Religions in Practice An Approach to the Anthropology of Religion

by Bowen, John R.

• ISBN13: 9780205917662
• ISBN10: 0205917666
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-05-30
• Publisher: ROUTLEDGE

Summary

Examines religious practices from an anthropological perspective
Religions in Practice, 6/e, offers an issues-oriented perspective on everyday religious behaviors ¿ prayer, sacrifice, initiation, healing, etc. ¿ by focusing on such topics as transnationalism, gender, and religious laws. The text examines a full spectrum of religions, from small-scale societies to major, established religions. The in-depth treatment of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity is particularly noteworthy and easily supplemented with field projects directly related to the text.

Author Biography

John R. Bowen is the Dunbar-Van Cleve Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and recurrent Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. He has been studying Islam and society in Indonesia since the late 1970s, and since 2001 has worked in France, England, and North America on problems of pluralism, law, and religion, and in particular on contemporary efforts to rethink Islamic norms and civil law. He also writes regularly for The Boston Review. His current two research projects concern sharia and civil law in England, and Islamic courts and property disputes in Indonesia.

Table of Contents

In this Section:
1) Brief Table of Contents

2) Full Table of Contents

 

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BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chapter 1: Studying Religion through Practice    

Chapter 2: The Twin Transformations of “Religion” 

Chapter 3: Domains and Boundaries of Religion

Chapter 4: Rituals of Transition 

Chapter 5: Healing through Religion

Chapter 6: Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Modernity

Chapter 7: Worship, Hierarchy, Conflict: Focus on Hinduism

Chapter 8: Imagery and Faith: Focus on Catholicism 

Chapter 9: Transatlantic Religion

Chapter 10: Boundariesand Selves in Orthodox Judaism

Chapter 11: Speech and Grace in Protestantism

Chapter 12: New Religious Movements 

Chapter 13: Revelation and Authority in Islam

Chapter 14: Migration and Adaptation: Focus on Muslims in Europe 

Chapter 15: Virtual Religion 

Chapter 16: Secularismsand Religions in Modern States 

 

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  FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 

Chapter 1: Studying Religion through Practice 

What Is “Religion”? 

An Anthropological Approach to Religion 

Practices, Contexts, Diversity

      

Chapter 2: The Twin Transformations of “Religion” 

Axial Age Transformations

Enlightenment Transformations        

Social Theory and the Anthropology of Religion

 

Chapter 3: Domains and Boundaries of Religion

Combining Religious Practices in Japan 

The State and Religion 

Imposed Definitions of Religion                           

 

Chapter 4: Rituals of Transition 

Rites of Passage 

The Pilgrimage to Mecca                        

Death Rituals and Society 

Regenerating Life from Death 

Grief and Ritual Form 

 

Chapter 5: Healing through Religion

Narratives and Healing

Modern Magic in Japanese New Religions 

What does Science say about Prayer?

 

Chapter 6: Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Modernity

African Sorcery and Witchcraft

Sorcery and Modernity 

Puritan Witchcraft  

 

Chapter 7: Worship, Hierarchy, Conflict: Focus on Hinduism

Sacrifice, Offerings, and Deities                       

Bathing at Benares 

Muslim–Hindu Violence 

 

Chapter 8: Imagery and Faith: Focus on Catholicism 

Relics and Images                                 

Mary in European Societies

 

Chapter 9: Transatlantic Religion

Mary in Mesoamerica

Africa and Brazil across the Atlantic

Black Carib Religion in Honduras and New York City 

 

Chapter 10: Boundaries and Selves in Orthodox Judaism

Taboos and Community in Judaism

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities

Growing Up Orthodox                          

 

Chapter 11: Speech and Grace in Protestantism

The Letter and the Spirit of Scripture                     

Singing and Certainty among U.S. Primitive Baptists 

Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches

Encounters and Conversions

 

Chapter 12: New Religious Movements 

Revitalization Movements 

Land, Wealth, and Religious Visions

Cults, Recruitment, and Violence 

Why Do People Join Violent Movements? 

 

Chapter 13: Revelation and Authority in Islam

The Qur’ân as Recitation of God’s Speech           

Authority

Interpretations of Sacrifice

 

Chapter 14: Migration and Adaptation: Focus on Muslims in Europe 

Migration and Transnational Ties

Adapting Sacrifice to France

Can European Societies Be Muslim? 

 

Chapter 15: Virtual Religion 

What Can You Do Online? 

Information, Communication, and Performance 

Experience and Community 

Comparative Communities 

 

Chapter 16: Secularisms and Religions in Modern States 

How to Think about “Secular States”

Religion and Public Life in the United States

Three European Variants

When Religion Underlies Law