The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion

by Michael Stausberg (Editor), Steven Engler (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198729587
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/19/2018
Series:	Oxford Handbooks
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	848
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 6.60(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Michael Stausberg is Professor of Religion at the University of Bergen. He was formerly a fellow at the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultual and Social Studies and is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. His previous publications include Contemporary Theories of Religion: A Critical Companion (Routledge, 2009), Religion and Tourism: Crossroads, Destinations and Encounters (Routledge, 2010), and Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism (Equinox, 2008). He is co-editor of The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism (with Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina; Wiley Blackwell, 2015) and The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion (with Steven Engler; Routledge, 2013).

Steven Engler is Professor of Religious Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary. He is Professor Colaborador in the Programa de Estudos Pos-Graduados em Ciencias da Religiao at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo and Affiliate Professor with the Department of Religion, Concordia University, Montreal. He is the co-editor of Historicizing Tradition in the Study of Religion (with Gregory Price Grieve; De Gruyter, 2005).

Table of Contents

List of Figures and TablesList of ContributorsIntroduction: Aims, Scope, and Organization, Michael Stausberg and Steven EnglerPart I. Religion1. Definition, Michael Stausberg & Mark Q. Gardiner2. Historicizing and Translating Religion, Giovanni Casadio3. Theories of Religion, Michael Stausberg & Steven Engler4. Religion and Spirituality, Heinz Streib and Constantin Klein5. Non-religion, Lois LeePart II. Theoretical Approaches6. Cognitive Science, Armin W. Geertz7. Economics, Peter Seele & Lucas Zapf8. Evolutionary Theory, John H. Shaver, Benjamin Grant Purzycki, and Richard Sosis9. Feminism and Gender Theory, Darlene Juschka10. Hermeneutics, Gavin Flood11. Marxism, Matthew Day12. Postcolonialism, Arvind Mandair13. Semantics, Mark Q. Gardiner and Steven Engler14. Semiotics, Robert A. Yelle15. (Post)-structuralism, Paul-Francois Tremlett16. Social Theory, Philip A. Mellor and Chris ShillingPart III. Modes17. Communication, Volkhard Krech18. Materiality, David Morgan19. Narrative, Jeppe Sinding Jensen20. Performance, Axel Michaels and William S. Sax21. Sound, Rosalind I. J. Hackett22. Space, David Chidester23. Time, David ChidesterPart IV. Environments24. Economy, Anne Koch25. Law, Benjamin Schonthal26. Media, Oliver Kruger27. Nature, Adrian Ivakhiv28. Medicine, Pamela Klassen29. Politics, Hubert Seiwert30. Science, Laura J. Vollmer and Kocku von StuckradSports, Carole M. CusackTourism, Alex NormanPart V. Topics33. Belief, Jason C. Bivins34. Emotion, John Corrigan35. Experience, Craig Martin36. Gift and Sacrifice, Christoph Auffarth37. Gods, Gustavo Benavides38. Initiation and Transitions, Henrik Bogdan39. Priests, Prophets, Sorcerers, Manfred Hutter40. Purity, Hugh B. Urban41. Salvation, Gavin FloodPart VI. Processes42. Differentiation, Steve Bruce43. The Disintegration and Death of Religions, Albert de Jong44. Expansion, Asonzeh Ukah45. Globalization, Manuel A. Vasquez and David Garbin46. Individualization and Privatization, Jorg Rupke47. Tradition and Innovation, Olav Hammer48. Objectification and Commodification, Jeremy Carrette49. Syncretism and Hybridization, Paul Christopher JohnsonPart VII. The Discipline50. History, Michael Stausberg51. Relevance, Thomas A. Tweed

Editorial Reviews

"The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion is an impressively thorough treatment, and it's difficult to imagine a single volume that could accomplish a more complete survey of the field of religious studies."—C. Travis Webb, Reading Religion

"[A] major new contribution to the growing body of reference volumes in the study of religion At their best, the chapters in this volume place contemporary debates in historical context, introduce key figures, helpfully schematize the literature, puncture stereotypes, relate topics to multiple religious traditions, and suggest avenues for further research."—Liane F. Carlson, Journal of the American Academy of Religion

From the Publisher