Understanding Religious Sacrifice

A Reader

By: Jeffrey Carter (Editor)

Write A Review

Paperback | 1 March 2003 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
480 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.9 x 16.3 x 2.0

Paperback

RRP $200.00

$176.75

12%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $44.19 with

or

Ships in 3 to 5 business days

One of the most persistent controversies in the study of religion is the nature of sacrifice. Since the earliest days of religious studies, and continuing even today, scholars have been compelled to address a wide range of cultural and historical examples of sacrifice, and to reconcile these examples with broader understandings of religion. This volume provides a thorough introduction to the major classic and modern writings dealing with religious sacrifice. It traces the history of scholarly attempts to define, classify and explain sacrifice and offers a clear view of the competing theories claiming to understand the meaning of sacrificial behaviours. Collected here are twenty five influential selections, each with a brief introduction addressing the overall framework and assumptions of its author. As they present different theories and examples of sacrifice, these selections also discuss important concepts in religious studies such as the origin of religion, totemism, magic, symbolism, violence, structuralism and ritual performance. Students of comparative religion, ritual studies, the history of religions, the anthropology of religion and theories of religion will particularly value the historical organization and thematic analyses presented in this collection

Industry Reviews

"Carter's book is the first to my knowledge that brings together a comprehensive collection of the major theories of sacrifice from the last 200 years. The excerpted texts are brief enough to be manageable but long enough to capture the main points in each of the authors' arguments. This is an important volume that will be of great value in the classroom and of general interest to anyone interested in religious studies, anthropology or sociology. I enjoyed reading it."
Hugh B. Urban, Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Studies, Ohio State University

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.