About the Book
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Examines religious practices from an anthropological perspective
Religions in Practice, 6/e, offers an issues-oriented perspective on everyday religious behaviors — prayer, sacrifice, initiation, healing, etc. — by focusing on such topics as transnationalism, gender, and religious laws. The text examines a full spectrum of religions, from small-scale societies to major, established religions. The in-depth treatment of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity is particularly noteworthy and easily supplemented with field projects directly related to the text.
MySearchLab is a part of the Bowen program. Research and writing tools, including access to academic journals, help students explore religion in even greater depth. To provide students with flexibility, students can download the eText to a tablet using the free Pearson eText app.
Table of Contents:
In this Section:
1) Brief Table of Contents
2) Full Table of Contents
BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: Studying Religion through Practice
Chapter 2: The Twin Transformations of “Religion”
Chapter 3: Domains and Boundaries of Religion
Chapter 4: Rituals of Transition
Chapter 5: Healing through Religion
Chapter 6: Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Modernity
Chapter 7: Worship, Hierarchy, Conflict: Focus on Hinduism
Chapter 8: Imagery and Faith: Focus on Catholicism
Chapter 9: Transatlantic Religion
Chapter 10: Boundaries and Selves in Orthodox Judaism
Chapter 11: Speech and Grace in Protestantism
Chapter 12: New Religious Movements
Chapter 13: Revelation and Authority in Islam
Chapter 14: Migration and Adaptation: Focus on Muslims in Europe
Chapter 15: Virtual Religion
Chapter 16: Secularisms and Religions in Modern States
FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: Studying Religion through Practice
What Is “Religion”?
An Anthropological Approach to Religion
Practices, Contexts, Diversity
Chapter 2: The Twin Transformations of “Religion”
Axial Age Transformations
Enlightenment Transformations
Social Theory and the Anthropology of Religion
Chapter 3: Domains and Boundaries of Religion
Combining Religious Practices in Japan
The State and Religion
Imposed Definitions of Religion
Chapter 4: Rituals of Transition
Rites of Passage
The Pilgrimage to Mecca
Death Rituals and Society
Regenerating Life from Death
Grief and Ritual Form
Chapter 5: Healing through Religion
Narratives and Healing
Modern Magic in Japanese New Religions
What does Science say about Prayer?
Chapter 6: Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Modernity
African Sorcery and Witchcraft
Sorcery and Modernity
Puritan Witchcraft
Chapter 7: Worship, Hierarchy, Conflict: Focus on Hinduism
Sacrifice, Offerings, and Deities
Bathing at Benares
Muslim–Hindu Violence
Chapter 8: Imagery and Faith: Focus on Catholicism
Relics and Images
Mary in European Societies
Chapter 9: Transatlantic Religion
Mary in Mesoamerica
Africa and Brazil across the Atlantic
Black Carib Religion in Honduras and New York City
Chapter 10: Boundaries and Selves in Orthodox Judaism
Taboos and Community in Judaism
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities
Growing Up Orthodox
Chapter 11: Speech and Grace in Protestantism
The Letter and the Spirit of Scripture
Singing and Certainty among U.S. Primitive Baptists
Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches
Encounters and Conversions
Chapter 12: New Religious Movements
Revitalization Movements
Land, Wealth, and Religious Visions
Cults, Recruitment, and Violence
Why Do People Join Violent Movements?
Chapter 13: Revelation and Authority in Islam
The Qur’®n as Recitation of God’s Speech
Authority
Interpretations of Sacrifice
Chapter 14: Migration and Adaptation: Focus on Muslims in Europe
Migration and Transnational Ties
Adapting Sacrifice to France
Can European Societies Be Muslim?
Chapter 15: Virtual Religion
What Can You Do Online?
Information, Communication, and Performance
Experience and Community
Comparative Communities
Chapter 16: Secularisms and Religions in Modern States
How to Think about “Secular States”
Religion and Public Life in the United States
Three European Variants
When Religion Underlies Law
About the Author :
John R. Bowen is the Dunbar-Van Cleve Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and recurrent Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. He has been studying Islam and society in Indonesia since the late 1970s, and since 2001 has worked in France, England, and North America on problems of pluralism, law, and religion, and in particular on contemporary efforts to rethink Islamic norms and civil law. He also writes regularly for The Boston Review. His current two research projects concern sharia and civil law in England, and Islamic courts and property disputes in Indonesia.
Review :
“Bowen's Religions in Practice provides a very compelling introduction to the anthropology of religion, integrating theoretical discussions with ethnographic material from a wide range of societies, especially Islam in its diverse manifestations. While covering traditional topics like magic, witchcraft, and spiritual healing, the book also breaks new ground by covering ultra-contemporary political issues like migration, nationalism, transnationalism, law, and secularism.”
- Sean O'Neill, University of Oklahoma
“An excellent introduction to Anthropology of Religion. It lays out the issues clearly, describes different theoretical approaches, and illustrates its points with lots of examples.”
- Mark Webb, Texas Tech University
“An eclectic book build around the practice of the world religions.”
- Derrick Lemons, the University of Georgia
“Its coverage of a range of issues and phenomena is first-rate. A thorough and very useful textbook, with particularly helpful attention to theory, method, and non-Western religious phenomena.”
- James Findlay, California State University Northridge
“Clear, anthropologically oriented discussion of the study of religion”
- Eric Rovie, Georgia Perimeter College-Newton Campus
“It is a clearly written, comprehensive text on the anthropology of religion that focuses primarily on religion as practice rather than as a belief system. It is current and includes important topics relevant to the modern situation. It is well-balanced in terms of the presentation of theory/concepts and case examples.”
- Frances Purifoy, University of Louisville
