| Abstract |
"Religion, Attire, and Adornment in North America collects original scholarly essays on the overlooked and underexamined subject of religious dress. Employing four thematic lenses, authors explore ways that religious attire has been a site of identity formation, social negotiation, theological interpretation, and/or political activism for faith communities. The volume as a whole mirrors the religious diversity that exists in the United States. In keeping with the turn toward practices and material cultures in the field of religious studies, the anthology highlights the manners in which adornment serves a central role in the lives of religious individuals and communities. The essays, which investigate aspects of religious dress in North America in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, consider adornment practices of Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, and new religious movements as well as individuals who straddle religious boundaries. They explore connections between dress and meaning-making within religion, including aspects of self-perception, communication, and everyday action"-- Provided by publisher. |
