The secular clergy - priests and other clerics outside of monastic orders - were among the most influential and powerful groups in European society during the central Middle Ages.
In 2013, when the state of Oklahoma erected a statue of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol, a group calling themselves The Satanic Temple applied to erect a statue of Baphomet alongside the Judeo-Christian tablets.
In 2013, when the state of Oklahoma erected a statue of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol, a group calling themselves The Satanic Temple applied to erect a statue of Baphomet alongside the Judeo-Christian tablets.
While humanist sensibilities have played a formative role in the advancement of our species, critical attention to humanism as a field of study is a more recent development.
While humanist sensibilities have played a formative role in the advancement of our species, critical attention to humanism as a field of study is a more recent development.
In Initiating the Millennium, Robert Collis and Natalie Bayer fill a substantial lacuna in the study of an initiatic society--known variously as the Illumines d'Avignon, the Avignon Society, the New Israel Society, and the Union--that flourished across Europe between 1779 and 1807.
In Initiating the Millennium, Robert Collis and Natalie Bayer fill a substantial lacuna in the study of an initiatic society--known variously as the Illumines d'Avignon, the Avignon Society, the New Israel Society, and the Union--that flourished across Europe between 1779 and 1807.
Studies of "e;near-death experiences"e; show that such experiences not only provide a new certainty of post-mortem survival, but often function as a call for fundamental change in the present.
Studies of "e;near-death experiences"e; show that such experiences not only provide a new certainty of post-mortem survival, but often function as a call for fundamental change in the present.
One of the fastest growing religious movements in the Western world, neo-shamanism embraces notions and techniques borrowed from various tribal peoples and adapted to the life of contemporary urban dwellers.
One of the fastest growing religious movements in the Western world, neo-shamanism embraces notions and techniques borrowed from various tribal peoples and adapted to the life of contemporary urban dwellers.
According to the Bible, Eve was the first to heed Satan's advice to eat the forbidden fruit and thus responsible for all of humanity's subsequent miseries.
According to the Bible, Eve was the first to heed Satan's advice to eat the forbidden fruit and thus responsible for all of humanity's subsequent miseries.
Through in-depth analysis of musical theatre choreography and choreographers, Making Broadway Dance challenges long-held perceptions of Broadway dance as kitsch, disposable, a dance form created without artistic process.
Through in-depth analysis of musical theatre choreography and choreographers, Making Broadway Dance challenges long-held perceptions of Broadway dance as kitsch, disposable, a dance form created without artistic process.
In his sixth satire, Juvenal speculates about how Roman wives busy themselves while their husbands are away, namely, by entertaining a revolving door of exotic visitors who include a eunuch of the eastern goddess Bellona, an impersonator of Egyptian Anubis, a Judean priestess, and Chaldean astrologers.
This book explores Icelandic spirit work, known as andleg mal, which features trance and healing practices that span earth and spirit realms, historical eras, scientific and supernatural worldviews, and cross-Atlantic cultures.
This book explores Icelandic spirit work, known as andleg mal, which features trance and healing practices that span earth and spirit realms, historical eras, scientific and supernatural worldviews, and cross-Atlantic cultures.
The study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) is one of the fastest-growing areas of religious studies, and since the release of the first edition of The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements in 2003, the field has continued to expand and break new ground.
The study of New Religious Movements (NRMs) is one of the fastest-growing areas of religious studies, and since the release of the first edition of The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements in 2003, the field has continued to expand and break new ground.
The cognitive science of religion has made a persuasive case for the view that a number of different psychological systems are involved in the construction and transmission of notions of extranatural agency such as deities and spirits.
Cave paintings at Lascaux, France and Altamira, Spain, fraught with expression thousands of years later; point to an early human desire to form a cultural identity.
Imagine yourself sitting on the cool damp earth, surrounded by deep night sky and fields full of fireflies, anticipating the ritual of initiation that you are about to undergo.
Since the emergence of religious studies and the social sciences as academic disciplines, the concept of "e;magic"e; has played a major role in defining religion and in mediating the relation of religion to science.
Esteemed scholar David Leeming, who has authored more than twelve books on mythology, here offers the first comprehensive narrative study of the mythology of the Middle East, that tumultuous region that was the cradle of civilization.
