Examines religious practices from an anthropological perspective Religions in Practice, 6/e, offers an issues-oriented perspective on everyday religious behaviors - prayer, sacrifice, initiation, healing, etc. - by focusing on such topics as transnationalism, gender, and religious laws. The text exa[...]
In this powerful but accessible new study John Bowen draws on a full range of work in social anthropology to present Islam in ways that emphasise its constitutive practices, from praying and learning to judging and political organising. Starting at the heart of Islam - revelation and learning in Ara[...]
The French government's 2004 decision to ban Islamic headscarves and other religious signs from public schools puzzled many observers. This book argues that the focus on headscarves came from a century-old sensitivity to the public presence of religion in schools, feared links between public express[...]
"Can Islam Be French?" is an anthropological examination of how Muslims are responding to the conditions of life in France. Following up on his book "Why the French Don't Like Headscarves", John Bowen turns his attention away from the perspectives of French non-Muslims to focus on those of the count[...]