Religion And The Individual (theology And Religion In Interdisciplinary Perspective Series In Association With The Bsa Sociology Of Religion Study Group)

RELIGION AND THE INDIVIDUAL This volume brings together a significant set of reflections on the meaning of religion for the individual as well as society. In doing so it makes a timely and valuable contribution to our understanding both of individualizing tendencies within religion, and of appropriate theoretical and methodological responses to that shift. Professor Linda Woodhead, Director AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme, Lancaster University, UK What does religion mean to the individual? How are people religious and what do their beliefs, practices and identities mean to them? The individual’s place within studies of religion has tended to be overlooked recently in favour of macro analyses. Religion and the Individual draws together authors from around the world to explore belief, practice and identity. Using original case studies and other work firmly placed in the empirical, contributors discuss what religious belief means to the individual. They examine how people embody what religion means to them through practice, considering the different meanings that people attach to religion and the social expressions of their personal understandings and the ways in which religion shapes how people see themselves in relation to others. This work is cross-cultural, with contributions from Asia, Europe and North America. THEOLOGY AND RELIGION IN INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE SERIES IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BSA SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION STUDY GROUP BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group Series editor: Pink Dandelion and the publications committee Theology and Religion in Interdisciplinary Perspective Series editors: Douglas Davies and Richard Fenn The British Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Study Group began in 1975 and provides the primary forum in Britain for scholarship in the sociology of religion. The nature of religion remains of key academic interest and this series draws on the latest worldwide scholarship in compelling and coherent collections on critical themes. Secularisation and the future of religion; gender; the negotiation and presentation of religious identities, beliefs and values; and the interplay between group and individual in religious settings are some of the areas addressed. Ultimately, these books reflect not just on religious life but on how wider society is affected by the enduring religious framing of human relationships, morality and the nature of society itself. This series is part of the broader Theology and Religion in Interdisciplinary Perspective Series edited by Douglas Davies and Richard Fenn. Other titles published in the BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group Series A Sociology of Spirituality Edited by Kieran Flanagan and Peter C. Jupp ISBN 978-0-7546-5458-2 (HBK) Materializing Religion Expression, Performance and Ritual Edited by Elisabeth Arweck and William Keenan ISBN 978-0-7546-5094-2 (HBK) Reading Religion in Text and Context Reflections of Faith and Practice in Religious Materials Edited by Elisabeth Arweck and Peter Collins ISBN 978-0-7546-5482-7 (HBK) Religion, Identity and Change Perspectives on Global Transformations Edited by Simon Coleman and Peter Collins ISBN 978-0-7546-0450-1 (HBK) Religion and the Individual Belief, Practice, Identity Edited by ABBY DAY University of Sussex, UK © Abby Day 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Abby Day has asserted her moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editor of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-44