Michael D. K. Ing

Michael D. K. Ing {[email protected]} is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University. He holds a BA from Brigham Young University and a PhD from Harvard University. His book, The Dysfunction of Ritual in Early Confucianism, was published by Oxford University Press in 2012.

Future Prospects in the Comparison of Religions

Articles/Essays – Volume 44, No. 3

Jonathan Z. Smith famously remarked that “a comparison is a disciplined exaggeration in the service of knowledge.”One of the insights that has animated the study of comparative religion in the past several decades is that those doing the comparing must be aware of the kinds of knowledge they are serving. Said another way, scholars involved in the comparison of religions must confront questions such as: Why compare this one tradition with another? Does the comparison of two entire traditions, as opposed to comparing two persons, give the scholar too much leeway in constructing his or her own narrative? Does the comparison of two traditions or individuals lead to false dichotomies that serve an unspoken agenda? In short, what is the purpose of comparison?

As Presently Constituted: Mormon Studies in the Field of Religion | Religious Studies as Comparative Religion

Articles/Essays – Volume 47, No. 2

This paper is entitled “Religious Studies as Comparative Religion,” and its purpose is to suggest that comparative religion, as one way of engaging in religious studies, can be fruitful for historians of Mormonism.