The Thing About Religion: An Introduction to the Material Study of Religion

In this expansive study, Morgan (Images at Work), a religious studies professor at Duke, makes the case that religion, apart from just being composed of doctrines and ideas, is a “material form of practice.” Morgan’s study of how religion is experienced within the physical world pushes back against the notion that spiritual simply means “nonphysical,” arguing humans sense spiritual influence physically, such as in “the silence of caves, the terror of forests.” The strength of Morgan’s argument lies in his tracing of religious “things” (a specific “category for items that have lost their place or use or whose novelty or complexity or nature are unclear to us”) across time, place, and religious tradition. For instance, he explores the history of wands, spiritual items that historically signified power and authority, and illustrates how representations of Polynesian gods changed as Christian missionaries attempted to convert and wield power over indigeneous Polynesians, introducing demonology into their spiritual practice. Making the simple yet diffuse argument that religious “artifacts, bodies, substances, or environments produce and maintain a web of relations that brings human beings to what really matters to them,” Morgan shines brightest when dealing with religious art—such as Notre Dame (a religious site but also “an enduring embodiment of” France) and paintings by European masters. Academics with an interest in religion or anthropology will most appreciate this broad examination of religious practice. (Apr.)