Diversifying Philosophy of Religion: Critiques, Methods and Case Studies [ REVIEW]

[ Selected abstract text only ] Can philosophy of religion enter the globalised, twenty-first-century world? If so, how? These questions arose from the Global-Critical Philosophy of Religion project and served as a springboard for Loewen and Rostalska as they present potential answers in this engaging and wide-reaching volume. Organised into two sections, ‘Critiques and Methods’ and ‘Case Studies’, contributing authors from across the globe (experts both within and outside philosophy of religion) present their views on how to diversify the field. One of the recurring themes across much of the first section is that of postcolonialism, namely how it is possible to ‘comprehend religion in a global way, if by “global” we mean “total”’, since it seems clear ‘[a]ny such “total” philosophy will have been produced from a particular intellectual and lived perspective’ (40). Irvine and Bilimoria lead off the collection with their take on postcolonialism and the question of global-critical philosophy of religion, which serves not only as an introduction to this core theme but as a model of the approach taken throughout the volume. To get a sense of the sorts of issues at hand and the general methodological approaches applied in developing a way forward, this is a great starting point.