Heresy and Borders in the Twentieth Century

This book explores the shifting and negotiated boundaries of religion, spirituality, and secular thinking in Britain and North America during the twentieth century, challenging secularization theory and arguing that religion and spirituality took diverse new forms. It examines how thinkers, writers, and artists manipulated and reimagined orthodox belief systems, using the notion of heresy to delineate the borders of what was considered socially and ethically acceptable. The book argues that heresy and heretical identities established fluid borderlands, blurring demarcations of the religious and secular and inferring new forms of heterodoxy through an exchange of ideas.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 210 pages
Publication date: 26 September 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the dynamic and intricate interplay between religion, spirituality, and secular thinking in Britain and North America throughout the twentieth century. It makes a significant contribution to the growing body of scholarship that challenges the notion of secularization, highlighting the fact that religion and spirituality have taken on diverse and evolving forms rather than being entirely replaced by a monolithic secularity.

The volume explores the ways in which thinkers, writers, and artists have manipulated and reimagined traditional belief systems in their work, employing the concept of heresy to delineate the boundaries of what was considered socially and ethically acceptable. It covers a range of topics, including psychospiritual approaches in medicine, countercultures and religious experiences, and the role of blasphemy in supposedly secular politics.

The book argues that heresy and heretical identities have established fluid borderlands, blurring the lines between the religious and secular and inferring new forms of heterodoxy through an exchange of ideas. This collection of essays provides a nuanced and insightful perspective on a topic that is central to the study of religion. It will be of immense value to scholars of Heresy Studies, Religious Studies, Comparative Religion, Social Anthropology, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Cultural Studies.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367547981