Abstract: This article intriduces a translation of paragraph “Religion as a phenomenon” presented in the chapter “Approaches” of the book “Religion in Religion in Light of Theology:  Research, Experience, and Existence” (2008) by the renowned German theologian Hans-Jürgen Greschat. The author, whose works have not yet been translated into the Russian language or brought into focus of studies by Russian researchers, was mentored by Friedrich Heiler – one of the most accomplished theologians of the early XX century and classicists of the phenomenology of religion. Translation of the original text is accompanied by remarks of the interpreter, which contributed into the deeper and fuller narrative of H. – J. Greschat’s position that explain the correlation of his theses with other concepts. In this work, Greschat refers to the issues of methodology of religious studies. Analyzing the phenomenological approach as a whole, including its application in studying the religion, Greschat claims that it is the most appropriate way, out of the three possible variants, for examination and description of the religion that he provides in the aforementioned chapter.

Keywords: Gerardus van-der Leeuw, Friedrich Heiler, religious studies, religion, phenomenology of religion, Edmund Husserl, phenomenological approach, phenomenology, Hans-Jürgen Greschat, Eugene Gendlin