Key Terms in Material Religion

Material religion is a rapidly growing field, and this volume offers an accessible, critical entry into these new areas of research. Each “key term” uses case studies and is accompanied by a color image – an object, practice, space, or site. The entries cut across geographies, histories, and traditions, offering a versatile and engaging text for the classroom.
Key topics covered include:
- Icon, ritual, magic, gender, race
- Sacred, spirit, technology,
- Space, belief, body, brain
- Taste, touch, smell, sound, vision
Each entry demonstrates in clear and jargon-free prose how the key term figures prominently in understanding the materiality of religion. Written by leading international scholars, all entries are linked by the ways materiality stands at the forefront of the understanding of religion, whether that comes from humanistic, social scientific, artistic, curatorial, or other perspectives. Brent Plate brings his expertise and extensive teaching experience to the comprehensive introduction which introduces students to the themes and methods of the material cultural study of religion.
Key Terms in Material Religion provides a much-needed resource for courses on theory and method in religious studies, the anthropology of religion, and the ever-increasing number of courses focused on material religion.