The Routledge Handbook of Religion and the Body

The Routledge Handbook of Religion and the Body is a comprehensive volume that explores multireligious cross-cultural perspectives on the body and embodiment, addressing theological, ethical, and cultural contexts. It is divided into four parts and features contributions from international experts, covering topics such as embodiment of love, transfiguration, disability, and more.

Format: Hardback
Length: 484 pages
Publication date: 08 March 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The Routledge Handbook of Religion and the Body is a groundbreaking and comprehensive volume that delves into multireligious cross-cultural perspectives on the body and embodiment. Drawing from multidisciplinary approaches and methodologies from the humanities and social sciences, this handbook explores the intricate relationship between the body and embodied religiosity in theological, ethical, and cultural contexts. Comprising 30 chapters authored by a team of international contributors, the handbook is organized into four distinct parts:
Theology and Embodied Religiosity: This section examines central issues related to the intersection of religion and the body, including the study of theological perspectives on embodiment, the role of gender, sexuality, and body regulations in religious practices, and the exploration of ritual and performance as means of expressing embodied religiosity.
Gender, Sexuality, and Body Regulations: This part delves into the complex dynamics of gender, sexuality, and body regulations within religious contexts, exploring topics such as the construction of gender identities, the regulation of sexual behavior, and the body's role in shaping cultural norms and practices.
Ritual and Performance: This section explores the role of ritual and performance in shaping religious experiences and beliefs, examining topics such as the significance of bodily movements, gestures, and symbols in religious practices, the performance of sacred rituals, and the ways in which performance can facilitate transformative experiences.
Religion, Healing, and the Future of the Body: This section examines the future of the body in religious contexts, exploring topics such as the impact of technology on the body, the role of the body in healing and medicine, and the possibilities for new forms of embodied religiosity in the age of globalization.

Each part of the handbook provides a rich and innovative exploration of central issues, debates, and problems related to global belief systems, encompassing embodiments of love, transfiguration, the secular body, disability, body language, maternal bodies, embodied emotions, celibacy, ecology and the body, reshaping the corporal body, initiation rites, physiology, Tantra, Reiki practice, religious experience, technological body modifications, and ethics and the body. This handbook is an essential resource for students and scholars in religious studies, theology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, and cultural and gender studies. It offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective on the body and embodied religiosity, providing valuable insights into the complex and multifaceted nature of this topic.

Weight: 1060g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367528157