Religious inventions : ancient Mediterranean practice and the study of religion / edited by William Arnal and Erin K. Vearncombe.
| Other author | Arnal, William E. (William Edward), 1967- editor |
| Other author | Vearncombe, Erin K., editor |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2025] |
| Description | xii, 423 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Series | Studies in Christianity and Judaism ; Studies in Christianity and Judaism ; 6. ^A193154 |
| Abstract | "Religious Inventions considers what the study of early Christianity and Judaism can contribute to the wider field of religious studies. On one level, its essays model ways of incorporating insights from religious studies into early Christan studies, showing how the major categories and methodologies in the study of religion-such as cross-cultural comparisons, the concept of identity, and the category of religion itself-operate in a biblical studies framework. On another level, this volume also reverses the dynamic of analysis, "demonstrating the powerful ways in which ancient forms of Judaism and Christianity, and the abundant quantities of data and scholarship they have generated, can structure and re-structure our understanding of this invented category of religion: what it is, what it is made of, and how it is useful - or not." For example, a section on comparison as a method in biblical studies queries the potential gains, and the limitations, of comparative work-a major tool of analysis in religious studies-as interpreted through diverse forms of early Judaism and Christianity. Another essay asks what can we learn about the unpredictable evolution of new religious movements by studying the surprising transformation of Christianity from an insignificant cult to imperial religion. The collection consists of 24 chapters divided into four categories: 1) religion as a category of study; 2) undoing text; 3) practice and identity; and 4) comparison."-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Other forms | Issued also in electronic format. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Religious inventions. Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2025 022802448X 9780228024484 |
| ISBN | 9780228024460 |
| ISBN | 9780228024453 hardcover |
| ISBN | 0228024455 hardcover |
| ISBN | 0228024463 paperback |
| ISBN | electronic book |
| ISBN | electronic book |
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