The Thing about Religion
An Introduction to the Material Study of Religions
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Common views of religion typically focus on the beliefs and meanings derived from revealed scriptures, ideas, and doctrines. David Morgan has led the way in radically broadening that framework to encompass the understanding that religions are fundamentally embodied, material forms of practice. This concise primer shows readers how to study what has come to be termed material religion—the ways religious meaning is enacted in the material world.
Material religion includes the things people wear, eat, sing, touch, look at, create, and avoid. It also encompasses the places where religion and the social realities of everyday life, including gender, class, and race, intersect in physical ways. This interdisciplinary approach brings religious studies into conversation with art history, anthropology, and other fields. In the book, Morgan lays out a range of theories, terms, and concepts and shows how they work together to center materiality in the study of religion. Integrating carefully curated visual evidence, Morgan then applies these ideas and methods to case studies across a variety of religious traditions, modeling step-by-step analysis and emphasizing the importance of historical context. The Thing about Religion will be an essential tool for experts and students alike. Two free, downloadable course syllabi created by the author are available online.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this expansive study, Morgan (Images at Work), a religious studies professor at Duke, makes the case that religion, apart from just being composed of doctrines and ideas, is a "material form of practice." Morgan's study of how religion is experienced within the physical world pushes back against the notion that spiritual simply means "nonphysical," arguing humans sense spiritual influence physically, such as in "the silence of caves, the terror of forests." The strength of Morgan's argument lies in his tracing of religious "things" (a specific "category for items that have lost their place or use or whose novelty or complexity or nature are unclear to us") across time, place, and religious tradition. For instance, he explores the history of wands, spiritual items that historically signified power and authority, and illustrates how representations of Polynesian gods changed as Christian missionaries attempted to convert and wield power over indigeneous Polynesians, introducing demonology into their spiritual practice. Making the simple yet diffuse argument that religious "artifacts, bodies, substances, or environments produce and maintain a web of relations that brings human beings to what really matters to them," Morgan shines brightest when dealing with religious art—such as Notre Dame (a religious site but also "an enduring embodiment of" France) and paintings by European masters. Academics with an interest in religion or anthropology will most appreciate this broad examination of religious practice.
