This paper looks a recent theme in theory of religion, the status of the generic concept of "religion". The idea that all cultural phenomena labeled "religions" share something in common that justifies the use of the generic terms is most commonly rooted in a concept of the "sacred", drawn from interpretive phenomenology, However, this concept is arguably susceptible to three sorts of critiques: semantic, epistemological, and ideological. After describing these critiques, the article briefly discusses two approaches to "religion" that seem to avoid these critiques: Benson Saler´s prototype theory and material/relational theories. In conclusion, the article looks at historical and current relations between these theoretical issues and the institutional context of the study of religion in North America.