"@Joe Carter , did you know that within the academic field of the study of religion, "history of religions" or "history of religion" is a kind of old-fashioned synonym for "religious studies" or "the study of religion"? (It comes from the German, phenomenological roots of the field, i.e., Religionsgeschichte.) It doesn't have anything to do with having a degree in history. In departments or institutions that call the discipline "history of religions," "sociology of religion" is an area of concentration or specialization within the discipline of "history of religions." A person who identifies him- or herself as a "historian of religion", to an academic in the field, is simply saying "I study religion." Easily misunderstood from a position outside the field, but hey, that's just how it is." - Nathan Rein