Genealogies of Religion
Book description
In "Geneologies of Religion", Talal Asad explores how religion as a historical category emerged in the West and has come to be applied as a universal concept. The idea that religion has undergone a radical change since the Christian Reformation-from totalitarian and socially repressive to private and relatively benign-is a…
- Coming soon!
Why read it?
1 author picked Genealogies of Religion as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Talal Asad’s genealogical analysis of the concept of religion in Western thought is a classic.
Asad, a Saudi-born anthropologist, proposed that it was the unique product of Western modernity and secularism to perceive religious discourse in the public arena as a disguise for power, which created a bias towards it in public life. This bias was then internationalized through the transposition of an inherently ethnocentric concept of religion.
Among other insights, Asad stressed the need to approach religious traditions in reference to the experience of the believers and the texts or traditions they invoke in their everyday life. A seminal…
From Romina's list on gender, religion, and domestic violence.
Want books like Genealogies of Religion?
Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Genealogies of Religion.
Browse books like Genealogies of Religion
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in domestic violence, Islam, and Christianity?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about domestic violence, Islam, and Christianity.