Sociology of the Sacred

This book explores how religion extends beyond belief, to inform how we understand the embodied experiences of the senses, sensualities, sacrifice and intoxication. In a powerful reframing of debates about secularization and the revitalization of religion, the authors develop the concept of habitus [...]
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This book explores how religion extends beyond belief, to inform how we understand the embodied experiences of the senses, sensualities, sacrifice and intoxication. In a powerful reframing of debates about secularization and the revitalization of religion, the authors develop the concept of habitus to explore the significance of the religious body in social structures. Drawing on classical social theory and exploring developments within today's technological societies, Sociology of the Sacred presents a powerful argument about how religious and secular forms of the sacred underpin major conflicts in the world today. It demonstrates: * How the bodily capacities help religions adapt to social change * That religious habitus within technological societies do not make life more predictable for people or institutions * Why arguments about secularization need to be reframed in terms of religious and secular modalities of the sacred. This book will be of interest to upper level students and researchers of the sociology of religion, the body and modern culture.