The Formation of the Discipline of the History of Religions in France within the Context of the Catholic-Secular Controversy

When delineating the History of Religions, Friedrich Max Müller‟s Introduction to theScience of Religion (1883) is generally taken as a starting point and the historicaldevelopment of this discipline from this date onward is chronologically presented. Thisapproach not only does not sufficiently emphasize the fact that History of Religions emergedand was institutionalized in each country under conditions which were peculiar to it, but alsogives the impression that this discipline has gone through common developmental phases. Infact, since History of Religions emerged in Europe in historical, social and cultural contextsthat varied from country to country, as is the case in other scientific disciplines, it is viewed indifferent ways. For instance, the notion of History of Religions, its function, and the way inwhich it was perceived in academic circles in France are very different from other Europeancountries. Thus the aim of this study is to clarify the causes of these differences by tracing theformative processes of History of Religions in France with special reference to the Catholic-Secular conflict.