Senses of Devotion

This ethnographic study focuses on the religious imagery and practices of a sample of Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques in the greater Los Angeles area. As a way of expanding interfaith dialogue, it is framed as a conversation between the largely Christian researchers and the seventy-five respondents, who were asked about the images, space, and practices of their religious experience. From the respondents in their various religious settings, it seeks to distill the specific religious imaginations and aesthetic profiles that might be said to characterize their experience--to discover what might be considered the living images of these faiths.

Set in the context of contemporary discussions of the nature of religion and visual culture, this richly textured study of visual and sensory practices in religion raises fundamental questions about the place of belief and ritual practice and the role these play in our increasingly pluralistic religious culture.

About the author

William A. Dyrness is Senior Professor of Theology and Culture in the School of Mission and Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of Poetic Theology (2011) and most recently The Origin of Protestant Aesthetics in Early Modern Europe (2019).

Product details

• Authors: William A. Dyrness
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.03.2013
• EAN: 9781498215206
• ISBN: 978-1-4982-1520-6
• No. of pages: 162
• Dimensions: 157 mm x 235 mm x 14 mm
• Weight: 395 g
• Series: Art for Faith's Sake
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works