Religions in Practice

Religions in Practice: An Approach to the Anthropology of Religion, 4/e By: John R Bowen of Washington University in St. Louis Basic Approach: This widely used textbook offers a unique perspective on how people engage in everyday religious practiceslike prayer, sacrifice, initiation, and healingby investigating broad-scale issues, such as transnationalism, gender, and religious laws. No other text examines the full spectrum of religions, from small-scale societies to full-blown "world religious movements." The in-depth treatment of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity is of particular interest to students, and is easily expanded to include field projects directly related to material covered in the text. Highlights of the New Edition: Chapter 5, "Transforming Selves", engages religion on a personal level by asking how people engaged in prayer or initiation or conversion change their ideas of who they are. Chapter 7, "Science and Religion", now includes discussions of what science has to say about religion and how religious believers can teach science. Chapter 9, "Worship and Hierarchy", discusses the worship tradition from ethnographic, historical, and political perspectives. Chapter 10, "Images and Faith: Focus on Worldwide Catholicism", emphasizes the importance of imagery in carrying Catholicism into new lands. Chapter 12, "Transnational Diaspora Religions", emphasizes the complex flows of ideas and practices across continents and over centuries. Chapter 13, "Focus on Muslims in Europe", examines the distinct patterns of Islamic adaptation across European countries. Chapter 14. "Religions, Radicalism and Violence", adds new discussions of why cross-religious violence occurs in some places and not others, and emphasizes the importance of looking for social and political factors to explain these patterns of conflict. Chapter 15, "Secularism and Religions in Modern States", looks at the ways in which secular states govern religious diversity through political and legal structures.Bowen, John R. is the author of 'Religions in Practice', published 2007 under ISBN 9780205578610 and ISBN 0205578616.