Religion and Society

Walter de Gruyter, Berlin & New York
Series Relaunch

Walter de Gruyter (www.degruyter.com) announces a relaunch of the series Religion and Society, edited by Gustavo Benavides (Villanova University) and Kocku von Stuckrad (University of Amsterdam). Religion and Society, formerly under the editorship of Jacques Waardenburg, Leo Laeyendecker and Luther Martin, was initially established by Mouton in 1976. Several new volumes are now in preparation.

Series Description

The assumption that lies at the core of Religion and Society is that religious traditions are a powerful instrument of communal self-positioning. Harking back to inherited belief systems and customs, the traditions are expressive of the outer and inner world and thus enable people to define their place within those worlds.

This is also – and especially – true for religions in the modern world. Quite contrary to the expectation of many scholars, religions did not retreat into inner states. Instead, they were newly established as a part of an interested public. This development has entailed a variety of challenges for the academic study of religions, which this series intends to address.

Religion and Society contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems – both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law, politics and the like. Religious issues are debated and negotiated in a public arena. In order to study religion in the context of these arenas and discourses, both an historical and an empirical perspective are needed. Hence, due attention is given to studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series. Manuscripts considered for publication may be paradigmatic case studies or comparative studies.

Dr. Gustavo Benavides is Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University in Pennsylvania/USA.

Dr. Kocku von Stuckrad is Assistant Professor, Chair for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, at the University of Amsterdam/Netherlands.