Religion and the Body—Modern Science and the Construction of Religious Meaning

Contributors identified only by name reflect on the implications of recent research into the neurological dimension of religious experience, and the underlying scientific view on the practice and study of religion. They cover neurobiology and sources of religious experience and authority, culture and the deconstruction and reconstruction of the body, and cultural and cross-cultural appropriations of the body. Among specific topics are the emergence of religious bodies, assessing the neural correlated of glossolalia, some implications of consumerism and entertainment culture, religion as radiation, and Sikhism and mental illness. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

David Cave, Ph.D. (1989), Regional Director, University of Michigan, has published widely on the phenomenology and comparative study of religion, including Mircea Eliade's Vision for a New Humanism (1993) and "The Role of the Authoritative in the Comparative Process" (2006).Rebecca Sachs Norris, Ph.D. (1999) in Religious Studies/Anthropology, Boston University, is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Merrimack College. Her publications include Toying with God: The World of Religious Games and Dolls (2010) and articles on religion, neuroscience and body.Contributors include: Whitney Bauman, David Cave, Nuria Farre-Barril, James Haag, Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, Mira Karjalainen, John McGraw, Rebecca Sachs Norris, Eric Repphun, Arthur Saniotis, Sebastian Schuler, and Deana Weibel.