Two Levels of Commitment in James Fredericks's Comparative Theology

This essay critically assesses one of the two contrasts by which James Fredericks defines the discipline of comparative theology, namely, a contrast with the non-theological study of religion, by arguing that Fredericks's characterization of the latter discipline as committed to the general concept of "religion" and the idea of value-neutral scholarship, is anachronistic. A better way of framing this contrast is implicit in Fredericks's characteristic emphasis on the interpersonal dimension of Comparative Theology. Comparative Theology is distinguished from religious studies by its commitment to the idea that there is a continuity between the formative teachings of the tradition and later appropriations of those teachings.