Jonathan Z. Smith's Books

Relating Religion

Essays in the Study of Religion

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Relating Religion

Essays in the Study of Religion

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

One of the most influential theorists of religion, Jonathan Z. Smith is best known for his analyses of religious studies as a discipline and for his advocacy and refinement of comparison as the basis for the history of religions. Relating Religion gathers seventeen essays—four of them never before published—that together provide the first broad overview of Smith's thinking since his seminal 1982 book, Imagining Religion. Smith first explains how he was drawn to the study of religion, outlines his own theoretical commitments, and draws the connections between his thinking and his concerns for general education. He then engages several figures and traditions that serve to define his interests within the larger setting of the discipline. The essays that follow consider the role of taxonomy and classification in the study of religion, the construction of difference, and the procedures of generalization and redescription that Smith takes to be key to the comparative enterprise. The final essays deploy features of Smith's most recent work, especially the notion of translation. Heady, original, and provocative, Relating Religion is certain to be hailed as a landmark in the academic study and critical theory of religion.

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429

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226763870

ISBN 13

9780226763873

Map is Not Territory

Studies in the History of Religions

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Map is Not Territory

Studies in the History of Religions

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

In Map Is Not Territory, Jonathan Z. Smith engages previous interpretations of religious texts from late antiquity, critically evaluates the notion of sacred space and time as it is represented in the works of Mircea Eliade, and tackles important problems of methodology.

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350

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226763579

ISBN 13

9780226763576

Imagining Religion

From Babylon to Jonestown

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Imagining Religion

From Babylon to Jonestown

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

With this influential book of essays, Jonathan Z. Smith has pointed the academic study of religion in a new theoretical direction, one neither theological nor willfully ideological. Making use of examples as apparently diverse and exotic as the Maori cults in nineteenth-century New Zealand and the events of Jonestown, Smith shows that religion must be construed as conventional, anthropological, historical, and as an exercise of imagination. In his analyses, religion emerges as the product of historically and geographically situated human ingenuity, cognition, and curiosity—simply put, as the result of human labor, one of the decisive but wholly ordinary ways human beings create the worlds in which they live and make sense of them. "These seven essays . . . display the critical intelligence, creativity, and sheer common sense that make Smith one of the most methodologically sophisticated and suggestive historians of religion writing today. . . . Smith scrutinizes the fundamental problems of taxonomy and comparison in religious studies, suggestively redescribes such basic categories as canon and ritual, and shows how frequently studied myths may more likely reflect situational incongruities than vaunted mimetic congruities. His final essay, on Jonestown, demonstrates the interpretive power of the historian of religion to render intelligible that in our own day which seems most bizarre."—Richard S. Sarason, Religious Studies Review

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180

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226763587

ISBN 13

9780226763583

On Teaching Religion

Essays by Jonathan Z. Smith

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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On Teaching Religion

Essays by Jonathan Z. Smith

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

On Teaching Religion collects the best of Jonathan Z. Smith's essays and lectures into one volume.

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175

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199944296

ISBN 13

9780199944293

To Take Place

Toward Theory in Ritual

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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To Take Place

Toward Theory in Ritual

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

In this broad-ranging inquiry into ritual and its relation to place, Jonathan Z. Smith prepares the way for a new approach to the comparative study of religion. Smith stresses the importance of place—in particular, constructed ritual environments—to a proper understanding of the ways in which "empty" actions become rituals. He structures his argument around the territories of the Tjilpa aborigines in Australia and two sites in Jerusalem—the temple envisioned by Ezekiel and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The first of these locales—the focus of one of the more important contemporary theories of religious ritual—allows Smith to raise questions concerning the enterprise of comparison. His close examination of Eliade's influential interpretation of the Tjilpa tradition leads to a powerful critique of the approach to religion, myth, and ritual that begins with cosmology and the category of "The Sacred." In substance and in method, To Take Place represents a significant advance toward a theory of ritual. It is of great value not only to historians of religion and students of ritual, but to all, whether social scientists or humanists, who are concerned with the nature of place. "This book is extraordinarily stimulating in prompting one to think about the ways in which space, or place, is perceived, marked, and utilized religiously. . . . A provocative example of the application of humanistic geography to our understanding of what takes place in religion."—Dale Goldsmith, Interpretation

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202

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226763617

ISBN 13

9780226763613

Reading J.Z. Smith

Interviews and Essay

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Reading J.Z. Smith

Interviews and Essay

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

Jonathan Z. Smith (1938-2017) was perhaps the most influential theorist of religion of the last half century. In this book, four interviews and a previously unpublished essay display something of the dynamic, thinking-on-his feet liveliness that Smith brought to questions about the study of religion, his theoretical preferences, and his methods of teaching.

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161

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190879084

ISBN 13

9780190879082

Relating Religion

Essays in the Study of Religion

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Relating Religion

Essays in the Study of Religion

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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429

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University of Chicago Press

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ISBN 10

0226763870

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9780226763873

The Canonization of Al-Bukh?r? and Muslim

The Formation and Function of the Sunn? ?ad?th Canon

By: Jonathan Brown

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The Canonization of Al-Bukh?r? and Muslim

The Formation and Function of the Sunn? ?ad?th Canon

By: Jonathan Brown

Drawing on canon studies, this book investigates the origins, development and functions of the core of the Sunni ?ad?th canon, the 'Authentic' ?ad?th collections of al-Bukh?r? and Muslim, from the time of their authors to the modern period.

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454

Publisher

BRILL

Published Date

ISBN 10

9004158391

ISBN 13

9789004158399

Map is Not Territory

Studies in the History of Religions

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Map is Not Territory

Studies in the History of Religions

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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350

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226763579

ISBN 13

9780226763576

Drudgery Divine

On the Comparison of Early Christianities and the Religions of Late Antiquity

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Drudgery Divine

On the Comparison of Early Christianities and the Religions of Late Antiquity

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

First Published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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166

Publisher

Psychology Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0728601583

ISBN 13

9780728601581

To Take Place

Toward Theory in Ritual

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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To Take Place

Toward Theory in Ritual

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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202

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University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226763617

ISBN 13

9780226763613

Imagining Religion

From Babylon to Jonestown

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Imagining Religion

From Babylon to Jonestown

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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181

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226841863

ISBN 13

9780226841861

On Teaching Religion

Essays by Jonathan Z. Smith

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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On Teaching Religion

Essays by Jonathan Z. Smith

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

On Teaching Religion collects the best of Jonathan Z. Smith's essays and lectures into one volume.

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Page Count

175

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199944296

ISBN 13

9780199944293

Reading J.Z. Smith

Interviews and Essay

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Reading J.Z. Smith

Interviews and Essay

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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161

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190879084

ISBN 13

9780190879082

Drudgery Divine

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Drudgery Divine

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

First Published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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160

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1135336989

ISBN 13

9781135336981

Violent Origins

Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing and Cultural Formation

By: Walter Burkert,René Girard,Jonathan Smith

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Violent Origins

Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing and Cultural Formation

By: Walter Burkert,René Girard,Jonathan Smith

Burkert, Girard, and Smith hold important and contradictory theories about the nature and origin of ritual sacrifice, and the role violence plays in religion and culture. These papers and conversations derive from a conference that pursued the possibility and utility of a general theory of religion and culture, especially one based on violence. The special value of this volume is the conversations as such—the real record of working scholars engaged with one another's theories, as they make and meet challenges, and move and maneuver. Girard and Burkert present different versions of the same conviction: that a single theory can account for ritual and its social function, a theory that posits original acts of group violence. Smith sharply questions both the possibility and the utility of such a general theory. Among the highlights of this stimulating interchange of ideas is a searching criticism of Girard's theory of generative scapegoating, which he answers with clarity and conviction, and a challenging of Burkert's theory of the origin of sacrifice in the hunt by Smith's argument, posed as a jeu d'esprit, that sacrifice originates with the domestication of animals.

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300

Publisher

Stanford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0804715181

ISBN 13

9780804715188

Drudgery Divine

On the Comparison of Early Christianities and the Religions of Late Antiquity

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

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Drudgery Divine

On the Comparison of Early Christianities and the Religions of Late Antiquity

By: Jonathan Z. Smith

In this major theoretical and methodological statement on the history of religions, Jonathan Z. Smith shows how convert apologetic agendas can dictate the course of comparative religious studies. As his example, Smith reviews four centuries of scholarship comparing early Christianities with religions of late Antiquity (especially the so-called mystery cults) and shows how this scholarship has been based upon an underlying Protestant-Catholic polemic. The result is a devastating critique of traditional New Testament scholarship, a redescription of early Christianities as religious traditions amenable to comparison, and a milestone in Smith's controversial approach to comparative religious studies. "An important book, and certainly one of the most significant in the career of Jonathan Z. Smith, whom one may venture to call the greatest pathologist in the history of religions. As in many precedent cases, Smith follows a standard procedure: he carefully selects his victim, and then dissects with artistic finesse and unequaled acumen. The operation is always necessary, and a deconstructor of Smith's caliber is hard to find."—Ioan P. Coulianu, Journal of Religion

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160

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226763625

ISBN 13

9780226763620

Not in God's Name

Confronting Religious Violence

By: Jonathan Sacks

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Not in God's Name

Confronting Religious Violence

By: Jonathan Sacks

In this powerful and timely book, one of the most admired and authoritative religious leaders of our time tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God. If religion is perceived as being part of the problem, Rabbi Sacks argues, then it must also form part of the solution. When religion becomes a zero-sum conceit—i.e., my religion is the only right path to God, therefore your religion is by definition wrong—and when individuals are motivated by what Rabbi Sacks calls “altruistic evil,” violence between peoples of different beliefs appears to be the inevitable outcome. But through an exploration of the roots of violence and its relationship to religion, and employing groundbreaking biblical analysis and interpretation, Rabbi Sacks shows that religiously inspired violence has as its source misreadings of biblical texts at the heart of all three Abrahamic faiths. By looking anew at the book of Genesis, with its foundational stories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Rabbi Sacks offers a radical rereading of many of the Bible’s seminal stories of sibling rivalry: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Leah. Here is an eloquent call for people of goodwill from all faiths and none to stand together, confront the religious extremism that threatens to destroy us all, and declare: Not in God’s Name.

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Page Count

321

Publisher

Schocken

Published Date

ISBN 10

080521268X

ISBN 13

9780805212686

Faith in the Future

By: Jonathan Sacks

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Faith in the Future

By: Jonathan Sacks

Faith in the Future addresses some of the major themes of our time: the fragmentation of our common culture, the breakdown of family and community life, the lack of moral direction, and the waning of religious belief. How, Sacks asks, can we construct a humane social order that honors human dignity and difference, one in which we can be both true to ourselves and a blessing to others? In the confusing state of postindustrial societies in the post-Cold War situation, can we give those who come after us a coherent map of hope? In treating such questions, Faith in the Future is structured in four parts. In the first, The Moral Covenant, Sacks touches on the broadest of issues: morality, the family, and the importance of communities in the life of society. In the second, Living Together, he asks how we can co-exist while remaining faithful to our distinctive identities and traditions. In the third, Jewish Ethics and Spirituality, he sketches some of Judaism's leading themes. There is such a thing, says, as an ecology of hope, and it lies in restoring to our culture a sense of family, community, and religious faith.

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Page Count

262

Publisher

Mercer University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0865545502

ISBN 13

9780865545502

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