Art Is a Spiritual Path: Engaging the Sacred through the Practice of Art and Writing

Manser, Martin

<p><em>Religion: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies</em> serves as a primer to the study of religion. By employing literature, film, art, history, and other disciplines, the approximately 22 thematic chapters begin with a brief history of the modern practice, segue into religion and the social sciences, continues with chapters on gnosticism, material culture, studies of myths and rituals, which serve as introductions to the subfields covered in the succeeding nine volumes in the series. Targeting undergraduates as well as the educated lay reader, <em>Religion: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies</em> introduces themes of subsequent volumes in the series as well as a selection of additional topics (e.g., environment, medicine, poetry). Chapters are written by eminent scholars, are peer reviewed, include illustrations, and offer bibliographies to encourage further research. The volume concludes with a glossary and a comprehensive index.

<p><em>Religion: Social Religion</em> is broken into four parts: psychology of religion, sociology of religion, anthropology of religion, and the historical method. Each section will start with an overview of the discipline, then cover the originative figures who shaped the field, followed by a historical and contemporary view of the field, and concluding with the major criticisms, debates, and future of the field. Targeting undergraduates as well as the educated lay reader, <em>Religion: Social Religion</em> introduces the study of religion through the lens of social science. Chapters are written by eminent scholars, are peer reviewed, include illustrations, and offer bibliographies to encourage further research. The volume concludes with a glossary and a comprehensive index.

<p><em>Religion: Narrating Religion </em>is part of the Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks series dedicated to the study of religion. Composed of twenty-three thematic chapters, this volume examines the ways in which people express ideas about religions and within religions, through oral and written speech, rituals, and the visual arts. The first section concentrates on the role of narratives in the expression of religious beliefs and what people think those narratives can be used to do. The second section looks at the role of narratives in helping to create and sustain beliefs. How people tell stories about religions is the focus of the third section. The final section addresses the ways in which religious beliefs and practices have been interpreted by people who have tried to understand, use, and critique them. The volume also includes bibliographies, filmographies, images, a glossary, and a comprehensive index.<br />

<p>Composed of twenty-two thematic chapters, <em>Embodied Religion</em> orients students and scholars to the critical study of religion, gender, sexuality, and the body. The introduction and first section provide a foundational overview of key terms, topics, and questions for such scholarly work. In the second section, essays examine the multiple and complex ways that various traditionsâ from Hinduism to Christianity to Paganismâ seek to regulate and celebrate embodiment and desire. A final section examines relevant theoretical approaches, including ethnography, phenomenology, queer studies, and disability studies. The volume also includes bibliographies filmographies, images, a glossary, and a comprehensive index, all of which aid the reader in exploring this rich, rewarding, and relevant field.<br />

Kripal, Jeffrey