Methodological atheism

Sociological and anthropological theories about religion (or theories of religion) generally attempt to explain the origin and function of religion. These theories define what they present as universal characteristics of religious belief and practice.

From presocratic times, ancient authors advanced theories about religion.Herodotus (484 – 425 BCE) saw the gods of Greece as the same as the gods of Egypt.Euhemerus (about 330 – 264 BCE) regarded gods as excellent historical persons whom admirers eventually came to worship.

Scientific theories, inferred and tested by the comparative method, emerged after data from tribes and peoples all over the world became available in the 18th and 19th centuries.Max Müller (1823-1900) has the reputation of having founded the scientific study of religion; he advocated a comparative method that developed into comparative religion. Subsequently, Clifford Geertz (1926-2006) and others questioned the validity of abstracting a general theory of all religions.

Theories of religion can be classified into:

Other dichotomies according to which theories or descriptions of religions can be classified include:

Early essentialists, such as Tylor and Frazer, looked for similar beliefs and practices in all societies, especially the more primitive ones, more or less regardless of time and place. They relied heavily on reports made by missionaries, discoverers, and colonial civil servants. These were all investigators who had a religious background themselves, thus they looked at religion from the inside. Typically they did not practice investigative field work, but used the accidental reports of others. This method left them open to criticism for lack of universality, which many freely admitted. The theories could be updated, however, by considering new reports, which Robert Ranulph Marett (1866-1943) did for Tylor's theory of the evolution of religion.

...
Wikipedia