menu
{ "item_title" : "What Is Religion?", "item_author" : [" Philippe Borgeaud", "Guy Stroumsa", "Aaron Kachuck "], "item_description" : "How should we explain differences in religious belief and practice? Philippe Borgeaud's ambitious intellectual history tells the story of how reflection on religious phenomena emerged, throughout the centuries, in European consciousness and scholarship. Christianity in particular, as Borgeaud shows, long wrestled with how to understand polytheistic cultures versus its own belief in a single omnipotent God. The Church Fathers, the author argues, sought to inherit the core of Graeco-Roman culture while rejecting its deities and religious practices; and patristic ideas were later adopted when Europeans travelling and colonising the world encountered ever more varied polytheistic traditions. At times detached, at times enchanted, these travellers' reflections provided the basis for the modern study of 'religions', and have since conditioned the mindset of anyone brought up in a European culture. The book concludes by arguing for the importance of liberation from these assumptions and instead considering religion as a form of 'play'.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers4.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/00/922/034/1009220349_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "35.00", "online_price" : "35.00", "our_price" : "35.00", "club_price" : "35.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }
What Is Religion?|Philippe Borgeaud

What Is Religion? : European Thought from Antiquity to the Present

PRE-ORDER NOW:
local_shippingShip to Me
Preorder. This item will be available on May 31, 2026 .
FREE Shipping for Club Members help

Overview

How should we explain differences in religious belief and practice? Philippe Borgeaud's ambitious intellectual history tells the story of how reflection on religious phenomena emerged, throughout the centuries, in European consciousness and scholarship. Christianity in particular, as Borgeaud shows, long wrestled with how to understand polytheistic cultures versus its own belief in a single omnipotent God. The Church Fathers, the author argues, sought to inherit the core of Graeco-Roman culture while rejecting its deities and religious practices; and patristic ideas were later adopted when Europeans travelling and colonising the world encountered ever more varied polytheistic traditions. At times detached, at times enchanted, these travellers' reflections provided the basis for the modern study of 'religions', and have since conditioned the mindset of anyone brought up in a European culture. The book concludes by arguing for the importance of liberation from these assumptions and instead considering religion as a form of 'play'.

Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781009220347
  • ISBN-10: 1009220349
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press
  • Publish Date: May 2026
  • Page Count: 204

Related Categories

You May Also Like...

    1

BAM Customer Reviews