Witches and demons

The first published work on children accused of witchcraft in Europe. Based on ethnographic research. Comprehensive use of research data. The work uses research data. The chapters concern UK.

Waiting for elijah

Rare long-term ethnographic study of Bosnian sacral landscapes and the first anthropological exploration of syncretism in Bosnia A seminal anthropological study of time and waiting Develops an analytical framework for approaching shared landscapes and syncretism Investigates pa...

Straying from the straight path

It is the first volume to focus on experiences of moral failure among both Muslims and Christians on the basis of ethnographic research. It goes beyond a tenacious and problematic dichotomy within the anthropology of Islam and Christianity between a focus on pious disciplining on the one...

Of life and health

An anthropological study of the health system of the Dagara people of northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso, Of Life and Health develops a cultural and epistemological lexicon of Dagara life by examining its religious, ritual, and artistic expressions, and gives a holistic account of the Dag...

Evil eye in christian orthodox society

Evil eye is a phenomenon observed globally and has to do with the misfortune and calamities that we can cause to someone else out of jealousy of their possessions. The book engages with evil eye beliefs in Corfu and investigates the Christian Orthodox influences on the phenomenon and how it aff...

Where humans and spirits meet

Zanzibar, an island off the East African coast, with its Muslim and Swahili population, offers rich material for this study of identity, religion, and multiculturalism. This book focuses on the phenomenon of spirit possession in Zanzibar Town and the relationships created between humans and spi...

Christianity, colonialism and indigenous history in french polynesia

The first English monograph on Christianity in the French Pacific. Offers a new perspective on religious syncretism by demonstrating its temporal aspect. Illustrates the contemporary Indigenous take on colonialism and social change in French Polynesia.

A jewish understanding of the world

In this second volume of Liberal Jewish sermons spanning the greater part of the second half ofthe twentieth century, the author again combines a radically progressive stance with Jewish commitment and seeks to understand contemporary history from a "prophetic" point of view. His comments cover...

Crossing histories and ethnographies

Presents novel combinations of archival and ethnographic methods in the study of colonial historicities; Offers new perspectives on how to critically connect oral accounts, ethnography, and colonial archives; Brings together an international community of scholars who have conducted e...

A prophetic trajectory

The first in-depth study of religious movements in colonial and postcolonial Angola. Contributes to the growing field of Lusophone studies. Is concerned with faith, mobility and belonging in the Atlantic space, rethinking current theories of religion and globalization. Updates th...

Religion and nation

An estimated 75,000 Iranians emigrated to Britain after the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic. They are politically, religiously, socio-economically and ethnically heterogeneous, and have found themselves in the ongoing process of settlement. The aim of this book is ...

God-botherers and other true-believers

When reason fails to guide us in our everyday lives, we turn to faith, to religion; we close our minds; we reject austere reasoning. This rejection, which is a faith-based social and intellectual malignancy, has two unfortunate consequences: it blocks the way to knowledge that might enhance the...

Sacred speakers

Pilgrim voices

Research on pilgrimage has traditionally fallen across a series of academic disciplines - anthropology, archaeology, art history, geography, history and theology. To date, relatively little work has been devoted to the issue of pilgrimage as writing and specifically as a form of travel-writing....

Being bedouin around petra

Takes an ethnographic approach to understanding everyday life of the Bedouin as heritage in contemporary Jordan. Exemplifies the materiality of heritage proclamations and religious transformations. Demonstrates the complex entanglements of Islamic revival, tourism, heritage managemen...

When god comes to town

Shows how urbanization influences the religiosity of everyday life in modern urban centres Explores how urbanization poses problems for traditional religions that are all rooted in rural, small-scale societies Questions appeal of these old religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, or...

Becoming vaishnava in an ideal vedic city

Shamanism

Shamanism has always been of great interest to anthropologists. More recently it has been "discovered" by westerners, especially New Age followers. This book breaks new ground byexamining pristine shamanism in Greenland, among people contacted late by Western missionaries and settlers. On the b...

Daisy wheel, hexfoil, hexafoil, rosette

Hexfoils have a history of use for personal protection and were carved both intentionally or graffitied into church pews and walls, bed frames, doors, and gravestones. This research sheds light on the use of this historic symbol to protect the bodies and souls of the deceased, across several th...

Other worlds, other bodies

This book proposes a sensory ethnography of healing with a focus on ethnographic knowing as embedded in an embodied epistemology of healing. Epistemological embodiment signals that personal scholarly experience of the “unknown”—be it in the form of trance, or as the embodiment of an “other”—sha...

Under the sign of the cross

Based on extensive ethnographic research, this book investigates the construction of the world’s highest Orthodox cathedral in Bucharest, Romania. Through the notion of re-consecration, the book brings together sociological and anthropological scholarship on eastern Christianity, secularization...

Total atheism

On the margins of religion

Focusing on places, objects, bodies, narratives and ritual spaces where religion may be found or inscribed, the authors reveal the role of religion in contesting rights to places, to knowledge and to property, as well as access to resources. Through analyses of specific historical processes in ...

The camino de santiago

Comprises an interpretative synthesis of heritage planning and management and gives critical attention to the contributions of church, state and civil society in this endeavour. The author is very well-known among Camino enthuisiasts and has walked every route that leads to Santiago (Fra...

Celebrating transgression

Transgression is the stock in trade of a certain kind of anthropological sensibility that transforms fieldwork from strict social science to something more engaging. It builds on Koepping’s idea that participation transforms perception and investigates how transgressive practices have triggered...

Jewish religious law

This is the first major work on the interrelationship between Liberal Judaism and Rabbinic Law (Halachah) ever to have been produced in Britain, and in Europe since the nineteenth century. It represents a plea for a positive yet forthrightly critical approach to Rabbinic Law in general aswell a...

Conversion after socialism

The large and sudden influx of missionaries into the former Soviet Union after seventy years of militant secularism has been controversial, and the widespread occurrence of conversion has led to anxiety about social and national disintegration. Although these concerns have been vigorously discu...

Being godless

Drawing on ethnographic inquiry and the anthropological literature on doubt and atheism, this volume explores people's reluctance to pursue religion. The contributors capture the experiences of godless people and examine their perspectives on the role of religion in their personal and public li...

Ownership and nurture

The first book to address the classic anthropological theme of property through the ethnography of Amazonia. Sets new and challenging terms for anthropological debates about the region and about property in general. Demonstrates that property relations are of central importance in A...

Atlantic perspectives

Focusing on mobility, religion, and belonging, the volume contributes to transatlantic anthropology and history by bringing together religion, cultural heritage and placemaking in the Atlantic world. The entanglements of religion, cultural heritage and belonging are ethnographically scrutinized...

Multiple moralities and religions in post-soviet russia

By considering the centrality of religion in postsocialist Russian everyday life, and the various ways in which diverse religious traditions have engaged in explicit moral projects, this volume explores the as of yet understudied social phenomenon of the importance of religion in a former at...

Starstruck

We live in an era of exploding scientific knowledge about the universe, and our place and future within it. Much of this new knowledge conflicts with earlier wisdom, and some has frightening implications. Cosmic evolution, space exploration, the search for extraterrestrial life, and concerns ab...

The devil is disorder

The domain of constant excess

The Sri Lankan ethnic conflict that has occurred largely between Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus is marked by a degree of religious tolerance that sees both communities worshiping together. This study describes one important site of such worship, the ancient Hindu temple complex of Munnesvar...

Pilgrimage and political economy

Pilgrimage has always had a tendency to follow – and sometimes create – trade routes. This volume explores how wider factors behind transnational and global mobility have impacted on pilgrimage activity across the world, and examines the ways in which pilgrimage relates to migration, diaspora, ...

Contemporary pagan and native faith movements in europe

The first book to focus on modern Pagan and Native Faith movements throughout Europe, from the Irish Republic to Siberia, and from Scandinavia to Iberia. The first work of any kind to address the twin themes of neo-colonialism and neo-nationalism within these movements. Through detai...

The living ancestors

Original work both in terms of author’s chosen theoretical framework (phenomenology-holography) and the empirical richness of ethnographic detail through which the former is executed. Captivating and original ethnographic content and its articulation through conceptual and interpretive i...

On prayer

Marcel Mauss (1872-1950) never completed his Doctoral thesis on prayer. Yet his scarcely mentioned introduction (Books I and II) of 176 pages and privately printed in 1909, can be seen as some of his most important work. His argument that much of prayer is a social act will be of great interest...

War magic

Investigates spiritual warfare in religion, magic, sorcery and shamanism. Reveals war magic and warrior religion in contemporary and historical circumstances. Shows the broad, international appeal of symbolic and ritual violence, in the east and west. Research into embodied perfo...

Contemporary religiosities

The last decade has seen an unexpected return of the religious, and with it the creation of new kinds of social forms alongside new fusions of political and religious realms that high modernity kept distinct. For a fuller understanding of what this means for society in the context of globalizat...

Ritual in its own right

Historically, canonic studies of ritual have discussed and explained ritual organization, action, and transformation primarily as representations of broader cultural and social orders. In the present, as in the past, less attention is given to the power of ritual to organize and effect transfor...

The limits of meaning

Too often, anthropological accounts of ritual leave readers with the impression that everything goes smoothly, that rituals are "meaningful events." But what happens when rituals fail, or when they seem "meaningless"? Drawing on research in the anthropology of Christianity from around the globe...

Medicine between science and religion

Offers a sustained exploration of ‘religion’, ‘science’ and ‘medicine’ in Western and Tibetan medical contexts. Discusses the situated confluence and/or friction of medicine between religious and scientific world views in various contexts of healing . Offers original ethnographic ex...

Engaging the spirit world

In many parts of the contemporary world, spirit beliefs and practices have taken on a pivotal role in addressing the discontinuities and uncertainties of modern life. The myriad ways in which devotees engage the spirit world show the tremendous creative potential of these practices and their in...

The last shaman

The Arakmbut are an indigenous people who live in the Madre de Dios region of the southeastern Peruvian rain forest. Since their first encounters with missionaries in the 1950s,they have shown resilience and a determination to affirm their identity in the face of many difficulties. During the l...

Order and disorder

Disorder and instability are matters of continuing public concern. Terrorism, as a threat to global order, has been added to preoccupations with political unrest, deviance and crime. Such considerations have prompted the return to the classic anthropological issues of order and disorder. Examin...

Fortune and the cursed

Innovation-making is a classic theme in anthropology that reveals how people fine-tune their ontologies, live in the world and conceive of it as they do. This ethnographic study is an entrance into the world of Buryat Mongol divination, where a group of cursed shamans undertake the ‘race agains...

The gate to perfection

A timely book: as Israelis and Arabs are moving towards a settlement, this study offers a valuable historical dimension, from the Jewish point of view, to the main issue involved, i.e., the idea of peace. The authors maintain that peace has always played an important role in Jewish thought, tha...

Beyond rationalism

This book seeks a reconsideration of the phenomenon of sorcery and related categories. The contributors to the volume explore the different perspectives on human sociality and social and political constitution that practices typically understood as sorcery, magic and ritual reveal. In doing so ...

Repent and believe

Why does lasting happiness seem so elusive? In a world increasingly marked by anxiety, isolation, and despair, many people sense that something essential is missing. Despite unprecedented material comfort and technological progress, society is struggling with rising rates of suicide, addiction, a...

God unshackled

Five minutes of any news channel broadcast provides more than enough reason to doubt the very existence of God and render the notion of an all-powerful, loving, creator God as ludicrous. But what if the most published, most read, most quoted, and most studied book in the history of humanity, the ...

Tacit textuality

An ethnography about the practice of ingesting the Qur’an as medicine in ZanzibarTacit Textuality is an ethnography about the practice of kombe in Zanzibar, in which Qurʾanic verses are liquefied and consumed across religious divides for afflicted bodies to be healed. Primarily based on thirteen ...

Preaching on f.i.r.e.

Preaching on F.I.R.E. captivates both novice and seasoned preachers, while its principles ignite sermons that hold congregations in rapt attention. This work challenges conventional, detached approaches to biblical study and replaces them with a dynamic four-step process—F.I.R.E.—that honors Scri...

Connected struggles

How cultural and religious diplomacy influenced Canada-Mexico relations.

The greater glory

Stephen Casey was twenty-one when he entered the Jesuit Order in Canada in 1947. The striving for Christian perfection eventually led him to depression and a complete breakdown - he almost lost his ability to speak. After thirty-seven years as a Jesuit he left the priesthood.

Wash, wear, and care

How clothing and laundry provide a window on to the structuring of care and work in nursing homes.

The religious sense

The Religious Sense, the fruit of many years of dialogue with students, is an exploration of the search for meaning in life. Luigi Giussani shows that the nature of reason expresses itself in the ultimate need for truth, goodness, and beauty. These needs constitute the fabric of the religious sen...

Vatican ii and beyond

A look at the impact of Vatican II through the Canadian Religious Conference and the lived experience of Sisters Alice Trudeau and Mary Alban.

The al-baqara crescendo

A study of the poetics and hermeneutics of the Qur?an’s narrative structure, focusing on Surat al-Baqara.

The risk of education

How an effective education gives young people the fundamental support of tradition and historical perspective, nurturing their ability to understand and discern.

Into silence and servitude

A critical examination of the recruitment and formation of American Catholic nuns during the final decades of convent expansion.

Scripture, skepticism, and the character of god

The intersection of the Bible, the morality of God, and the crisis of faith in Victorian England.

The subversive evangelical

A close investigation of a new wave of "reflexive evangelicals," whose playful critique of their own faith wins crowds.

Is it possible to live this way? volume 3: charity

Unusual yet reasonable approaches to living life as a Christian.

Sacred cyberspaces

Every contemporary institution has had to confront the ever-evolving technologies of the digital age. Focusing on the Catholic Church, Sacred Cyberspaces reveals how old conflicts over power, influence, and legitimacy within religious organizations unfold on the internet, shedding light on the fu...

Building mennonite belonging

Building Mennonite Belonging charts a course for Canadian Mennonites, particularly those in Mennonite Church Canada, to address changing racial and ethnocultural identities in a diversifying society.

Identities under construction

Examining how young adults construct their sexual, gender, and religious identities.

Little theologians

Children don't just learn theology. They actively create it, playing with ideas and drawing together aspects of their own lives to form theological understanding. In Little Theologians David Csinos offers a groundbreaking exploration of how cultural contexts intersect with the theological meaning...

Generating traces in the history of the world

An illuminating work on the Christian experience.

Rediscovering reverence

A surprising and insightful work, Rediscovering Reverence offers a rational explanation of what the modern western world calls "religion" and argues that it is not what most people assume. Questioning western culture's evolving use of the word "religion" over the last five centuries, Ralph Heintz...

God's plenty

Religious life in Canada has changed dramatically in recent decades due to secularization and the population shifts resulting from urbanization and immigration. New varieties of pluralism have emerged, entailing massive changes in a culture once assumed to be almost uniformly Christian.

Turning to the world

From lofty ideals to the complex realities of the Catholic Church's commitment to justice and peace-building since Vatican II.

Seeding buddhism with multiculturalism

How Buddhist immigrants in Toronto transmit their teachings and traditions to the next generation.

Common ground

What happens when two prolific religious scholars sit down and, together, read sacred texts of their different religions?

Sanctifying misandry

In Sanctifying Misandry, Katherine Young and Paul Nathanson challenge an influential version of modern goddess religion, one that undermines sexual equality and promotes hatred in the form of misandry - the sexist counterpart of misogyny.

Fernand dumont

The innovative theological thought of a sociologist and public intellectual who turned to theology late in his life.

West coast mission

This ethnographic study considers where Christianity in Vancouver is headed now that it is a minority belief system in the broader culture. Ross Lockhart describes how Christians are organizing their communities, shaping their beliefs, and expressing themselves in mission in their mostly secular ...

A culture of faith

A comprehensive overview of evangelical Protestant congregations in Canada.

Different gods

The complex role religion plays in immigrant adaptation and integration.

Is it possible to live this way? volume 1: faith

A compilation of Giussani's conversations with young people who have chosen the path of the consecrated life in the Church

For the sake of the common good

This book is a tribute to Lois Wilson, bringing together essays by prominent figures who have worked alongside her and who have been influenced by her practical Christianity, progressive values, and commitment to ending oppression. The collection acknowledges her inspiring legacy while taking on ...

Is it possible to live this way? volume 2: hope

Unusual yet reasonable approaches to living life as a Christian.

Religious inventions

Ancient writings, including the Jewish and Christian Bibles, reflect lived human experiences rather than mere dogma. Religious Inventions investigates the social contexts of these writings, exploring how modern views on religion can illuminate ancient texts and challenge our understanding of both...

Decolonizing church

Decolonizing Church brings together a diverse group of theological voices to consider Christianity in Canada from decolonial perspectives.

Thinking about faith, volume 1: love

Why did the early Christians follow Jesus Christ? Why did they write books, have councils, celebrate the eucharist and other sacramental rites? Tibor Horvath proposes that love for Jesus Christ is at the origin of the Christian faith. In the first volume of a trilogy on Thinking about Faith, love...

Being arab

Arabs in North America are often perceived to be a monolithic group. Being Arab explores how Muslim and Christian Arab-Canadian youth actually negotiate their ethnic and religious identities. Focusing on the experiences of students from five colleges in Montreal, Paul Eid considers the influence ...

The blue banner

On 10 June 1925, the date the United Church of Canada was founded, two-thirds of the congregations of the Presbyterian Church of Canada - including every Presbyterian congregation in Halifax - vanished. Even before the United Church came into existence, however, non-uniting Presbyterians were for...

The meaning of sunday

Explaining varying levels of religiosity and church attendance in Canada.

Why the church?

From its beginnings, the Church has presented itself as a human phenomenon that carries the divine within it. As a social fact, its reality given form by men and women, the Church has always affirmed that its existence surpasses the human reality of its components and that it stands as the contin...

At the origin of the christian claim

The new revised edition of At the Origin of the Christian Claim presents an intriguing argument that the relationship between a person and God is based not on the person’s search for the mystery but on the mystery making itself known.

The uncomfortable pew

In The Uncomfortable Pew Bruce Douville explores the relationship between Christianity and the New Left in English Canada from 1959 to 1975. Focusing primarily on Toronto, he examines the impact that left-wing student radicalism had on Canada’s largest Christian denominations, and the role that C...

Crossing communities

Based on years of embedded participant observation in both Muslim and Coptic Christian communities in the provincial city of Beni Suef, Crossing Communities shows how everyday interactions reveal patterns of confident and casual interfaith crossing.