A sociology of religious emotion / Ole Riis and Linda Woodhead.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-259) and index.

Emotion : a relational view -- Religious emotion -- Dynamics of religious emotion I : connections of self, society, and symbols -- Dynamics of religious emotion II : disconnections of self, society and symbols -- The power of religious emotion -- Religious emotion in late modern society, and culture -- Conclusion -- Appendix: The studying of religious emotion : method and practice.

This timely book aims to change the way we think about religion by putting emotion back onto the agenda. It challenges a tendency to over-emphasise rational aspects of religion, and rehabilitates its embodied, visceral and affective dimensions. Against the view that religious emotion is a purely private matter, it offers a new framework which shows how religious emotions arise in the varied interactions between human agents and religious communities, human agents and objects of devotion, and communities and sacred symbols. It presents parallels and contrasts between religious emotions in European and American history, in other cultures, and in contemporary western societies. By taking emotions seriously. A Sociology of Religious Emotion sheds new light on the power of religion to shape fundamental human orientations and motivations: hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, loves and hatreds.

Thoughtfully illustrated with photographic plates that capture the global range of religions and cultures discussed. --Book Jacket.