The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion (Oxford Handbooks)

The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion provides a comprehensive overview of the academic study of religion. Written by an international team of leading scholars, its fifty-one chapters are divided thematically into seven sections. The first section addresses five major conceptual aspects of research on religion. Part two surveys eleven main frameworks of analysis, interpretation, and explanation of religion. Reflecting recent turns in the humanities and social sciences, part three considers eight forms of the expression of religion. Part four provides a discussion of the ways societies and religions, or religious organizations, are shaped by different forms of allocation of resources. Other chapters in this section consider law, the media, nature, medicine, politics, science, sports, and tourism. Part five reviews important developments, distinctions, and arguments for each of the selected topics. The study of religion addresses religion as a historical phenomenon and part six looks at seven historical processes. Religion is studied in various ways by many disciplines, and this Handbook shows that the study of religion is an academic discipline in its own right. The disciplinary profile of this volume is reflected in part seven, which considers the history of the discipline and its relevance. Each chapter in the Handbook references at least two different religions to provide fresh and innovative perspectives on key issues in the field. This authoritative collection will advance the state of the discipline and is an invaluable reference for students and scholars. This Handbook Offers An Authoritative And Up-to-date Survey Of Original Research In The Study Of Religion. It's Organised Into Seven Systematic Parts: Religion; Theoretical Approaches; Modes; Environments; Topics; Processes; And The Discipline. Definition / Michael Stausberg And Mark Q. Gardiner -- Historicizing And Translating Religion / Giovanni Casadio -- Theories Of Religion / Michael Stausberg And Steven Engler -- Religion And Spirituality / Heinz Streib And Constantin Klein -- Non-religion / Lois Lee -- Cognitive Science / Armin W. Geertz -- Economics / Peter Seele And Lucas Zapf -- Evolutionary Theory / John H. Shaver, Benjamin Grant Purzycki, And Richard Sosis -- Feminism And Gender Theory / Darlene Juschka -- Hermeneutics / Gavin Flood -- Marxism / Matthew Day -- Postcolonialism / Arvind Mandair -- Semantics / Mark Q. Gardiner And Steven Engler -- Semiotics / Robert A. Yelle -- (post)-structuralism / Paul-françois Tremlett -- Social Theory / Philip A. Mellor And Chris Shilling -- Communication / Volkhard Krech -- Materiality / David Morgan -- Narrative / Jeppe Sinding Jensen -- Performance / Axel Michaels And William S. Sax -- Sound / Rosalind I.j. Hackett -- Space / David Chidester -- Time / David Chidester --^ Economy / Anne Koch -- Law / Benjamin Schonthal -- Media / Oliver Krüger -- Nature / Adrian Ivakhiv -- Medicine / Pamela E. Klassen -- Politics / Hubert Seiwert -- Science / Laura J. Vollmer And Kocku Von Stuckrad -- Sports / Carole M. Cusack -- Tourism / Alex Norman -- Belief / Jason C. Bivins -- Emotion / John Corrigan -- Experience / Craig Martin -- Gift And Sacrifice / Christoph Auffarth -- Gods / Gustavo Benavides -- Initiations And Transitions / Henrik Bogdan -- Priests, Prophets, Sorcerers / Manfred Hutter -- Purity / Hugh B. Urban -- Salvation / Gavin Flood -- Differentiation / Steve Bruce -- The Disintegration And Death Of Religions / Albert De Jong -- Expansion / Asonzeh Ukah -- Globalization / Manuel A. Vasquez And David Garbin -- Individualization And Privatization / Jörg Rüpke -- Tradition And Innovation / Olav Hammer -- Objectification And Commodification / Jeremy Carrette -- Syncretism And Hybridization / Paul Christopher Johnson -- History / Michael Stausberg --^ Relevance / Thomas A. Tweed. Edited By Michael Stausberg And Steven Engler. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Features fifty-one chapters by leading scholars offering a state-of-the-art survey of the discipline Examines conceptual issues of religion, theoretical approaches, modes, environments, topics, and an overview of the history of the discipline Each chapter reviews its topic with reference to at least two different religions Includes chapter summaries, annotated further reading, and end-of-chapter glossaries. The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religions provides a comprehensive overview of the academic study of religions. Written by an international team of leading scholars, its fifty-one chapters are divided thematically into seven sections. The first section addresses five major conceptual aspects of research on religion. Part two surveys eleven main frameworks of analysis, interpretation, and explanation of religion. Reflecting recent turns in the humanities and social sciences, part three considers eight forms of the expression of religion. Part four provides a discussion of the ways societies and religions, or religious organizations, are shaped by different forms of allocation of resources (i.e., economy). Other chapters in this section consider law, the media, nature, medicine, politics, science, sports, and tourism. Part five reviews important developments, distinctions, and arguments for each of the selected topics. The study of religion addresses religion as a historical phenomenon and part six looks at seven historical processes. Religion is studied in various ways by many disciplines, and this Handbook shows that the study of religion is an academic discipline in its own right. The disciplinary profile of this volume is reflected in part seven, which considers the history of the discipline and its relevance. Each chapter in the Handbook references at least two different religions to provide fresh and innovative perspectives on key issues in the field This Handbook offers an authoritative and up-to-date survey of original research in the study of religion. Its fifty-one chapters, written by authors from twelve countries, are organized into seven systematic parts. Part I (“Religion”) comprises chapters on definitions and theories of religion, history/translation, spirituality, and non-religion. Part II (“Theoretical Approaches”) reviews cognitive science, economics, evolutionary theory, feminism/gender theory, hermeneutics, Marxism, postcolonialism, semantics, semiotics, structuralism/poststructuralism, and social theory. Part III (“Modes”) addresses communication, materiality, narrative, performance, sound, space, and time. Part IV (“Environments”) relates religion to economy, law, media, nature, medicine, politics, science, sports, and tourism. Part V (“Topics”) discusses belief, emotion, experience, gift and sacrifice, gods, initiations and transitions, priests/prophets/sorcerers, purity, and salvation. Part VI (“Processes”) deals with differentiation, the disintegration and death of religions, expansion, globalization, individualization/privatization, innovation/tradition, objectification/commoditization, and syncretism/hybridization. Part VII (“The Discipline”) discusses the history and relevance of the study of religion. Contents List of Figures and Tables List of Contributors Introduction: Aims, Scope, and Organization PART I RELIGION 1. Definition 2. Historicizing and Translating Religion 3. Theories of Religion 4. Religion and Spirituality 5. Non- Religion PART II THEORETICAL APPROACHES 6. Cognitive Science 7. Economics 8. Evolutionary Theory 9. Feminism and Gender Theory 10. Hermeneutics 11. Marxism 12. Postcolonialism 13. Semantics 14. Semiotics 15. (Post)structuralism 16. Social Theory PART III MODES 17. Communication 18. Materiality 19. Narrative 20. Performance 21. Sound 22. Space 23. Time PART IV ENVIRONMENTS 24. Economy 25. Law 26. Media 27. Medicine 28. Nature 29. Politics 30. Science 31. Sports 32. Tourism PART V TOPICS 33. Belief 34. Emotion 35. Experience 36. Gift and Sacrifice 37. Gods 38. Initiations and Transitions 39. Priests, Prophets, Sorcerers 40. Purity 41. Salvation PART VI PROCESSES 42. Differentiation 43. The Disintegration and Death of Religions 44. Expansion 45. Globalization 46. Individualization and Privatization 47. Tradition and Innovation 48. Objectification and Commodification 49. Syncretism and Hybridization 50. History 51. Relevance Index of Names Index of Subjects