Contested Concepts in the Study of Religion

George D. Chryssides is Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at York St John University, UK. His publications include The Study of Religion (Bloomsbury, 2014) and The Bloomsbury Companion to Studying Christians (Bloomsbury, 2020). Amy Whitehead is Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Massey University, New Zealand. Her publications include Religious Statues and Personhood: Testing the Role of Materiality (Bloomsbury, 2013) and she is the managing editor for Bloomsbury Studies in Material Religion.

• Notes on ContributorsAcknowledgementsTable of Acronyms1. Belief, Nicholas Campion (University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, UK)2. Charisma, Edward Irons (Hong Kong Institute for Commerce, Culture and Religion)3. Conversion, David G. Bromley (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)4. Cult, Benjamin E. Zeller (Lake Forest College, USA)5. Diaspora, Kim Knott (University of Lancaster, UK)6. Folk Religion, Marion Bowman (Open University, UK)7. Fundamentalism, Camille Kaminski Lewis (Furman University, USA)8. Guru, Stephen Jacobs (University of Wolverhampton, UK)9. Indigenous Religions, Graham Harvey (Open University, UK)10. Magic, Angela Puca (Leeds Trinity University, UK)11. Millennialism, Catherine Wessinger (Loyola University New Orleans, USA)12. Myth, Gregory W. Dawes (University of Otago, New Zealand)13. New Age, Shai Feraro (University of Haifa, Israel)14. New Religious Movement, George D. Chryssides (York St John University, UK)15. Pilgrimage, Carole Cusack (University of Sydney, Australia)16. Prophecy, George D. Chryssides (York St John University, UK)17. Religion, David Morgan (Duke University, USA)18. Secularization, Titus Hjelm (University of Helsinki, Finland)19. Spirituality, Steven Sutcliffe (University of Edinburgh, UK)20. Superstition, Amy R. Whitehead (Massey University, New Zealand)21. Syncretism, Bettina Schmidt (University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, UK)22. Violence, Negar Partow (Massey University, New Zealand)23. World Religion, Teemu Taira (University of Helsinki, Finland)24. Worship, Christina Welch (University of Winchester, UK)25. Case Study, (York St John University, UK) and Amy R. Whitehead (Massey University, New Zealand)BibliographyIndex

Though aimed for more advanced readers, the book has significant value for undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and those simply interested in religion and culture. The quality of thought and writing make it a valuable contribution to religious and cultural studies.