Religions In Practice: An Approach to the Anthropology of Religion (3rd Edition)

The third edition of this widely popular book offers a unique perspective on how people engage in everyday religious practices , such as prayer, sacrifice, pilgrimage, and dress, as well as investigates major issues of gender, nation-states, and laws with respect to religion.

No other book examines the full spectrum of religions from small-scale societies to full-blown “world religious movements.” The in-depth treatment of Islam and Christianity is of particular interest to students, and is easily expanded to include field projects directly related to material covered in the text. As one reviewer writes, “In our post 9/11 era, it is great to have a book whose author has done fieldwork in Indonesia and is so knowledgeable about Islam. ” The third edition includes new material on the anthropology of war, expanded coverage of American religions and an exploration of how non-practitioners of organized religion turn to alternative beliefs, such as health food, tarot cards and psychics.

This widely used textbook offers a unique perspective on how people engage in everyday religious practices, such as prayer, sacrifice, pilgrimage, and dress, as well as investigates major issues of gender, nation-states, and laws with respect to religion.

Highlights of the Third Edition

• Chapter 1, “Studying Religion through Practice” brings the entire volume up to date by relating the approach taken in the text to post-9/11 concerns.
• A new Chapter 2, “Social Theory in the Anthropology of Religion,” considers the role of social theory in shaping the study of religion through an examination of the contemporary importance of work by Tylor, Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Freud, and more recent theorists.
• Chapters 3 and 4 from the Second Edition have been combined into a single chapter―Chapter 4, “Rituals and the Shaping of Emotions.”
• Chapter 6, “Patterns, Powers, and the Self” includes new sections on sports magic and new religions in the United States including Wicca or modern witchcraft.
• An entirely new Chapter 14, “Religion, Violence, and War,” examines the role that religious beliefs and organizations play in promoting violence and war.

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