The Thing about Religion - by David Morgan (Paperback)

About the Book

"Common views of religion typically focus on the beliefs and meanings derived from revealed scriptures, ideas, and doctrines. David Morgan has led the way in radically broadening that framework to encompass the understanding that religions are fundamentally embodied, material forms of practice. This concise primer shows readers how to study what has come to be termed 'material religion' the ways religious meaning is enacted in the material world"--

Book Synopsis

Common views of religion typically focus on the beliefs and meanings derived from revealed scriptures, ideas, and doctrines. David Morgan has led the way in radically broadening that framework to encompass the understanding that religions are fundamentally embodied, material forms of practice. This concise primer shows readers how to study what has come to be termed material religion--the ways religious meaning is enacted in the material world.

Material religion includes the things people wear, eat, sing, touch, look at, create, and avoid. It also encompasses the places where religion and the social realities of everyday life, including gender, class, and race, intersect in physical ways. This interdisciplinary approach brings religious studies into conversation with art history, anthropology, and other fields. In the book, Morgan lays out a range of theories, terms, and concepts and shows how they work together to center materiality in the study of religion. Integrating carefully curated visual evidence, Morgan then applies these ideas and methods to case studies across a variety of religious traditions, modeling step-by-step analysis and emphasizing the importance of historical context. The Thing about Religion will be an essential tool for experts and students alike. Two free, downloadable course syllabi created by the author are available online.

Review Quotes

"A fresh look at the role of objects in relationship to religion. . . . Morgan breaks with traditional approaches to objects as inert artifacts that play little more than a symbolic role in a static religion. Instead, he recognizes objects as dynamic, integral, and even transformative to the history and very nature of their religions."--Nova Religio

"A welcome addition to the existing scholarship on the material study of religion. It will offer students, instructors, and other scholars a concise, theoretically rigorous, and engaging introduction to how the philosophical underpinnings of material culture intersect with the practices and study of religion."--Journal of Religion

"In seinem neusten Werk, welches im theoretischen Teil stark auf seinen Publikationen aus den letzten drei Jahrzehnten aufbaut, zeigt Morgan einmal mehr, wie sehr der Blick auf Religionen und religiöse Praktiken in den letzten Jahrhunderten von einem Anthropozentrismus geprägt war, der Menschen als einzige Akteure porträtierte und die Macht ritueller Praktiken vernachlässigte."--SZRKG/RSHRC/RSSRC

Translation: "In his latest work, whose theoretical part builds strongly on his publications over the last three decades, Morgan shows once again how the view of religions and religious practices in recent centuries has been shaped by an anthropocentrism that portrayed humans as the only actors and neglected the power of ritual practices."--SZRKG/RSHRC/RSSRC

"Academics with an interest in religion or anthropology will most appreciate this broad examination of religious practice."--Publishers Weekly

"All in all, The Thing About Religion is a wonderful book that clearly explains the relevance of studying religion not only as a belief system, but also as a system of things, performances, rituals, and much more."--Reading Religion