The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion

"The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion is an impressively thorough treatment, and it's difficult to imagine a single volume that could accomplish a more complete survey of the field of religious studies."--C. Travis Webb, Reading Religion "[A] major new contribution to the growing body of reference volumes in the study of religion At their best, the chapters in this volume place contemporary debates in historical context, introduce key figures, helpfully schematize the literature, puncture stereotypes, relate topics to multiple religious traditions, and suggest avenues for further research."--Liane F. Carlson, Journal of the American Academy of Religion

Michael Stausberg is Professor of Religion at the University of Bergen. He was formerly a fellow at the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultual and Social Studies and is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. His previous publications include Contemporary Theories of Religion: A Critical Companion (Routledge, 2009), Religion and Tourism: Crossroads, Destinations and Encounters (Routledge, 2010), and Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism (Equinox, 2008). He is co-editor of The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism (with Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina; Wiley Blackwell, 2015) and The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion (with Steven Engler; Routledge, 2013). Steven Engler is Professor of Religious Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary. He is Professor Colaborador in the Programa de Estudos Pos-Graduados em Ciencias da Religiao at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo and Affiliate Professor with the Department of Religion, Concordia University, Montreal. He is the co-editor of Historicizing Tradition in the Study of Religion (with Gregory Price Grieve; De Gruyter, 2005).

List of Figures and Tables List of Contributors Michael Stausberg and Steven Engler: Introduction: Aims, Scope, and Organization Part I. Religion 1: Michael Stausberg & Mark Q. Gardiner: Definition 2: Giovanni Casadio: Historicizing and Translating Religion 3: Michael Stausberg & Steven Engler: Theories of Religion 4: Heinz Streib and Constantin Klein: Religion and Spirituality 5: Lois Lee: Non-religion Part II. Theoretical Approaches 6: Armin W. Geertz: Cognitive Science 7: Peter Seele & Lucas Zapf: Economics 8: John H. Shaver, Benjamin Grant Purzycki, and Richard Sosis: Evolutionary Theory 9: Darlene Juschka: Feminism and Gender Theory 10: Gavin Flood: Hermeneutics 11: Matthew Day: Marxism 12: Arvind Mandair: Postcolonialism 13: Mark Q. Gardiner and Steven Engler: Semantics 14: Robert A. Yelle: Semiotics 15: Paul-Francois Tremlett: (Post)-structuralism 16: Philip A. Mellor and Chris Shilling: Social Theory Part III. Modes 17: Volkhard Krech: Communication 18: David Morgan: Materiality 19: Jeppe Sinding Jensen: Narrative 20: Axel Michaels and William S. Sax: Performance 21: Rosalind I. J. Hackett: Sound 22: David Chidester: Space 23: David Chidester: Time Part IV. Environments 24: Anne Koch: Economy 25: Benjamin Schonthal: Law 26: Oliver Kruger: Media 27: Adrian Ivakhiv: Nature 28: Pamela Klassen: Medicine 29: Hubert Seiwert: Politics 30: Laura J. Vollmer and Kocku von Stuckrad: Science Carole M. Cusack: Sports Alex Norman: Tourism Part V. Topics 33: Jason C. Bivins: Belief 34: John Corrigan: Emotion 35: Craig Martin: Experience 36: Christoph Auffarth: Gift and Sacrifice 37: Gustavo Benavides: Gods 38: Henrik Bogdan: Initiation and Transitions 39: Manfred Hutter: Priests, Prophets, Sorcerers 40: Hugh B. Urban: Purity 41: Gavin Flood: Salvation Part VI. Processes 42: Steve Bruce: Differentiation 43: Albert de Jong: The Disintegration and Death of Religions 44: Asonzeh Ukah: Expansion 45: Manuel A. Vasquez and David Garbin: Globalization 46: Joerg Rupke: Individualization and Privatization 47: Olav Hammer: Tradition and Innovation 48: Jeremy Carrette: Objectification and Commodification 49: Paul Christopher Johnson: Syncretism and Hybridization Part VII. The Discipline 50: Michael Stausberg: History 51: Thomas A. Tweed: Relevance