This study, a contribution from the history of science, explores the theory that the classical philologist Hermann Usener (1834 - 1905) proposed in 1896 about the origin of religion and inquires into the theory's reception in the works of Albrecht Dieterich, Ludwig Radermacher, Aby Warburg and Walter F
Otto. Rooted in structural analysis, Usener's doctrine of religious concept formation reopened the decades-old debate and inspired others to take up his project and continue it with a critical frame of mind.
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