current editor of Numen, Gustavo Benavides, is from Peru, although he was
in part educated and is now working in the United States. The offices of
president, general secretary, deputy general secretary, and treasurer, however,
have all been filled exclusively by Europeans and, more recently, North
Americans.
Another way to formulate a global vision of religious studies, probably a
better way, is to examine not institutions and structures but webs of scholarly
networks. At least for the moment, the actual study of such networks is
beyond both my capabilities and resources. There might be several places to
start mapping such networks: the production and distribution of translations,
posts on email discussion lists, such as those administered by the European
Association for the Study of Religion, or participation in the new IAHR
network of women scholars. I suspect that the result of such mapping might
resemble a composite photograph of the globe at night or, perhaps better, a
map of routes serviced by a major airline. In terms of the first metaphor, some
places on the globe would be ‘brighter’—have more scholarly activity and
denser networks—than others. In terms of the second, certain regions would
emerge as hubs—or nodes or major contact points—for global scholarly
exchange. Given the preceding chapters, I suspect that quite a few places around
the globe would light up brightly. I also suspect that the largest hubs for
scholarly exchange are still in Western Europe and North America, and that
there are few non-stop flights—few direct connections—between scholars
working in, let us say, China and Brazil or Nigeria and Indonesia. I also suspect
that there are many one-way flights or, to change the metaphor, that much
scholarship is exported from North America and Western Europe to other
regions without scholarship being imported in reverse. Seen from a global
perspective the study of religions suffers from a serious imbalance of trade.
There is yet a third way to formulate a global vision of religious studies.
That is to identify the common threads and distinct patterns in the chapters
that form the heart of this book. I limit myself to three major topics, discussed
very broadly: history; institutionalization; and objects, methods, and theories.HistoryOne feature of the history of religious studies that emerges from these chapters
is striking—and often understated. The 1950s and especially the 1960s were
a formative period for the study of religion almost everywhere in the world.
During this period, with some regional variation—for Australia and New
Zealand the 1970s were formative—Africans, Australians, East Asians, North
Americans, and South and Southeast Asians incorporated the study of religions
in earnest into university programs, while Western Europeans greatly expanded
existing programs and founded new ones. Much of Latin America, North304
GREGORY D. ALLES