Contemporary Theories of Religion: A Critical Companion

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. — 320 р. There is life in the old dog yet: an introduction to contemporary theories of religion Religion as superhuman agency: on E. Thomas Lawson and Robert N. McCauley, Rethinking religion (1990) Steven Engler and Mark Quentin Gardiner Anthropomorphism and animism: on Stewart E. Guthrie, Faces in the clouds (1993) Benson Saler From need to violence: on Walter Burkert, Creation of the sacred (1996) Gustavo Benavides Religion as ritual: Roy Rappaport’s changing views from Pigs for the ancestors (1968) to Ritual and religion in the making of humanity (1999) Robert A. Segal Religious economies and rational choice: on Rodney Stark and Roger Finke, Acts of faith (2000) Gregory D. Alles Religion as communication: on Niklas Luhmann, The religion of society (2000) Peter Beyer Exotic experience and ordinary life: on Andrew Newberg, Eugene D’Aquili and Vince Rause, Why God won’t go away (2001) Matthew Day Religion as the unintended product of brain functions in the ‘standard cognitive science of religion model’ Religion as evolutionary cascade: on Scott Atran, In gods we trust (2002) Religion as superorganism: on David Sloan Wilson, Darwin’s cathedral (2002)