Blurb:

Comparison is held to be one of the central methods of the academic study of religion. While many ostensibly engage in the comparative act, often overlooked is what it actually means to do this. By providing an analytical framework and a host of examples, the present volume will help students address the following questions: What is comparison? Why engage in it and for what purposes? Can there be such a thing as a valid or invalid comparison? After briefly tracing the history and genealogy of the category, the volume draws on the author’s own extensive work in Judaism and Islam to argue that comparison can be a useful method, but only under strictly controlled conditions.