Rethinking Religious Conversion - (Expanding Philosophy of Religion) by Jack Williams (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Drawing on methods from religious studies, philosophy, and cognitive science, Jack Williams develops a unique and interdisciplinary approach to the study of religious conversion. This is the first major philosophical study of conversion to treat the phenomenon as a long-term process, shaped by the convert's embodiment and immersion in a linguistic, social, and ritual community.

Williams' analysis of the conversion process is rooted in a view of cognition as both embodied and affective, and is informed by the latest research in phenomenology, affect theory, neuroscience, and enactivist cognitive science. In conversation with diverse conversion narratives, he advances a theory of conversion that is not restricted to a modern, Western context but that can be applied to experiences of conversion across global history and culture.

Rethinking Religious Conversion displays an original approach to the philosophical study of diverse religious practices. By bringing together a diverse array of contemporary and historical scholarship, it revitalizes the study of conversion for both philosophy and religious studies.

Review Quotes

In this multi-dimensional exploration of the dynamics of religious conversion, Jack Williams offers an illuminating account of a process that cannot be reduced to a mere change of mind. Describing the cognitive, affective, social, and embodied elements that characterize conversion, he provides a rich interpretation of a significant phenomenon.

This is a creative monograph in the best traditions of empirically-based Study of Religion/s which mounts a sophisticated interdisciplinary argument in favour of the corporeal site of conversion in subjects' experience.

With an interdisciplinary and multireligious sensibility, Jack Williams has produced a study of religious conversion that breaks new ground in philosophy of religion. Making proficient use of philosophical methods, both analytic and phenomenological, Rethinking Religious Conversion engages productively with various areas of religious studies and the study of human cognition. While keenly focused on the complex phenomenon of religious conversion, the book typifies a way forward for philosophy of religion more broadly.

About the Author

Jack Williams is an Independent Scholar, UK