{"product_id":"the-importance-of-religion-meaning-and-action-in-our-strange-world-paperback-softback-9781405189712","title":"The Importance of Religion; Meaning and Action in our Strange World (Paperback \/ softback) 9781405189712","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Importance of Religion\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eMeaning and Action in our Strange World\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"The book has a creativity, comprehensivness, and energy not often found in contemporary Religious Studies. It has the hallmarks of a milestone statement in theorizing about the phenomenology of religion.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—William E. Paden\u003c\/b\u003e, The University of Vermont  \u003cp\u003e\"In this erudite work, Gavin Flood develops a powerful new understanding of religion as springing from the nature of the human condition itself. It will challenge and provoke, and will surely renew the field.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Oliver Davies\u003c\/b\u003e, King's College London\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Flood presents a thesis about 'religion' that is provocative, irenic, learned and wide ranging. His interdisciplinary intervention is an elegant challenge to those who think religion is dead or dying. It is a sensitive exploration of religion as the textual and ritual generator of meaning.\"\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eGavin D'Costa\u003c\/b\u003e, University of Bristol\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eGavin Flood (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781405189712, Wiley\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 16 December 2011\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e266 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.354 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Finally, it should be pointed out that the book is well presented, with a wealth of interesting primary sources and secondary literature discussed. . . At any rate, the book should contribute to the ongoing debate between religionists and reductionists within our field.”  (\u003ci\u003eNumen\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 May 2015)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Summing Up: Recommended.  Upper-level undergraduates through researchers\/faculty.”  (\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 January 2013)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Importance of Religion\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the significance of religion in modern times, showing how it provides people with meaning to their lives and helps guide them in their everyday moral choices  \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eProvides readers with a new understanding of religion, demonstrating how in its actions, texts and world views religion is enduring and vividly engages with the mystery of the world\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eOffers striking arguments about the relationship of religion to science, art and politics\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eEngagingly written by a highly respected scholar of religion with an international reputation\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePreface xi  \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments xv\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction: Religion and the Human Condition 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMediating Our Strange World 6\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheories of Religion 8\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligion and Religions 12\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDefining Religion 14\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Argument 17\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlienation and the Human Condition 17\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Primacy of Perception and the System of Signs 23\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Invisible and the Transcendent 24\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Truths of Religion 26\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 27\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart One ACTION\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Clearing the Ground 37\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReification: The Marxist Legacy 40\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRationalization: The Weberian Legacy 44\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKnowledge and Action 46\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMethodology 49\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 50\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 The Meaning of Religious Action 53\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Sociology of Religious Meaning 55\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeaning and Action 58\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoral Acts 60\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRitual and the Body 63\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Rite of Affliction 66\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Meaning of Sacrifice 69\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Phenomenology of Sacrifice 71\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Meanings of Death 73\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 74\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 The Inner Journey 80\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguages of Spirituality 83\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Spiritual Habitus 91\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 95\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart Two SPEECH\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 The Reception of the Text 101\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRoutes to the World of Life 102\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheories of the Text 106\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Reception of Sacred Texts 109\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSacred Text and Act 111\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 113\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Tradition, Language, and the Self 115\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic Universals 117\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic Relativity 118\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage and Religious Experience 122\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage as a Model of Religion 125\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 127\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Religion and Rationality 130\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat is Rationality? 131\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRational Religious Communities 139\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRationality and Cosmology 141\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 146\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePart Three WORLD\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 The Mystery of Complexity and Emergence 153\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA History of Antagonism 155\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eComplexity and Constraint 159\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Ontology of Process 164\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 166\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 The Union of Nature and Imagination 171\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eArt and the Real 172\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCosmological Art 175\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePavel Florensky 177\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbhinavagupta 178\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecular Art 180\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRe-Spiritualizing Art 182\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 185\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 Religion and Politics 189\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligion in the Public Sphere 190\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Secular Public Sphere 195\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Traditionalist View 197\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFundamentalism 200\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Religious Citizen 201\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion 205\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary 210\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEpilogue 217\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 221\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 237\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Religion \u0026amp; beliefs [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Religion \u0026amp; beliefs\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Religion%20\u0026amp;%20beliefs%20%5BHR%5D%22\"\u003eHR\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52173779894552,"sku":"9781405189712","price":25.88,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781405189712.jpg?v=1781171859","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-importance-of-religion-meaning-and-action-in-our-strange-world-paperback-softback-9781405189712","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}