3 minute read
Theory / Religion & Science / New Religious Movements
A Critique of the Study of Culture
Craig Martin, St Thomas Aquinas College, USA Craig Martin outlines a theory of discourse, ideology, and domination that will enable scholars and students to understand these central elements in the study of culture, whether religion, gender, race, or other critical categories for analysis. He provides a clear presentation of how poststructuralist approaches (like that of Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler) can be applied to the study of religion as well as other aspects of culture. Written by a leading scholar in the critical study of religion, this is a major contribution to critical theory in the humanities and social sciences.
UK December 2021 • US December 2021 • 304 pages PB 9781350246287 • £24.99 / $34.95 • HB 9781350246294 • £75.00 / $100.00 ePub 9781350246317 • £22.49 / $29.96 ePdf 9781350246300 • £22.49 / $29.96 Bloomsbury Academic A History of How the Study of Religion Makes Religion Irrelevant
Eric Bain-Selbo, Indiana University Kokomo, USA Eric Bain-Selbo argues that the study of religion has separated out the “ends” or goals of religion and thus created the conditions by which institutional religion is increasingly irrelevant in contemporary Western culture. While there is ample evidence that institutional religion is in trouble, religion continues to meet certain fundamental human needs. This book shows how other institutions or forms of culture can function to serve these same needs or “ends.”
UK February 2022 • US February 2022 • 256 pages HB 9781350045255 • £85.00 / $115.00 ePub 9781350045279 • £76.50 / $100.32 ePdf 9781350045262 • £76.50 / $100.32 Bloomsbury Academic
Donald Wiebe, University of Toronto, Canada This book explores the idea that in blurring the boundary between the search for knowledge about religion and religions and religious education for the betterment of individuals and society, Religious Studies departments have fostered a “learned practice of religion” in the modern university. It specifically offers a detailed analysis of the history and development of the study of religion in Canada.
UK May 2021 • US May 2021 • 256 pages PB 9781350257955 • £28.99 / $39.95 Previously published in HB 9781350103436 ePub 9781350103450 • £26.09 / $35.17 ePdf 9781350103443 • £26.09 / $35.17 Series: Scientific Studies of Religion: Inquiry and Explanation • Bloomsbury Academic
Prem Rawat and Counterculture
Glastonbury and New Spiritualities
Ron Geaves, Cardiff University, UK Ron Geaves demonstrates how the convergence of Prem Rawat and Glastonbury Fayre in 1971 was key to understanding the jigsaw that came to be known as ‘New Age’ spirituality. The book charts the discovery of Prem Rawat in India in 1969 by a small number of British and North American ‘hippies’, and explores how his arrival in Britain in June 1971, as well as his speech from the pyramid stage at the Fayre at just 13 years old, escalated his activities to make him one of the key influencers of 1970s counterculture spirituality.
UK June 2021 • US June 2021 • 248 pages • 15 bw illus PB 9781350265448 • £28.99 / $39.95 Previously published in HB 9781350090873 ePub 9781350090897 • £81.00 / $106.83 ePdf 9781350090880 • £81.00 / $106.83 Bloomsbury Academic
Black Transhuman Liberation Theology
Technology and Spirituality
Philip Butler, Iliff School of Theology, USA Mediating Black religious studies and liberation theology, Philip Butler explores how Black Americans can utilize technology in conjunction with their spirituality in the fight towards materializing freedom. Addressing issues that have prevented Black Americans from participating in science, technology and even science fiction, the book analyses how religion, medical abuse and the perception of the Black intellect in America have served as barriers. It takes a critical scientific approach to understanding the biological embodiment of black spiritual practices, and projects how current and emerging technologies can be aligned with spiritually generative biological states to physically deconstruct oppressive societal structures.
UK June 2021 • US June 2021 • 224 pages PB 9781350266766 • £28.99 / $39.95 Previously published in HB 9781350081932 ePub 9781350081956 • £81.00 / $106.83 ePdf 9781350081949 • £81.00 / $106.83 Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Black Religion and Cultures • Bloomsbury Academic
