Genealogies of Religion

Part 1 Genealogies: the construction of religion as an anthropological category; toward a genealogy of the concept of ritual. Part 2 Archaisms: pain and truth in medieval Christian ritual; on discipline and humility in medieval Christian monasticism. Part 3 Translations: the concept of cultural translation in British social anthropology; the limits of religious criticism in the Middle East. Part 4 Polemics: multiculturalism and British identity in the wake of the Rushdie affair; ethnography, literature and politics - some readings and uses of Salmon Rushdie's ''Satanic Verses''.

""All articles are extremely well written, exhibit impressive scholarship, and are thoughtful and are thoughtful and stimulating. Asad's criticisms are neither judgmental nor self-righteous but are generally driven by the will to understand.""