Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Religion (Schizoanalytic Applications)

No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. ## The schizoanalysis of religion In 1972 the philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the psychoanalyst Félix Guattari collaborated to produce Anti-Oedipus (L'anti-Oedipe), which they followed up in 1980 with A Thousand Plateaus (Mille Plateaux). Together, these texts form the Capitalism and Schizophrenia project, which they developed in response to what they saw as the pervasive force of the Oedipus construct in French psychiatry during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Challenging the reduction of the psyche to family relations and the elevation of the unified self, which dominated the theory and practice of psychiatry, Deleuze and Guattari instead posited a theory in which desire is understood in terms of a schizophrenic id rather than a neurotic ego. In this system there is no sense of what is 'normal' , or what is individual in the human psyche. Deleuze and Guattari described this as a revolutionary 'materialist psychiatry' called 'schizoanalysis' . In a system of schizoanalysis, 'schizo flux' and multiplicity are paramount. Since the publication of Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus, and their subsequent translation into English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean, the principles of schizoanalysis have been applied in contexts far removed from Deleuze and Guattari's initial study of French psychiatry. There is a wealth of literature that connects Deleuze to subjects as varied as literature (Marks and "This volume brings together some of the leading voices in the field of Deleuze studies and religion, discussing what a schizoanalysis of religion might be and introduce a variety of ways in which it might be practiced. The authors do not all agree on the extent to which Deleuze and Guattari's schizoanalysis project is antithetical to "religion." However, they do share an enthusiasm for the exploring the ways in which it can contribute to such topics as political theology, liberation theology, Christian doctrine, and spirituality more generally, without losing sight of the important role atheism has to play in Deleuze's broader work. Opening up new lines of flight for Deleuze studies, Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Religion makes rhizomic connections that will be of interest to scholars in other fields including theology, psychology of religion, philosophy of religion and the history and practice of Western esotericism."--Bloomsbury Publishing. This volume brings together some of the leading voices in the field of Deleuze studies to explore – and practice – a variety of approaches to the schizoanalysis of religion. The authors share an enthusiasm for applying Deleuze and Guattari's schizoanalytic project to "religion," but they display significantly different ways of carrying out its creative and destructive tasks. As a whole, the book addresses the relevance of Deleuze for contemporary developments in political theology, liberation theology, Christian doctrine, and the recent growth of interest in spirituality and atheism. Opening up new lines of flight for Deleuze studies, Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Religion makes rhizomic connections that will be of interest to scholars in other fields including theology, psychology of religion, philosophy of religion and the history and practice of Western esotericism. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Notes on Contributors......Page 7 Introduction......Page 10 1 Deleuze’s Theory of Religion Brent Adkins......Page 24 2 Schizoanalysis of the Eucharist: From Oedipal Repetition to Liberating Event Kristien Justaert......Page 50 3 Divine Life: Difference, Becoming, and the Trinity Christopher Ben Simpson......Page 68 4 Deleuze and Guattari’s Machinic Animism Joshua Ramey......Page 84 5 The Apocalyptic Unconscious: Schizoanalysis as Political Theology Aidan Tynan......Page 104 6 The Bricolage of Images: Constructing the Cartographies of the Unconscious Inna Semetsky......Page 126 7 Divine Differentials: The Metaphysics of Gilles Deleuze and Its Significance for Contemporary Theologies Austin Roberts......Page 154 8 The Atheist Machine F. LeRon Shults......Page 172 Index......Page 202