Feeling Religion - Softcover

"Framed by a theoretically rich introduction, this distinctive collection offers a diverse and engaging range of perspectives on the relationships between emotion and religion. Its insights and innovations into the historical and contemporary entwinement of affect, spirituality, and secularism offer important contributions to religious studies, while its interdisciplinary scope will make it of interest to those working in sociology, history, philosophy, cultural studies, anthropology, music, and literature." -- Carolyn Pedwell, author of Affective Relations: The Transnational Politics of Empathy "John Corrigan is our doyen of the study of religion and emotion. Here he has gathered together a true A-team of scholars to query and explore once again the intricate webs of bodies, desires, histories, genetics, politics, rituals, and beliefs that constitute what we so banally call religious 'emotion' or 'feeling.' The result is a cutting-edge series of powerful lessons in how foolish it is to separate cognition and emotion, biology and culture, universalism and constructivism, 'peptides and Easterides' in our quest to comparatively and critically understand religion and emotion. And the strongest message of the book? That we can understand." -- Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of Secret Body: Erotic and Esoteric Currents in the History of Religions "This collection of essays shows how and why the study of emotions needs the study of religion. Characterized by the methodological and geocultural diversity that makes up the field, Feeling Religion puts affect theory and cognitive science in conversation with older theoretical-and theological-approaches. The result is a challenging set of arguments focused on concepts at the heart of the humanities-subjectivity, embodiment, and even the human-that call for re-thinking and re-feeling what it is to critically study religion and emotion." -- Pamela E. Klassen, author of Spirits of Protestantism: Medicine, Healing, and Liberal Christianity

The contributors to Feeling Religion analyze the historical and contemporary entwinement of emotion, religion, spirituality, and secularism. They show how attending to these entanglements transforms understandings of metaphysics, ethics, ritual, religious music and poetry, the environment, popular culture, and the secular while producing new angles from which to approach familiar subjects. At the same time, their engagement with race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and nation in studies of topics as divergent as documentary film, Islamic environmentalism, and Jewish music demonstrates the ways in which interrogating emotion's role in religious practice and interpretation is refiguring the field of religious studies and beyond. Contributors. Diana Fritz Cates, John Corrigan, Anna M. Gade, M. Gail Hamner, Abby Kluchin, Jessica Johnson, June McDaniel, David Morgan, Sarah M. Ross, Donovan Schaefer, Mark Wynn