It's hard to think of a single aspect of American culture, past or present, in which religion has not played a major role. The roles religion plays, moreover, become more bewilderingly complex and diverse every day. For all those who want--whether out of curiosity, necessity, or civic duty--a vivid picture and fuller understanding of the current reality of religion in America, this Very Short Introduction is the go-to book they need.
With visual aids that help readers navigate America's diverse religious landscape, this informative, thoughtful, and provocative book is a must-read in the emerging public conversation concerning religion in America.
One of the Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press.
Featured on NPR's All Things Considered and The Bob Edwards Show
"a generous and intelligent guide to some of the most unusual expressions of faith that grace the American landscape" -- Body and Soul
"full of good humor, and Beal doesn't patronize the creators of these attractions but accords them respect and dignity" -- Booklist
"full of gentle humor, ... uncovers serious questions about religion and its sometimes highly singular practitioners"
-- Publishers Weekly, starred review
An exploration of religion as horror, and of horror as religion. Don't let sleeping Leviathans lie.
Editor's Choice, Reviews in Religion and Theology
Publishers Weekly starred review
"Imaginatively written, entertaining, and well researched, this work of creative scholarship is a fascinating read." -- Choice
"This is scholarship in cultural analysis at its best: well-documented, thought-provoking, and funny. Its crisp writing almost fools you into thinking it's simple. But it does what it says: it raises profound questions that survive their answers ... A bravura piece of what binds the cultural disciplines together." -- Mieke Bal
"Historically informed, theologically astute, culturally savvy. This monstrously provocative book demonstrates that religion is never more fascinating than when it is most disturbing." -- Mark C. Taylor
"A must for all interested in the scroll of Esther, literary study of biblical narrative, and the many ways biblical studies and critical theory might engage each other." -- Religious Studies Review
"a splendid exhibit of the new place we are in"
-- Walter Brueggemann
'Timothy Beal's sensitive interpretation of the enchanting yet disturbing 'Book of Esther' is a gift to students and teachers of Scripture. Though the mystery of the 'hiding' remains intact, the character's emerge in a new light, weaving a story that responds to our need for enchantment." -- Elie Wiesel
"For those who want to know what difference theory can make to biblical studies, The Book of Hiding is an example of the very best of current work." -- Yvonne Sherwood
Drawing on their complementary knowledge of Eastern and Western religious traditions, William Deal and Timothy Beal offer succinct and accessible introductions to key theoretical influences on religious studies since the 1960s. Here is an essential guide to the figures and ideas animating religious studies today.
"Clear, crisp and cogent: all words the reader will use to describe this superb new reference book on contemporary theories and the study of religion.... theory is a way of seeing, of viewing a subject in order to understand. The authors help us to see religion in many new ways by providing overviews of contemporary theories and their usefulness in viewing religion. Undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members will find this an excellent introduction to contemporary theories and to new ways of understanding religion."
-- Rebecca Chopp
A commentary on the biblical book of Esther, published together with Tod Linafelt's commentary on the book of Ruth. Part of the series Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry.
Selected as a primary resource by Presbyterian Women,the national women's organization of the Presbyterian Church (USA) for a year devoted to studying the fascinating, strangely familiar book of Esther.
MEL GIBSON'S BIBLE
Religion, Popular Culture,
and The Passion of The Christ
co-edited with Tod Linafelt
Afterlives of the Bible book series
Whether you're inspired or appalled by The Passion of the Christ, there can be no question that it is a defining moment in the cultural afterlife of the Bible. This volume tries to make sense of that moment and will prove to be a touchstone for the film's adherents and detractors alike.
Ideal for college courses on topics related to religion, film, and popular culture, this volume includes accessible and eye-opening essays by leading scholars, including Thomas J.J. Altizer, Bruce Chilton, John Dominic Crossan, Paula Fredriksen, Susannah Heschel, Amy Hollywood, Mark Jordan, Jack Miles, Margaret R. Miles, Richard L. Rubenstein, Jane Schaberg, George Smiga, and Mark C. Taylor, among many others.
A tribute to the biblical theology of mentor Walter Brueggemann
" This volume engages the work of Walter Brueggemann by centering on the character of God in the text of the Old Testament as a site of theological tension and even ambivalence. Walter Brueggemann's monumental theology of the Old Testament addresses this fact with great theological insight and
rigor, and these internationally renowned biblical scholars engage and extend his insights into the "unsettled Character . . . at the center of the text."
Includes contributions from Phyllis Trible, James Barr, Norman K. Gottwald, Claus Westermann, Rolff Rendtorff, Samuel Terrien, David M. Gunn, and many others, as well as a final essay by Walter Brueggemann himself.
In conversation with critical theory and cultural studies, this collection of essays by leading biblical scholars explores the fraught relations between the Bible and the politics of identity in contemporary society.
"This intelligently conceived collection simultaneously lays hold of the body in the text and the body of the text and refuses to let them go until they have disclosed some of their most unsettling secrets." -- Stephen D. Moore
"A break-out book that takes readers to the edges of biblical studies and beyond" -- Burke O. Long
