Brent Nongbri is a postdoctoral researcher at Macquarie
University in Sydney, Australia.
"Compelling . . . a thought-provoking addition to scholarship on
religion, history, and culture."—Publishers Weekly
"So, although Before Religion understandably comes well after many
of the works that helped to establish this field of study, it is
likely the best way into the literature on “religion” for the
newcomer (and thus Nongbri’s work has the effect of helping to
constitute this focus as a legitimate specialty). While hardly
being a textbook, its shorter chapters and command over a wide
literature, coupled with his many practical historical examples,
makes it very useful in a variety of class settings (whether
undergraduate or graduate)."—Russell T. McCutcheon, Numen
"A significant contribution . . . a clear and carefully written
book."—Naomi Goldenberg, Critical Religion
"Nongbri writes with admirable clarity, and with the historian’s
grasp of detail, to encapsulate both recent innovations in
theorizing religion and the religions, and the persistence of
unexamined assumptions that fail to grasp recent contextualization
of religion as European and modern. Nongbri’s concise account
within a single volume is a valuable resource for research and
teaching."—Jenny Daggers, Liverpool Hope University
"Recent scholarship exposing the modern origin of ‘religion’ has
awaited a treatise precisely like this: a wide-ranging yet careful
exploration of the prehistory of the powerful idea. Written with
clarity, ease, and grace, it is exceedingly informative and
provocative."—Tomoko Masuzawa, author of The Invention of World
Religions: Or, How European Universalism Was Preserved in the
Language of Pluralism
"This book provides a wonderfully clear and concise account of our
modern notion of ‘religion.’ Written with erudition and
insight, it challenges us to rethink everything we have thought
about religions, past and present."—Peter Harrison, The University
of Queensland
"This lucid, broad and well-documented book focuses on the crucial
periods of late antiquity and early modernity. In it, Brent
Nongbri makes a convincing case for a more careful and
self-conscious use of the term religion. A remarkable
synthesis."—Guy G. Stroumsa, author of A New Science: the Discovery
of Religion in the Age of Reason
"In this brief but challenging book Brent Nongbri defamiliarizes
the notion of religion as commonly used. Even if one does not agree
with all of his conclusions, the study of 'religion,' be it in
antiquity or today, will never be the same after the standards set
by his book."—Jan Bremmer, University of Groningen
"Inevitably, we use our own concepts to make sense of the past;
failing to realize this, however, is an indictment of our work.
Luckily, Brent Nongbri’s genealogy of the concept ‘religion’ will
help keep scholars honest by making it tougher for them to portray
their modern interpretations as disinterested
descriptions."—Russell T. McCutcheon, author of Manufacturing
Religion: The Discourse on Sui Generis Religion and the Politics of
Nostalgia
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
