Religion and Its Other : Secular and Sacral Concepts and Practices in Interaction

Modern Western thought has traditionally relegated the religious and the secular to two entirely different spheres. "Religion and Its Other" takes issue with this dichotomy, tracing the borders and grey areas between religion and the secular world as conceived of in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim cultures past and present.A unique collection of theoretically informed historical and anthropological case studies, this comprehensive volume includes discussions of medieval atheism, Egyptian modernization, Jewish mysticism, Lutheran angels, and other such topics that illustrate the deeply relational nature of religious and secular concepts and practices. "Religion and Its Other" will be essential reading for anyone interested in the social construction of religion across the centuries.