Other topics discussed in this paper include Campbell’s habit of engaging in descriptive reductionism, his reactionary views regarding secularization, and the political conservatism found within The Power of Myth. Using these categories, the contradictions inherent within Campbell’s argument are identified, for Campbell attempts, but fails, to synthesize these three scholarly traditions into one coherent theory of religion. These seven scholars are then sorted into three categories – the purely qualitative religious scholars, the purely quantitative, postmodern religious scholars, and those who draw from both the qualitative and quantitative approaches. Smith) from whom Campbell borrows various ideas. Next, the paper outlines the important scholars of religion (William James, Rudolf Otto, Mircea Eliade, Peter Berger, W.C. The paper begins by identifying Campbell’s major topics (the monomyth structure underlying world mythology, the importance of the hero’s journey, the existence of a higher power or energy, the lack of myth in the modern world, and the notion that religion possesses given qualities). Written to coincide with The Power of Myth’s twenty-fifth anniversary, this paper considers the relevance of Campbell’s book to the secular study of religion in the modern academy. This paper provides a critical analysis of Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, the companion book for the hit PBS series produced by Campbell and Bill Moyers.

The power of myth