In this Book
- Things: Religion and the Question of Materiality
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: Fordham University Press
summary
That relation has long been conceived in antagonistic terms, privileging spirit
above matter, belief above ritual and objects, meaning above form, and "inward"
contemplation above "outward" action. After all, wasn't the opposition between
spirituality and materiality the defining characteristic of religion, understood as
geared to a transcendental beyond that was immaterial by definition? Grounded in the
rise of religion as a modern category, with Protestantism as its main exponent, this
conceptualization devalues religious things as lacking serious empirical, let alone
theoretical, interest. The resurgence of public religion in our time has exposed the
limitations of this attitude.Taking materiality seriously, this volume uses as a
starting point the insight that religion necessarily requires some kind of
incarnation, through which the beyond to which it refers becomes accessible.
Conjoining rather than separating spirit and matter, incarnation (whether understood
as "the world becoming flesh" or in a broader sense) places at center stage the
question of how the realm of the transcendental, spiritual, or invisible is rendered
tangible in the world.How do things matter in religious discourse and practice? How
are we to account for the value or devaluation, the appraisal or contestation, of
things within particular religious perspectives? How are we to rematerialize our
scholarly approaches to religion? These are the key questions addressed by this
multidisciplinary volume. Focusing on different kinds of things that matter for
religion, including sacred artifacts, images, bodily fluids, sites, and electronic
media, it offers a wide-ranging set of multidisciplinary studies that combine
detailed analysis and critical reflection.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. 1-6
- Illustrations
- pp. 11-14
- PART IAnxieties about Things
- pp. 43-44
- PART I IImages and Incarnations
- pp. 93-94
- IdolatryNietzsche, Blake, and Poussin
- pp. 130-144
- PART I I ISacred Artifacts
- pp. 169-170
- PART I VBodily Fluids
- pp. 231-232
- PART VPublic Space
- pp. 283-284
- PART V IDigital Technologies
- pp. 355-356
- Contributors
- pp. 487-492
Additional Information
ISBN
9780823246533
Related ISBN(s)
9780823239450
MARC Record
OCLC
821725649
Pages
496
Launched on MUSE
2012-08-22
Language
English
Open Access
No