Wilfred Cantwell Smith

by Wilfred Cantwell Smith (Editor), Kenneth Cracknell, ed.

Drawing on Wilfred Cantwell Smith's numerous articles and books, Kenneth Cracknell has put together some of the author's most well-known works. As a summary of this great scholar's lifetime achievements in religious studies, this should prove a valuable addition to the field. The thinking of Wilfred Cantwell Smith revolutionized the study of religion. During an academic career which spanned nearly 50 years, and took him around the world, he espoused the previously radical view that religion is best understood as the living, vital faith of individual persons rather than as an abstract set of ideas. The scholarship that arose from this view continues to influence and inform comparative religion today, and is now captured and surveyed in this new anthology of Smith's key writings. Featuring a foreword by John Hick, "Wilfred Cantwell A Reader" divides a comprehensive selection of extracts from Smith's works into seven distinct parts, reflecting the major themes of his career. From his role as a historian to his work as a critic and prophet, this anthology draws on Smith's earliest writings, right through to his last book, "What is Scripture?" , giving a comprehensive overview of his development both as a scholar and a man of faith. Featuring coverage of Smith's key ideas, including his thoughts on methodology and his theories of language, classification and belief, this volume concludes with a fitting meditation on how we can forge a community of humankind through listening to, and supporting, the peoples of other religious traditions.As a survey, not only of the great achievements of Wilfred Cantwell Smith, but also of the major ideas in comparative religion.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Wilfred Cantwell Smith (July 21, 1916 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian professor of comparative religion who from 1964–1973 was director of Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religions. The Harvard Gazette characterized him as one of the field's most influential figures of the past century. In his 1962 work The Meaning and End of Religion he notably and controversially questioned the validity of the concept of religion.

Reviews

[Roman Brasoveanu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll write my own WC Smith reader:
“People won’t like this, and it’s never occurred to them, but actually people think differently across cultures also pluralism is good- here’s a hundred pages of me repeating myself.”