction of my future career in the study of religion in culture. MANUFACTURING RELIGION and McCutcheon's other works bring a much-needed sanity to the predominantly irrational field that is Religious Studies.
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