Introducing Religion

Essays in Honor of Jonathan Z.Smith

Willi Braun, Russell T. McCutcheon

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN:
  9781134937110
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The study of religion encompasses ordinary human social practice and is not limited to the extraordinary or divine. 'Introducing Religion' brings together leading international scholars in the field of religious studies to examine religion as integral to everyday social practice. The book establishes a theoretical framework for the study of religion to analyse prayer, ritual, science, morality and politics in relation to the world's major religions. It will be of interest to students of theory and method in religious studies seeking a clear introduction to the multifaceted nature of religion.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• INTRODUCING SMITH
• CARGO CULT SCIENCE AND THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS: GENEALOGY IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATION
• REDESCRIBING MAṆḌALAS: A TEST CASE IN BODH GAYĀ, INDIA
• THE GOSPEL OF MARK AS REFLECTION ON EXILE AND IDENTITY
• “MAP-MAKER, MAP-MAKER, MAKE ME A MAP”: REDESCRIBING GRECO-ROMAN “ELECTIVE SOCIAL FORMATIONS”
• BELIEF: A CLASSIFICATORY LACUNA AND DISCIPLINARY “PROBLEM”
• AN OCCASION FOR THOUGHT
• COMPARING PRAYER: ON SCIENCE, UNIVERSALS, AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
• ON HOW MAKING DIFFERENCES MAKES A DIFFERENCE
• DECONSTRUCTING THE ELIADEAN PARADIGM: SYMBOL
• COMPARISON: CATEGORIES, METHODS, AND MISCHIEFS—THE CASE OF THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS
• INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERS: STUDYING HINDUISM NON-RELIGIOUSLY?
• SMITH, DERRIDA, AND AMOS
• IMAGINATION BOUND AND UNBOUND
• TELLING THE TRUTH CAN BE DANGEROUS BUSINESS
• FINDING ONE’S PLACE: MAGIC, SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND INTERDISCIPLINARITY
• IS IT MEANINGFUL TO SPEAK OF A GRECO-ROMAN DIASPORA JUDAISM? A CASE STUDY IN TAXONOMICAL ISSUES IN THE STUDY OF ANCIENT JUDAISM
• THINK GLOBALLY, GET DEATH THREATS LOCALLY: THE POLITICS OF STUDYING HINDUISM
• SACRED PERSISTENCE?
• DO RITUALS DO? AND HOW DO THEY DO IT? COGNITION AND THE STUDY OF RITUAL
• READER AS PRODUCER: JONATHAN Z. SMITH ON EXEGESIS, INGENUITY, ELABORATION
• RE: PAUL
• RABBI JEREMIAH
• MAPS, GENEALOGY, AND DIFFERENCE: TOWARDS RECOGNITION OF OUR AMBULATORY NATURE
• HOMINIBUS VAGIS VITAM: THE WANDERING OF HOMO HELLENISTICUS IN AN AGE OF TRANSFORMATION
• CONNECTING WITH EVOLUTIONARY MODELS: NEW PATTERNS IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION?
• WHAT A DIFFERENCE THEORY MAKES
• THE ONTOLOGY OF RELIGION
• COMPARING LAW COMPARING RELIGION
• THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION AND ITS CULTURED DESPISERS
• INTRODUCING RELIGION
• Index of Authors