Religious Statues and Personhood

Religious Statues and Personhood

Author: Amy R. Whitehead

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2013-09-12

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1441164235

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Objects such as statues and icons have long been problematic in the study of religion, especially in European Christianities. Through examining two groups, the contemporary Pagan Glastonbury Goddess religion in the Southwest of England and a cult of the Virgin Mary in Andalusia, Spain, Amy Whitehead asserts that objects can be more than representational or symbolic. In the context of increasing academic interest in materiality in religions and cultures, she shows how statues, or 'things', are not always interacted with as if they are inert material against which we typically define ourselves as 'modern' humans. Bringing two distinct cultures and religions into tension, animism and 'the fetish' are used as ways in which to think about how humans interact with religious statues in Western Europe and beyond. Both theoretical and descriptive, the book illustrates how religions and cultural practices can be re-examined as performances that necessarily involve not only human persons, but also objects.


Book Synopsis Religious Statues and Personhood by : Amy R. Whitehead

Download or read book Religious Statues and Personhood written by Amy R. Whitehead and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-09-12 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Objects such as statues and icons have long been problematic in the study of religion, especially in European Christianities. Through examining two groups, the contemporary Pagan Glastonbury Goddess religion in the Southwest of England and a cult of the Virgin Mary in Andalusia, Spain, Amy Whitehead asserts that objects can be more than representational or symbolic. In the context of increasing academic interest in materiality in religions and cultures, she shows how statues, or 'things', are not always interacted with as if they are inert material against which we typically define ourselves as 'modern' humans. Bringing two distinct cultures and religions into tension, animism and 'the fetish' are used as ways in which to think about how humans interact with religious statues in Western Europe and beyond. Both theoretical and descriptive, the book illustrates how religions and cultural practices can be re-examined as performances that necessarily involve not only human persons, but also objects.

Personhood of God

Personhood of God

Author: Yochanan Muffs

Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing

Published: 2009-03

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1580233384

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A fascinating exploration of the many faces of God and what they reveal about our own humanity. He was a whole pantheon in Himself.... He constantly appeared in many and ever-changing roles lest He be frozen and converted into the dumb idols He Himself despised. God was a polyvalent personality who, by mirroring to man His many faces, provided the models that man so needed to survive and flourish. This is the true humanity of God. --from the Introduction In scholarly but accessible terms, with many startling and controversial insights, renowned Bible scholar Dr. Yochanan Muffs examines the anthropomorphic evolution of the Divine Image--from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the "chess-player," God the ultimate master--and how these different images of God have shaped our faith and world view. Muffs also examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love throughout the Bible have helped develop the contemporary human condition and our enriching dialectic between faith and doubt.


Book Synopsis Personhood of God by : Yochanan Muffs

Download or read book Personhood of God written by Yochanan Muffs and published by Jewish Lights Publishing. This book was released on 2009-03 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating exploration of the many faces of God and what they reveal about our own humanity. He was a whole pantheon in Himself.... He constantly appeared in many and ever-changing roles lest He be frozen and converted into the dumb idols He Himself despised. God was a polyvalent personality who, by mirroring to man His many faces, provided the models that man so needed to survive and flourish. This is the true humanity of God. --from the Introduction In scholarly but accessible terms, with many startling and controversial insights, renowned Bible scholar Dr. Yochanan Muffs examines the anthropomorphic evolution of the Divine Image--from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the "chess-player," God the ultimate master--and how these different images of God have shaped our faith and world view. Muffs also examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love throughout the Bible have helped develop the contemporary human condition and our enriching dialectic between faith and doubt.

Space, Place and Religious Landscapes

Space, Place and Religious Landscapes

Author: Darrelyn Gunzburg

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-10-01

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1350079901

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Exploring sacred mountains around the world, this book examines whether bonding and reverence to a mountain is intrinsic to the mountain, constructed by people, or a mutual encounter. Chapters explore mountains in England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Ireland, the Himalaya, Japan, Greece, USA, Asia and South America, and embrace the union of sky, landscape and people to examine the religious dynamics between human and non-human entities. This book takes as its starting point the fact that mountains physically mediate between land and sky and act as metaphors for bridges from one realm to another, recognising that mountains are relational and that landscapes form personal and group cosmologies. The book fuses ideas of space, place and material religion with cultural environmentalism and takes an interconnected approach to material religio-landscapes. In this way it fills the gap between lived religious traditions, personal reflection, phenomenology, historical context, environmental philosophy, myths and performativity. In defining material religion as active engagement with mountain-forming and humanshaping landscapes, the research and ideas presented here provide theories that are widely applicable to other forms of material religion.


Book Synopsis Space, Place and Religious Landscapes by : Darrelyn Gunzburg

Download or read book Space, Place and Religious Landscapes written by Darrelyn Gunzburg and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring sacred mountains around the world, this book examines whether bonding and reverence to a mountain is intrinsic to the mountain, constructed by people, or a mutual encounter. Chapters explore mountains in England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Ireland, the Himalaya, Japan, Greece, USA, Asia and South America, and embrace the union of sky, landscape and people to examine the religious dynamics between human and non-human entities. This book takes as its starting point the fact that mountains physically mediate between land and sky and act as metaphors for bridges from one realm to another, recognising that mountains are relational and that landscapes form personal and group cosmologies. The book fuses ideas of space, place and material religion with cultural environmentalism and takes an interconnected approach to material religio-landscapes. In this way it fills the gap between lived religious traditions, personal reflection, phenomenology, historical context, environmental philosophy, myths and performativity. In defining material religion as active engagement with mountain-forming and humanshaping landscapes, the research and ideas presented here provide theories that are widely applicable to other forms of material religion.

Personhood of God

Personhood of God

Author: Dr. Yochanan Muffs

Publisher: Turner Publishing Company

Published: 2011-10-20

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 158023528X

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A fascinating exploration of the many faces of God and what they reveal about our own humanity He was a whole pantheon in Himself.... He constantly appeared in many and ever-changing roles lest He be frozen and converted into the dumb idols He Himself despised. God was a polyvalent personality who, by mirroring to man His many faces, provided the models that man so needed to survive and flourish. This is the true humanity of God. —from the Introduction In scholarly but accessible terms, with many startling and controversial insights, renowned Bible scholar Dr. Yochanan Muffs examines the anthropomorphic evolution of the Divine Image—from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the "chess-player," God the ultimate master—and how these different images of God have shaped our faith and world view. Muffs also examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love throughout the Bible have helped develop the contemporary human condition and our enriching dialectic between faith and doubt.


Book Synopsis Personhood of God by : Dr. Yochanan Muffs

Download or read book Personhood of God written by Dr. Yochanan Muffs and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2011-10-20 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating exploration of the many faces of God and what they reveal about our own humanity He was a whole pantheon in Himself.... He constantly appeared in many and ever-changing roles lest He be frozen and converted into the dumb idols He Himself despised. God was a polyvalent personality who, by mirroring to man His many faces, provided the models that man so needed to survive and flourish. This is the true humanity of God. —from the Introduction In scholarly but accessible terms, with many startling and controversial insights, renowned Bible scholar Dr. Yochanan Muffs examines the anthropomorphic evolution of the Divine Image—from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the "chess-player," God the ultimate master—and how these different images of God have shaped our faith and world view. Muffs also examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love throughout the Bible have helped develop the contemporary human condition and our enriching dialectic between faith and doubt.

Lifeblood of the Parish

Lifeblood of the Parish

Author: Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2020-12-08

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1479830496

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A New York City ethnography that explores men's unique approaches to Catholic devotion Every Saturday, and sometimes on weekday evenings, a group of men in old clothes can be found in the basement of the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each year the parish hosts the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and San Paolino di Nola. Its crowning event is the Dance of the Giglio, where the men lift a seventy-foot tall, four-ton tower through the streets, bearing its weight on their shoulders. Drawing on six years of research, Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada reveals the making of this Italian American tower, as the men work year-round to prepare for the Feast. She argues that by paying attention to this behind-the-scenes activity, largely overlooked devotional practices shed new light on how men embody and enact their religiosity in sometimes unexpected ways. Lifeblood of the Parish evocatively and accessibly presents the sensory and material world of Catholicism in Brooklyn, where religion is raucous and playful. Maldonado-Estrada here offers a new lens through which to understand men’s religious practice, showing how men and boys become socialized into their tradition and express devotion through unexpected acts like painting, woodworking, fundraising, and sporting tattoos. These practices, though not usually considered religious, are central to the ways the men she studied embodied their Catholic identity and formed bonds to the church.


Book Synopsis Lifeblood of the Parish by : Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada

Download or read book Lifeblood of the Parish written by Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York City ethnography that explores men's unique approaches to Catholic devotion Every Saturday, and sometimes on weekday evenings, a group of men in old clothes can be found in the basement of the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each year the parish hosts the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and San Paolino di Nola. Its crowning event is the Dance of the Giglio, where the men lift a seventy-foot tall, four-ton tower through the streets, bearing its weight on their shoulders. Drawing on six years of research, Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada reveals the making of this Italian American tower, as the men work year-round to prepare for the Feast. She argues that by paying attention to this behind-the-scenes activity, largely overlooked devotional practices shed new light on how men embody and enact their religiosity in sometimes unexpected ways. Lifeblood of the Parish evocatively and accessibly presents the sensory and material world of Catholicism in Brooklyn, where religion is raucous and playful. Maldonado-Estrada here offers a new lens through which to understand men’s religious practice, showing how men and boys become socialized into their tradition and express devotion through unexpected acts like painting, woodworking, fundraising, and sporting tattoos. These practices, though not usually considered religious, are central to the ways the men she studied embodied their Catholic identity and formed bonds to the church.

Material Religion in Modern Britain

Material Religion in Modern Britain

Author: Timothy Willem Jones

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-01-26

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 113754063X

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This volume contributes towards to developments in the study of religion that illuminate the plural nature of religious change in modern Britain. It makes a critical intervention in British studies of religion by bringing the analytical insights of material culture, to bear on religion in the British World.


Book Synopsis Material Religion in Modern Britain by : Timothy Willem Jones

Download or read book Material Religion in Modern Britain written by Timothy Willem Jones and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-01-26 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contributes towards to developments in the study of religion that illuminate the plural nature of religious change in modern Britain. It makes a critical intervention in British studies of religion by bringing the analytical insights of material culture, to bear on religion in the British World.

Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture

Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture

Author: Paul-François Tremlett

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-09-21

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1350003433

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Through revisiting and challenging what we think we know about the work of Edward Burnett Tylor, a founding figure of anthropology, this volume explores new connections and insights that link Tylor and his work to present concerns in new and important ways. At the publication of Primitive Culture in 1871, Tylor was at the centre of anthropological research on religion and culture, but today Tylor's position in the anthropological canon is rarely acknowledged. Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture does not claim to present a definitive, new Tylor. The old Tylor - the founder of British anthropology; the definer of religion; the intellectualist; the evolutionist; the liberal; the utilitarian; the avatar of white, Protestant rationalism; the Tylor of the canon - remains. Part I explore debates and contexts of Tylor's lifetime, while the chapters in Part II explore a series of new Tylors, including Tylor the ethnographer and Tylor the Spiritualist, re-writing the legacy of the founder of anthropology in the process. Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture is essential reading for anyone interested in the study of religion and the anthropology of religion.


Book Synopsis Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture by : Paul-François Tremlett

Download or read book Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture written by Paul-François Tremlett and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-09-21 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through revisiting and challenging what we think we know about the work of Edward Burnett Tylor, a founding figure of anthropology, this volume explores new connections and insights that link Tylor and his work to present concerns in new and important ways. At the publication of Primitive Culture in 1871, Tylor was at the centre of anthropological research on religion and culture, but today Tylor's position in the anthropological canon is rarely acknowledged. Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture does not claim to present a definitive, new Tylor. The old Tylor - the founder of British anthropology; the definer of religion; the intellectualist; the evolutionist; the liberal; the utilitarian; the avatar of white, Protestant rationalism; the Tylor of the canon - remains. Part I explore debates and contexts of Tylor's lifetime, while the chapters in Part II explore a series of new Tylors, including Tylor the ethnographer and Tylor the Spiritualist, re-writing the legacy of the founder of anthropology in the process. Edward Burnett Tylor, Religion and Culture is essential reading for anyone interested in the study of religion and the anthropology of religion.

Introducing Anthropology of Religion

Introducing Anthropology of Religion

Author: Jack David Eller

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-12-27

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1000487253

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This clear and engaging guide introduces students to key areas of the field and shows how to apply an anthropological approach to the study of religion in the contemporary world. Written by an experienced teacher, it covers major traditional topics including definitions, theories, and beliefs, as well as symbols, myth, and ritual. The book also explores important but often overlooked issues such as morality, violence, fundamentalism, secularization, and new religious movements. The chapters all contain lively case studies of religions practiced around the world. The third edition of Introducing Anthropology of Religion is fully updated and contains additional content on material religion, visual religion, and affect theory, and a new chapter takes a closer look at medical and health topics. The author encourages the reader to engage throughout with the unifying themes of race, gender, and power, and how these themes are intertwined with anthropology of religion. Images, a glossary, and questions for discussion are included and additional resources are provided via a companion website.


Book Synopsis Introducing Anthropology of Religion by : Jack David Eller

Download or read book Introducing Anthropology of Religion written by Jack David Eller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-27 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This clear and engaging guide introduces students to key areas of the field and shows how to apply an anthropological approach to the study of religion in the contemporary world. Written by an experienced teacher, it covers major traditional topics including definitions, theories, and beliefs, as well as symbols, myth, and ritual. The book also explores important but often overlooked issues such as morality, violence, fundamentalism, secularization, and new religious movements. The chapters all contain lively case studies of religions practiced around the world. The third edition of Introducing Anthropology of Religion is fully updated and contains additional content on material religion, visual religion, and affect theory, and a new chapter takes a closer look at medical and health topics. The author encourages the reader to engage throughout with the unifying themes of race, gender, and power, and how these themes are intertwined with anthropology of religion. Images, a glossary, and questions for discussion are included and additional resources are provided via a companion website.

Embodying the Sacred

Embodying the Sacred

Author: Nancy E. van Deusen

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2017-12-22

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0822372282

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In seventeenth-century Lima, pious Catholic women gained profound theological understanding and enacted expressions of spiritual devotion by engaging with a wide range of sacred texts and objects, as well as with one another, their families, and ecclesiastical authorities. In Embodying the Sacred, Nancy E. van Deusen considers how women created and navigated a spiritual existence within the colonial city's complex social milieu. Through close readings of diverse primary sources, van Deusen shows that these women recognized the divine—or were objectified as conduits of holiness—in innovative and powerful ways: dressing a religious statue, performing charitable acts, sharing interiorized spiritual visions, constructing autobiographical texts, or offering their hair or fingernails to disciples as living relics. In these manifestations of piety, each of these women transcended the limited outlets available to them for expressing and enacting their faith in colonial Lima, and each transformed early modern Catholicism in meaningful ways.


Book Synopsis Embodying the Sacred by : Nancy E. van Deusen

Download or read book Embodying the Sacred written by Nancy E. van Deusen and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2017-12-22 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In seventeenth-century Lima, pious Catholic women gained profound theological understanding and enacted expressions of spiritual devotion by engaging with a wide range of sacred texts and objects, as well as with one another, their families, and ecclesiastical authorities. In Embodying the Sacred, Nancy E. van Deusen considers how women created and navigated a spiritual existence within the colonial city's complex social milieu. Through close readings of diverse primary sources, van Deusen shows that these women recognized the divine—or were objectified as conduits of holiness—in innovative and powerful ways: dressing a religious statue, performing charitable acts, sharing interiorized spiritual visions, constructing autobiographical texts, or offering their hair or fingernails to disciples as living relics. In these manifestations of piety, each of these women transcended the limited outlets available to them for expressing and enacting their faith in colonial Lima, and each transformed early modern Catholicism in meaningful ways.

Making Religion

Making Religion

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-03-11

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 9004309187

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Making Religion provides a unique overview of theoretical and practical aspects of the discursive study of religion. Leading scholars in the field discuss the opportunities and challenges of discourse analysis and its application in the study of religion.


Book Synopsis Making Religion by :

Download or read book Making Religion written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-03-11 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making Religion provides a unique overview of theoretical and practical aspects of the discursive study of religion. Leading scholars in the field discuss the opportunities and challenges of discourse analysis and its application in the study of religion.