Romanian and other archives have been investigated in detail, and several biographies have appeared, raising new considerations. Much of this work remains in other European languages and is only slowly becoming available to an English readership. It is worthy of note that despite strident condemnations of Eliade's political past, this material has so far revealed no incontrovertible evidence of egregious wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the case has important implications for scholars' reflexive understanding in the study of religions, emphasizing as it does the need for meticulous self-awareness of possible complicity with institutional power structures.
It might be suggested that since Eliade's death there has been a period in which the significance of the study of Eliade has superseded the significance of his studies of religions. Whether this period will eventually result in the rejection or the rehabilitation of his work remains to be seen, but it is clear that Eliade's legacy requires further investigation. Because of his position as an internationally successful synthesizer of studies of religion, his case has become emblematic of several key issues: the role played by the "great man" figure in the establishment of the academic discipline of the study and teaching of religions; the "insider/outsider" question in the study of religion; historiography and the interpretation of historical evidence in relation to ideology; and the interpenetration of lived experience, political activity, and theoretical categories.
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