QUANTITATIVE AND OR QUALITATIVE METHODS IN THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION/

Qualitative research methods are essential to provide richness, but th ey are vulnerable to distortion of data by theory. The quantitative ap proach is necessary for the precision of hypothesis testing, but, by i tself, this method is too critical to be creative. Religious studies s hould use both methods in alternate phases, with the qualitative appro ach creating new hypotheses and the quantitative approach critically t esting them.