Religion, Dissonance, and Systems Theory: Comparing Spiritual Traditions

Religious belief systems are often marked by internal dissonance. Mitigating this dissonance can lead to surprising religious phenomena, including blood libels, scapegoating, religious violence, the worship of saints and martyrs, asceticism, austerities, as well as processions, fasting, and clowning. In this study, Ariel Glucklich provides a new approach to understanding how religious actions emerge in the context of belief systems. Providing an innovative psychological and social understanding of the causes that stimulate believers to action, he examines a range of religious phenomena in India, Israel, Austria, Italy, and the United States. Glucklich's new theory enables recognition of the patterns that account for the full complexity of actions inspired by religious beliefs and systems.  His systematic comparison of actions across traditional boundaries offers a novel approach to cause and effect in comparative religion and religious studies more broadly. Glucklich's book also generates new questions regarding a universal phenomenon that has escaped notice up to now.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; 1. The religious system; 2. Gush Emunim and VHP; 3. The martyrdom of Andreas of Rinn; 4. Saint Efisio in Cagliari; 5. Perceiving God; 6. The dissonant body; 7. The religious clown; Conclusion; Bibliography.

Review :
'This is a sophisticated, tightly argued book that focuses on a terribly important but underexplored topic - the underlying structure in any religious system and the consequences of their contradictions. In the modern era, these questions are of paramount importance.' Tanya Lurhmann, Stanford University 'In Religion, Dissonance, and Systems Theory, Professor Glucklich has once again delivered a major contribution to the study of religion, characteristically displaying his polymathic talents. Religion, Dissonance, and Systems Theory is an ambitious piece of scholarship that successfully employs systems theory to advance our understanding of the dynamics of religions and their emergent properties. Glucklich's analysis, which is novel and insightful, focuses on the inherent tensions within religious systems. Throughout Religion, Dissonance, and Systems Theory Glucklich supports his arguments and interpretations via an unparalleled mastery of disparate literatures within the sciences and humanities, and the diversity of scholarly materials he draws upon - across disciplines, history, and geography - is simply astounding. What a privilege it is to read such a book and learn from such a unique scholar.' Richard Sosis, James Barnett Professor of Humanistic Anthropology, University of Connecticut