Comparative mythology and the Perennial philosophy certainly emphasize the historical context and make for illuminating parallels. But I'm not sure if that standpoint lends itself to the zealotry that extremists want from their religion. Plus, those stand-offish perspectives are consistent with secular humanism. The comparative mythologist picks out the ethics that all the religions entail, leaving aside the theologies that are no longer viable. This would amount to the secularization or modernization of religion. The idol here would be the liberal's tolerance of differences. It's hard to escape our cultural prism when viewing foreign cultures, so we should at least be alert to the danger.