Examining a selection of major types of theory explaining religion - religious, philosophical, sociological, socio-economic and psychological - this book treats the presuppositions behind such theories and the grounds of their necessity and validity. It looks at major styles in the definition of religion. The book also argues that the case for making religion the subject of large-scale theorizing has not been made and contends that the explanation of religion proceeds better by concentrating on the specifics of religious history and the interconnections between religious ideas. Peter Clarke is also the author of "Islam In Modern Nigeria", "Religion and the Study of Religion Old and New" and "West Africa and Islam" and the editor of "Islam". Peter Byrne is the co-editor of the journal "Religious Studies".