This course aims to introduce the research methods and scientific approaches of the History of Religions discipline. It comprehensively covers the historical development of comparative religious studies, including fundamental concepts, data collection and analysis methods, modern and classical methodological approaches, and techniques used in the scientific study of religious phenomena. The aim is to equip students with methodological awareness in religious studies and to enable them to conduct independent academic research.

The birth and historical development of the discipline of History of Religions. The emergence of scientific religious studies in the 19th and 20th centuries. Classical methods: phenomenological approach, typological classification, comparative method, and historical research models. Anthropological, sociological, psychological, and philological approaches in modern religious studies. Techniques for the study of sacred texts: scientific analysis of myth, ritual, symbol, and sacred concepts. Data collection methods: fieldwork, observation, discourse analysis, and textual analysis. Neutrality, objectivity, hermeneutics, and hermeneutics in methodology. Contemporary debates, methodological critiques, and ethics in religious studies.