Psychology & Sociology of Religion

Horror and Redemption

Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, University of Haifa, Israel

In this book, the theme of child sacrifice is examined as a psychological challenge. It applies a unique approach to religious ideas by looking at beliefs and practices, which are considered deviant, but also make up part of mainstream religious discourse in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. This book makes the connection between Satanism stories in the 1980s, the Blood Libel in Europe, The Eucharist, and Eastern Mediterranean narratives of child sacrifice.

UK February 2023 • US February 2023 • 256 pages • 10 bw illus HB 9781350236721 • £85.00 / $115.00 ePub 9781350236745 • £76.50 / $105.78 ePdf 9781350236738 • £76.50 / $105.78 Bloomsbury Academic

Freedoms, Faiths and Futures

Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity

Andrew Singleton, Deakin University, Australia, Mary Lou Rasmussen, Australian National University, Australia, Anna Halafoff, Deakin University, Australia & Gary Bouma, Monash University, Australia Providing an evidence-based understanding of young Australians’ perspectives and identities related to religion, non-religion, spirituality, sexuality and gender, this book features a groundbreaking typology that maps teen worldviews. It draws on a unique, major national Australian study of teens, comprising 11 focus groups, a nationally representative survey and 30 in-depth interviews. It places the findings in international comparative perspective, with specific reference to cognate studies from Britain, Canada, New Zealand and America.

UK November 2022 • US November 2022 • 248 pages • 14 bw illus PB 9781350237544 • £28.99 / $39.95 Previously published in HB 9781350179561 ePub 9781350179585 • £76.50 / $105.78 ePdf 9781350179578 • £76.50 / $105.78 Bloomsbury Academic Race, Masculinity, and Religious Codependency

Christopher M. Driscoll, Lehigh University, USA Provides a historical and philosophical account of the “white devil” as it appears in stories and myths in various Black religions, particularly as these traditions are expressed through the contemporary cultural expression of hip-hop. Interweaving academic theory, (auto) ethnography, and memoir-styled narrative, Christopher M. Driscoll explores what the “white devil” trope means for understanding and responding to tensions emerging from toxic white masculinity. Depicting paths forward for genuine reparations and systemic justice, this is an essential read for people who want to build communities to counter white racism and nurture expansive, generative interdependence.

UK November 2022 • US November 2022 • 256 pages PB 9781350175938 • £21.99 / $29.95 • HB 9781350175921 • £65.00 / $90.00 ePub 9781350175945 • £19.79 / $27.47 ePdf 9781350175952 • £19.79 / $27.47 Bloomsbury Academic

Spiritual Sensations

Cinematic Religious Experience and Evolving Conceptions of the Sacred

Sarah K. Balstrup, Australian Catholic University, Australia The secular, pluralist culture of the West encourages a subjective approach to spiritual truth where stimulating emotional experiences, such as those provided by film, can contribute to personal conceptions of the sacred. Examining Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as the principal case-study and Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void (2009) and Lars von Trier’s Melancholia (2011) as comparative examples, Sarah K. Balstrup argues that these directors harness the affective properties of film to generate altered states of perception in a manner analogous to religious practice.

UK March 2022 • US March 2022 • 224 pages • 0 bw illus PB 9781350327764 • £28.99 / $39.95 Previously published in HB 9781350130173 ePub 9781350130197 • £26.09 / $37.08 ePdf 9781350130180 • £26.09 / $37.08 Bloomsbury Academic