RELIGIOUS STUDIES
July - September 2026
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COLLECTIONS
Religion in the Modern World
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
336 Pages • 8 b&w images
HB 9798216379690 • £90 00 / $120 00
PB 9798216379706 • £24 99 / $34 95
ePDF 9798216379720 • £22 49 / $31 45
ePub 9798216379713 • £22 49 / $31 45
Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
240 Pages
PB 9781350559431 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350559394 • £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9781350559417 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350559400 • £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
248 Pages • 10 bw illus
HB 9781350425866 • £85 00 / $115 00
PB 9781350425903 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350425873 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350425880 • £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
Interrogating Religion and Peacebuilding
Global Perspectives on Power, Conflict, and Liberation
Edited by Jude Lal Fernando & Santiago Slabodsky
Interrogating Religion and Peacebuilding challenges the dominant narratives that frame peace as a civilizational ideal At a time when millions demand an end to war, occupation, and systemic oppression, this volume gathers diverse voices in a transnational and decolonial conversation The contributors interrogate how “peace” is too often deployed as a mirage reproducing systems of exclusion and violence under the guise of stability, order, and reform
Exposing the coloniality embedded within hegemonic peace discourses, contributors reveal how imperial power configurations transform freedom into occupation, democracy into exclusion, and security into violence Through critically self-reflective engagement with both religious and secular worldviews, contributors propose that peace is not an abstract ideal, but a deeply political construct shaped by empire, enforced through intervention, and justified by a faith in modernity’s civilizing mission Rejecting both reformist inclusion and idealized neutrality, these essays embody a political commitment to the tormented, the resisting, and the marginalized
This book is not merely critique it is a call to transformation
The Story in Religion
Tellers, Readers, Listeners
Martin D Stringer, Swansea University, UK
Drawing on theories of myth and narratives from pop culture, this book develops a sociology of the story that shows how stories create meaning in contemporary religious practices in the West
Martin Stringer shows how stories work in religion within the context of the story-saturated world of the 21st century through discussions of a wide range of theories of myth He traces religious elements in the stories of film, television and literature to explore how a wide range of stories impact how we engage with, talk about and live religion
Each of the ten chapters introduces an influential theory of myth, including those of Edward B Tylor, Claude Lévi-Strauss and Sigmund Freud, before applying this theory to a story or trope from folklore, literature or popular culture In highlighting core themes from the different theories of myth, these ten different Snow Whites reveal the fluidity of stories and the theories we create about them In its bold combination of theories of myth, popular culture and religion, The Story in Religion shows how people use a range of stories to create identities, emotions and realities in their religious practices In this way, the book alters how we think about meaning-making in religious contexts and in society more broadly
One Nation, Many Faiths
Religious Pluralism and National Identity in an Interfaith Organisation
Liam T Sutherland, Independent scholar, UK
This book examines the understudied role of the interfaith movement in institutionalizing religious pluralism in the public life of contemporary societies through the case study of Interfaith Scotland It analyzes the organization and their literature, demonstrating the ways in which they have cultivated a particular model of religious pluralism compatible with a secular civic-cultural nationalism It places this case into a comparative discussion of the interfaith movement as an emerging global phenomenon
In this case study, the author considers how Interfaith Scotland presents ‘religions’ as equivalent, compatible bodies of ethical teachings through selective appeals to textual traditions or in some cases, their construction It has also depended on conforming to the ‘world religions paradigm’, where it is only religions with global reach and cohesive characteristics which require representation
Liam Sutherland discusses how Interfaith Scotland encouraged a common, seemingly ‘apolitical’ attachment to Scotland’s democratic institutions and cultural heritage, especially in relation to the question of independence This case study sheds light on the wider relationship between the global interfaith movement and nationalism – both in protecting religions against prejudice and exclusion but also pursuing integrationist goals
UK May 2026 US May 2026
192 Pages • 11 b&w images
HB 9781538184448 £17 99 / $24 00
PB 9798216452317 • £13 99 / $18 95
ePDF 9798216316534 £16 19 / $21 60
ePub 9781538184455 • £16 19 / $21 60
Audio 9781493087594 • $25 00
Rowman & Littlefield
The God of Wild Places
Rediscovering the
Divine in the Untamed Outdoors
Tony Jones
A pastor walks out of the church and into the woods, in pursuit of the God he's lost
When pastor and theologian Tony Jones, PhD, had his crisis of faith, brought on by personal trauma and broken relationships, he sought solace in the outdoors paddling a canoe, hunting with his dog, butchering deer When he walked out of the church and into the woods, he left the orderly pews and numbered hymns for chaotic spaces and untamed wilderness And he re-discovered God a God who brings peace in the midst of storms, a God who lives in the community of our fellow creatures, a God who's acquainted with death This is the God of wild places
In The God of Wild Places, Tony mines his own experiences, recent research in evolutionary psychology, and ancient wisdom from various spiritual and philosophical traditions to fashion lessons about solitude, the predator-prey relationship, the importance of place, risk, failure, and death, and the chaotic presence of God
Tony's guidance in The God of Wild Places promises to introduce a generation of Americans to the transcendence available only in untamed spaces; his writing draws on wisdom from Christianity to Buddhism, Kant to Cioran, Jim Harrison to Annie Dillard This is a journey of loss and discovery through forests and fields, lakes and streams, from knowing to unknowing, from finding to losing from life to death, and then back to life This new paperback edition features a fresh preface from Tony, reflecting on the book’s reception and the continuing search for the divine in nature
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
176 Pages
HB 9798216378044 • £55 00 / $75 00
PB 9798216378006 • £15 99 / $21 95
ePDF 9798216378020 • £14 39 / $19 75
ePub 9798216378013 £14 39 / $19 75
T&T Clark
Sustainable Ministry
How to Lead (and When to Nap)
Margaret J Marcuson
If you’re a pastoral leader, you’re likely finding ministry tougher now than ever The old way of doing church no longer works Numbers continue to go down You don’t know what to do to move forward You want a sense of satisfaction in your life and work Instead, you struggle with an overwhelming sense of failure and loss
Sustainable Ministry: How to Lead (and When to Nap) will help you develop a more vibrant, more effective relationship with your work, with other church leaders, your congregants, and with someone you may neglect: yourself This book isn’t about the technique of ministry leadership It’s about you and how you bring your best self to your ministry
Celebrated clergy consultant Margaret Marcuson shares a clear message: Church leadership is you in thoughtful relationship with the work you do and with those you lead The purpose of the book is to help pastors find a way to better experience their life in ministry now so they can use their best gifts to help the church and to change lives The result is nothing less than greater satisfaction in ministry and greater capacity to contribute for the long-term sustainability of your congregation
COLLECTIONS
UK May 2026 • US May 2026
288 Pages 2 b&w illustrations
HB 9798216383475 • £25 00 / $32 00
ePDF 9798216383499 £22 50 / $28 80
ePub 9798216383482 • £22 50 / $28 80
Audio 9798216477259 • £22 00 / $27 00
Bloomsbury Academic
Erecting the Pulpit
Muscular Christianity from Teddy Roosevelt to Donald Trump
Amy Laura Hall
Examines a powerful yet overlooked form of Christian Nationalism one that fuses faith, masculinity, capitalism, and political power under the guise of moral leadership Beginning with Theodore Roosevelt’s “Muscular Christianity” and tracing the conceit of faithful and fit male leadership through figures like Billy Graham and cultural institutions like National Prayer Breakfasts and modern mega-churches, and flourishing under the administration of Donald Trump, Erecting the Pulpit reveals how religious rhetoric has been wielded to sanctify power and divide communities
Drawing on her firsthand experiences and years of conversations with participants from Cowboy Churches to NASCAR chaplaincies and storefront churches with folding chairs to meetings with the parachurch group Young Life theologian Amy Laura Hall examines the cultural and political forces that have made evangelicalism “ambient” while consolidating wealth and influence At a time when politicians are expected to pray in public and religious themes shape public policy, Hall offers a vivid, incisive exploration of how religious expressions of faith in the United States have been strategically repackaged to sustain political and economic hierarchies and keep women subservient to men
COLLECTIONS
UK April 2026 US April 2026
254 Pages • 7 b/w illustrations; 1 tables;
HB 9781793641328 £80 00 / $110 00
PB 9781793641342 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781978782969 £72 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781793641335 • £72 00 / $99 00
Lexington Books
Atheists Finding God
Unlikely Stories of Conversions to Christianity in the Contemporary West
Jana S Harmon
In a Western culture of increasing skepticism towards conservative Christianity, what motivates intellectually-driven atheists to believe in the reality of God and become passionate followers of Christ?
Review of social science literature confirms a predominant functional approach to religious conversion, effectively reducing a complex, substantive phenomenon to a partial functional explanation In response, the chief focus of this book is to take a broader look at religious conversion to determine the precursors and pathways from atheistic disbelief to belief in God and Christianity within an educated population
Findings are drawn from PhD-based research evaluating a broad range of functional and substantive variables influencing religious conversion Data was collected through both survey and interview of fifty educated, skeptical atheists in the contemporary West who once held belief God and Christianity as implausible, unattractive, and irrelevant Yet, they became utterly convinced that the Christian faith was true and good, worth personal life commitment
These former atheists not only experienced a change of their worldview, but also a dramatic transformation of their ‘whole world ’ In-depth narrative analysis revealed the integrated, transformative nature of religious conversion in areas of sensemaking, identity, experience, meaning and purpose, community, language, and spirituality
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026
• US September 2026
256 Pages • 20 bw illus
PB 9798216474470 • £85 00 / $39 95
HB 9781666954791
• £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9798216251309
• £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781978767393 £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
320 Pages 4 b&w illus
PB 9781350559240 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350557512 £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9781350557536 • £0 00 / $0 00
ePub 9781350557529 • £0 00 / $0 00
Bloomsbury Academic
Interreligious and Global Perspectives of Christian Art in China and Taiwan, 1552–1650
Susangeline Y Patrick
This book considers how European and Asian Christian missionaries communicated religious doctrine through the visual arts in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Greater China
Zooming in on these rich cross-cultural and inter-religious artifacts, Susangeline Patrick reveals how Christian images and visual culture reflected, interacted with, and influenced spiritual and sociopolitical powers during the period Across eight chapters, Patrick expands the meaning of “liturgical art” within this historical and geographical context, locating religious visual arts within alternative spheres such as Christian charitable institutions, cartography, and bodily behavior, intentionally shedding light on Christian women’s initiatives and participation in art, devotion, and power In essence, this book underscores the interreligious and global aspects of encounters which shaped and impacted the production, circulation, and outcome of devotional art
OPEN ACCESS
Esotericism in East Asia
Cultural Interpretation and Politics
Edited by Chienhui Chuang, Kobe Women's University, Japan, Sangyun Han, Tohoku University, Japan & Julian Strube, Göttingen University, Germany
This pioneering open access book offers a new take on esotericism by centering the often-overlooked contributions of East Asian thinkers to the development of this field of knowledge Esotericism in East Asia critically examines how and why the language of ‘esotericism’ has become so ubiquitous in scholarship on Asian religious ideas and practices It highlights the role of interactions between European and Asian scholars since the 16th century to show that Asian thinkers and their local contexts have crucially shaped our understanding of esotericism With contributions focusing on a range of contexts in Japan and China, from Buddhism and Shinto to the Theosophical movement and occultism, this volume provides rich insights into how Asians have engaged with and influenced the study of esotericism across the globe
By introducing a new framework for studying esotericism in Asia from a perspective of global cultural exchange, this volume provides an important corrective to the Eurocentric approaches to studying esotericism that have dominated Western scholarship As an invaluable reference for scholars working at the intersection of East Asian studies and esotericism, it lays the groundwork for more nuanced scholarship in the field
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 US September 2026
224 Pages
PB 9798216389798 £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9798216389606 • £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9798216389668 £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9798216389675 • £76 50 / $103 50 Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026
• US September 2026
200 Pages • 10 b&w images
HB 9798216381266
• £75 00 / $100 00
PB 9798216381273 • £21 99 / $29 95
ePDF 9798216381297 • £19 79 / $26 95
ePub 9798216381280 £19 79 / $26 95
Bloomsbury Academic
The Power of Hate Speech in Ancient India Beasts, Demons, and Scorched-Earth Poetry
Jarrod L Whitaker, Wake Forest University, USA
This book argues that early Vedic poet-priests deployed various forms of hate speech to negotiate interpersonal conflict and social status.
Jarrod L Whitaker illuminates a lived reality in which ancient Indian ritualists had to contend with serious threats to the staging of their ritual performances from rival ritualists, members of the wider community, cultural outsiders, and even wild animals Consequently, this book offers an in-depth study of how ancient Indian poet-priests construct and reproduce their identities and sociopolitical expectations in ritual performances through the ubiquitous use of ritualized hate speech Whitaker provides hitherto unnoticed insights into the complex discursive practices, ethical values, and interpersonal relationships that ritual practitioners had to negotiate some three thousand years ago in north India
Searching for Tara
The Goddess Who Became a Buddha
James William Coleman
This book traces the meaning and power of the Buddhist goddess Tara as a fully awakened being whose feminine wisdom speaks directly to the crises of modern life Beginning with a life-altering visionary experience during a medical crisis, sociologist ad Buddhist practitioner James William Coleman embarks on a wide-ranging inquiry into Tara’s origins, symbolism, and enduring relevance Drawing on archaeology, comparative mythology, sociology, depth psychology, and Buddhist philosophy, the book reveals how Tara emerged from ancient goddess traditions to become one of Buddhism’s most radical figures: a Buddha who embodies compassion, wisdom, immediacy, and engagement with the suffering world Coleman situates Tara at the intersection of three defining movements of our time: the growing embrace of meditation and contemplative practice, the reassertion of the feminine in spiritual and cultural life, and the mounting environmental and social crises produced by ego-driven modernity Rather than treating Tara as a distant deity, he presents her as a living expression of awakened consciousness one that invites practitioners to embody wisdom, courage, and care in daily life
Structured in three movements, the book first explores Tara’s historical and sociological roots, then places her within the world’s great goddess traditions, and finally examines her psychological and spiritual significance as an archetype of transformation The concluding chapters turn decisively toward practice, offering accessible guidance for cultivating a Tara meditation that integrates insight, compassion, and ecological responsibility
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
208 Pages 0 bw illus
PB 9781350586871 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350586833 £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9781350586840 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350586857 • £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
Early Buddhist Hedonism
The Role of Spiritual Pleasure in the Pali Discourses Bernat Font, Bodhi College, UK
Contesting common perceptions of Buddhism as gloomy, pessimistic and emotionally restrained, this book reveals how/that the ancient path to liberation is centred on feeling good Bernat Font explores how the Buddha portrayed in Pali discourses is a refined hedonist who seeks pleasure, and if he criticises sensory desire, he does so on the basis that it does not provide enough good feelings
This book presents early Buddhism as a system that does not combat our tendency to avoid the unpleasant or seek pleasure, but instead uses it subversively for the sake of liberation Through this notion, chapters explore how Early Buddhism engages fully with our emotional side and works in conjunction with it to transform one’s whole being
Looking at progress to awakening from the vantage point of feeling (vedana), this book uncovers an underlying hedonic curve shared across the jhanas, the awakening factors, mindfulness of breathing, satipatthana, and more Bernat Font reveals the path as a training in finding pleasure in absences: first, in the absence of unethical behaviours, thoughts and impulses; and then in the absence of experiences that, while ethically neutral, still involve subtle disturbance Nirvana, the texts say, is reached through pleasure, not through pain
COLLECTIONS
UK August 2026 US August 2026
280 Pages • 0 bw illus
PB 9781350552401 £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350552364 • £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9781350552371 £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350552388 • £76 50 / $103 50 Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
192 Pages • 1 b&w image
HB 9798216372592 • £65 00 / $100 00
PB 9798216372585 • £21 99 / $29 95
ePDF 9798216372615 • £19 79 / $26 95
ePub 9798216372608 £19 79 / $26 95
Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
280 Pages 1 b&w photo
HB 9798216278832 • £25 00 / $32 00
ePDF 9798216278818 £22 50 / $28 80
ePub 9798216278825 • £22 50 / $28 80
Bloomsbury Academic
Heidegger, Hermeneutics, and the Interpretation of Islam
Reading the Islamic Past and Present Through Pivotal Muslim Thinkers
Milad Milani, Western Sydney University, Australia & Zolt Salontai, Western Sydney University, Australia
Revealing how Heidegger ’s philosophy and the religious beliefs of Islam are fundamentally incompatible, this book challenges previous assumptions about Heidegger ’s relationship to Islam This book takes the view that they in fact stand apart A compelling and innovative comparison, this book explores how the two have been mistakenly woven together through the imaginations of certain scholars and how others continue to utilise Heidegger in that vein
Exploring this, the book delivers an original study of Islam using Heidegger ’s philosophy Starting from the premise that Heidegger ’s hermeneutic phenomenology establishes an important point of reference for thinking about society and politics as well as religion Following this approach, this book analyses the thought of pivotal Muslim figures in relation to Heidegger s position to assess not whether they were “proto-Heideggerian or “pseudo-Heideggerian but rather to what extent these thinkers understood the problematics of religion, politics, and society as a hermeneutical problem
A critical point of discussion for our age in light of the prominence of political Islam narrative, this book speaks to metaphysical blind spots of Islamic thought that have produced dangerous ideologies hostile to the West, which seem to reflect Heidegger ’s philosophy but are not based on it in reality
Nature Spirituality and Environmental Crisis
Embracing a Sacred, Wounded Earth
Roger S Gottlieb
This book confronts a central spiritual question of our time: how can reverence for nature can survive when the natural world itself is deeply harmed? Across cultures and religious traditions, nature has long been experienced as sacred an enduring source of awe, gratitude, and belonging Yet climate change, pollution, mass extinction, and environmental injustice have fundamentally altered that relationship What does spirituality rooted in nature mean under these conditions?
Roger S Gottlieb offers a searching but accessible exploration of how ecological crisis reshapes spiritual life He begins by clarifying what spirituality is and why nature has played such a central role in it, for both religious and nonreligious people He then examines the environmental crisis not simply as a technical or political failure, but as a civilizational rupture that transforms how humans experience meaning, hope, grief, and moral responsibility Rather than abandoning nature spirituality, Gottlieb argues that it must be reimagined Traditional forms of reverence, gratitude, and contemplation must adapt to loss, uncertainty, and ecological vulnerability At the same time, new spiritual practices and virtues grounded in honesty, courage, solidarity, and care become essential The book concludes by showing how these transformed spiritual responses can take shape in everyday life, helping individuals face despair without denial and sustain moral commitment amid overwhelming ecological realities
Climate Anxiety and Spiritual Resilience
A Guide to Kinship, Justice, and Hope
Suzanne Crawford O'Brien
This book argues that climate change is not only an ecological and political crisis but a spiritual one, shaping how people understand loss, responsibility, and action Drawing on the psychology of climate grief alongside Indigenous and religious traditions, it offers a framework for moving beyond paralysis toward resilient, justice-centered engagement
Crawford O'Brien addresses the affective and spiritual dimensions of climate crisis: grief, despair, burnout, and moral exhaustion She engages current research on eco-anxiety and climate grief, showing how emotional overwhelm undermines collective action even when solutions are known and available The book turns to religious and Indigenous traditions that have long cultivated practices for living with loss, sustaining hope, and acting ethically within fragile ecosystems
Each chapter draws on case studies from diverse Indigenous North American traditions as well as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and religions of the African diaspora These traditions challenge extractive worldviews, emphasize relationality and interdependence, and ground justice in care for land, community, and future generations Together, they model ways of grieving what we love without surrendering to despair
COLLECTIONS
Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
280 Pages
PB 9798216441618 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781978715691 • £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9798216265078 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9798216354420 • £76 50 / $103 50
Fortress Academic
COLLECTIONS
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
216 Pages
HB 9781350477810
• £85 00 / $115 00
PB 9781350496613 • £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9781350477834 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350477827 £76 50 / $103 50 Bloomsbury Academic
Religion and James Bond
Edited by George Tsakiridis
This edited collection explores the connection between religion and James Bond
George Tsakiridis and the contributors dissect artifacts from across the Bond universe such as films, comic strips, and Ian Fleming's foundational novels observing the religious and philosophical underpinnings of Bond's belief system Though 007 does not typically prescribe to a religious system, he nonetheless encounters religion, is shaped by philosophical purpose, and becomes immersed in a religious world Tsakiridis and the contributors consider both the religion and worldview of Bond as well as the symbols, presentations, and themes of religion woven into the texts themselves Across thirteen chapters, they contend that by shining a light on religion in James Bond, we not only better understand this iconic character but the cultural and historical contexts that mold him
COLLECTIONS
UK April 2026 • US April 2026
232 Pages 3 b/w photos; 1 tables;
HB 9781666944006 • £80 00 / $110 00
PB 9781666944020 £28 99 / $39 95
ePDF 9798881881368 • £72 00 / $99 00
ePub 9781666944013 • £72 00 / $99 00
Lexington Books
Nostalgia, Religion and Popular Culture
NEW IN PB
Rethinking the Sacred and the Secular through the Death of Queen Elizabeth II Chris Deacy, University of Kent, UK
Drawing on the event of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022 as a central case study, this book explores the way we navigate the relationship between nostalgia and religion
Focusing on the lived experiences of ‘ordinary people’ and in tandem with the ‘turn to the self’ discourse, Deacy suggests that our relationship with nostalgia illustrates the shift from objective and transcendent value-systems towards the domain of everyday experience, love and loss
This book revisits the way we understand religion and the secular, using the medium of popular culture, such as radio, film, TV and music to interrogate the ‘nostalgia-as-religion’ narrative The interpersonal and social elements of nostalgia are explored, such as through the way radio fostered virtual communities and played a key role regarding national, religious and cultural memory during the mourning of the Queen
Attention is given to how nostalgia has evolved over time, and how it can be understood as a religious process which transforms our lives at a time of loss and contributes to an eschatological future
Cries from the Wilderness Reimagining Church Culture in an Age of Uncertainty
David Pocta
This book explores the memoirs of three contemporary sojourners (Rachel Held Evans, David Gushee, and Macy Halford) asking: What postures were common in his or her journey that helped them navigate their spiritual wilderness?
David Pocta argues that a primary problem within many faith communities is that members rarely see themselves in the spiritual wilderness Pocta contends that spiritual communities are often ill-equipped to nurture the spiritual life of disoriented or questioning Christians By acknowledging their own spiritual journey and drawing lessons from healthy wilderness postures, church communities are better positioned to transform and mature their community while creating a nurturing environment for individual sojourners In doing so, Pocta addresses one of the most prevalent challenges in contemporary Christianity: navigating the relationship between the individual and their faith community, particularly when the Christian enters spiritually challenging times (periods of aridity, misunderstanding, suffering, or darkness )
COLLECTIONS
UK August 2026 US August 2026
208 Pages • 3 b&w images
HB 9798881808303 £20 00 / $27 00
ePDF 9798765151945 • £18 00 / $24 30
ePub 9798881808310 £18 00 / $24 30
Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
50 / $31 50
ePub 9798216278993 • £22 50 / $31 50
Audio 9798216477389 £22 00 / $27 00
Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
UK August 2026 • US August 2026
224 Pages 6 b&w images
HB 9798881842529 • £25 00 / $34 00
ePDF 9798765158852 £22 50 / $30 60
ePub 9798765158838 • £22 50 / $30 60
Bloomsbury Academic
The Stoic Art of Recovery
The Roman Stoics as Spiritual Guides to Twelve-Step Living
Michael Mascio
A Classicist and long-time member of Alcoholics Anonymous explores how Roman Stoicism can illuminate and strengthen the practices of 12-step recovery Drawing on years of teaching ancient philosophy and more than a decade of lived sobriety, Michael Mascio offers a deeply informed, accessible account of why Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius speak powerfully to contemporary recovery Roman Stoicism, he argues, is fundamentally therapeutic a philosophy crafted to transform character, regulate emotion, and cultivate a resilient inner life Its emphasis on habitformation, disciplined self-examination, and psychological reframing aligns with the spiritual change the 12 steps demand For those alienated by the religious language of Alcoholics Anonymous, Stoicism provides an intellectually rigorous yet nondogmatic conception of a higher power rooted in nature, rationality, and universal order This perspective enables atheists, agnostics, and spiritual seekers to engage meaningfully with recovery principles without the burden of inherited theology
The book also highlights the digestible, contemplative style of Roman Stoic writings, making them ideal companions to daily recovery meditation practices At a moment when Stoicism enjoys renewed cultural visibility from popular self-help adaptations to serious philosophical revivals this work offers the first sustained account of Stoicism as a resource for the recovering addict
Forgiveness at Ground Zero
A Journey of Service, Loss, and Redemption after 9/11
Lyndon Fitzgerald Harris
On the morning after September 11, 2001, Rev Lyndon Harris pushed through smoke and ash toward St Paul’s Chapel, just blocks from the World Trade Center He expected ruin Instead, the historic chapel stood scarred but intact and soon became a sanctuary for exhausted, grieving recovery workers at Ground Zero
For close to a year Harris led an extraordinary, volunteer-driven ministry that provided food, rest, prayer, and human connection to those laboring day and night on “the Pile ” St Paul’s became known worldwide as “the little chapel that stood,” a symbol of hope amid devastation But when the chapel closed in 2002, Harris’s own life unraveled Years of conflict and resistance within his church left him overwhelmed by anger, resentment, and a desire for retribution He ultimately lost his faith, left New York, and entered a long, private struggle with grief and disillusionment
This book is not only a firsthand account of one of 9/11’s most enduring symbols, but a deeply personal story of what happens after the cameras leave Harris traces his journey from idealistic small-town priest to Ground Zero leader, through spiritual collapse, and finally toward an unexpected healing grounded in forgiveness
Drawing on pioneering research developed with Stanford psychologist Dr Frederic Luskin, cofounder of the Forgiveness Project, Harris explores forgiveness not as “forgive and forget,” but as a rigorous, transformative practice essential for recovery after trauma His story speaks to first responders, faith leaders, and anyone carrying unresolved pain offering rare insight into the emotional cost of service, the limits of institutional faith, and the resilience required to truly move forward
Healing Sacred Wounds
A Guide to Overcoming Religious and Spiritual Trauma
Sarah Catherine Nealy
Written by an experienced therapist and trauma specialist, Healing Sacred Wounds offers readers practical tools to name their wounds, reclaim agency, and move toward wholeness whether or not they choose to remain within a religious tradition
Drawing on empirical research, therapeutic practice, and the author ’s own lived experience, SC Nealy explains how harmful religious environments can produce trauma symptoms comparable to those associated with abuse, coercion, and complex PTSD It clarifies what religious trauma is, how it manifests emotionally and physically, and why it has remained underrecognized despite its widespread impact Particular attention is given to the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, for whom religious harm is often compounded by rejection, shame, and identity-based violence
Each chapter combines psychoeducation with guided reflection and self-directed exercises designed to support healing Readers are invited to identify and validate traumatic experiences, challenge internalized blame and shame, establish healthy boundaries, and cultivate self-compassion Nealy also addresses the complexities of witnessing or participating in harm, offering pathways for accountability, repair, and forgiveness without minimizing injury Rather than prescribing a single outcome, the book honors multiple paths forward
COLLECTIONS
Religion at the Boundaries
UK September 2026
240 Pages
• 6 bw illus
• US September 2026
PB 9781350610040
• £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350610002
• £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9781350610019
ePub 9781350610026
Bloomsbury Academic
• £76 50 / $103 50
• £76 50 / $103 50
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
256 Pages • 15 bw illus
PB 9781350612822
• £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781350612815
• £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9781350612785
• £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781350612792 £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
From Megachurch to Metachurch
The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
David Lehmann, University of Cambridge, UK
This book serves as the first study of the Universal Church as a global institution and as the model of neoPentecostalism
Previously the subject of research in Brazil, where studies tend to focus solely on the political and ideological, David Lehmann instead balances these themes alongside the devotional and ritual The book guides us through the church’s global infrastructure from Brazil and the rest of the world Led by Edir Macedo, the UCKG comprises bishops, pastors and assistants, with groups like Caleb, Youth Victory, Godllywood, and Intellimen serving various demographics Also explored is the church’s gendered system, such as the phenomenon of the childless ‘pastoral couple’, gendered self-improvement networks and the church’s messaging on relationships, ‘love therapy’ and even dating apps
Visiting 32 churches in 13 countries across Europe, North America, Spanish America, Brazil and even Israel, David reveals UCKG influence and reach, encapsulated by the church’s very own Temple of Solomon in São Paulo This book features a plethora of ethnographic research from across these locations including extensive conversations with pastors, church members and assistants over several years Also explored is the nature of the ritual and supernatural in neo-Pentecostalism, the church’s use of social media to spread its teachings, and a challenge to the secularization thesis, demonstrating the UCKG’s fusion of religious and secular domains
The Methodology of the Sacred How Ecstasy is Achieved
Marianna Kokkinaki, National University of Athens, Greece
Bridging scholarship and lived ritual experience, this book proposes that ecstasy is not a spontaneous eruption of grace, but a method an intentional, embodied, and often initiatory process
Ranging from Dionysian mystery rites and Afro-Brazilian possession ceremonies to Amazonian vegetalismo, Mediterranean tarantism, and the Anastenaria firewalking traditions, chapter examine how ritual, rhythm, movement, myth, and music function as tools of knowledge transmission This book challenges Western legacies that reduce understanding to rational cognition, instead elevating the intelligence of ecstatic states
Based on immersive research with Indigenous, Afro-Diasporic, and women-led communities, this book is written not only from a position of observation, but also participation Blending philosophical inquiry with critical theory, Marianna Kokkinaki repositions ecstasy not as anomaly, but as pedagogy, a radical, ancient curriculum for awakening ecological consciousness and restoring relational ways of being Through this, the book offers embodied approaches to the urgent crises of our time: climate collapse, rising authoritarianism, and systemic inequality
NEW
COLLECTIONS
UK September 2026 • US September 2026
224 Pages 3 bw illus
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ePDF 9781350361287 • £81 00 / $108 00
ePub 9781350361294 • £81 00 / $108 00
Bloomsbury Academic
From the Golem to Freedom A Study on Technology and Religion
Gábor L Ambrus, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
With a particular focus on social media, Gábor L Ambrus explores how human beings relate to contemporary information technology Ambrus argues that religious traditions – such as Judaism and Christianity, as well as secular philosophical thought inspired by religion – can be invoked to describe both the freedom and ‘unfreedom’ of the user of information technology
To illustrate how individuals relate to technology in a restricted and totalitarian online environment, Ambrus adopts the figure and legend of the golem from Jewish mysticism At the same time, his argument features other religious concepts and themes to describe an alternative to our present predicament of ‘unfreedom’, while not seeking to portray any ‘redemption’ outside the technological environment
At the core of his argument, Ambrus presents the experience of nothingness as a source of freedom, opening up the possibility for a free relationship for us all with information technology
COLLECTIONS
Queer and Trans Approaches to Religion and Theology
UK June 2026 • US June 2026
152 Pages
PB 9798765159415 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9798765159330 • £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9798765159354 • £76 50 / $103 50
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Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
Bloomsbury Handbooks
UK July 2026 • US July 2026
496 Pages
HB 9781350257177 • £150 00 / $200 00
PB 9781350257214
• £39 99 / $54 95
ePDF 9781350257184 • £135 00 / $180 00
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Bloomsbury Academic
COLLECTIONS
Studies in Body and Religion
UK October 2026 • US September 2026
336 Pages • 2 bw illus
PB 9798216365785 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9798216365778 • £85 00 / $115 00
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Bloomsbury Academic
Religion and Standpoint, Queer, Crip, and Trans Theories
Jessica A Albrecht, University of Erlangen- Nuremberg
Bringing together material religion and discourse theory, this cross-disciplinary book argues that theories of embodiment and religion co-produce one another
Responding to the scholarly turn towards embodiment and phenomenology beginning in queer studies and branching out into the humanities more broadly, Jessica A Albrecht brings religion to the table This book contends that, if the turn to materiality emphasizes what religion does in bodies and spaces, or how bodies make religion, it is equally important to ask whose bodies are made legible, and under what conditions they come to matter By shining a light on this reciprocal relationship between religion and embodiment, Albrecht reveals the processes through which meanings, “bodies,” and “religion” itself are made Across seven chapters spanning intersectionality, queer and cuír theory, and crip studies, this book traces counter-genealogies which reveal how bodies become unintelligible within the regimes of religion, race, gender, and ability Albrecht offers tools for examining how religious experiences are shaped by queerness, disability, and power, providing a fresh and inclusive perspective on how bodies and practices are central constituents of conceptions of religion The resulting framework for religious studies pushes beyond normative views or religious-secular divisions, prompting readers to critically re-consider both “religion” and the “body ”
NEW IN PB
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion, Gender and Sexuality
Edited by Sonya Sharma, University College London, UK, Dawn Llewellyn, University of Chester, UK & Sîan Hawthorne, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
Bringing together disciplines across the arts, humanities and social sciences, this Handbook presents novel and lively examinations of the dynamic ways religion, gender and sexuality operate Applying feminist, intersectional, and reflexive approaches, the volume aims to loosen imperialist and exclusionary figurations that have underwritten and tethered religion, gender, and sexuality together While holding onto the field of inquiry, the Handbook offers contributions that interrogate and untie it from the terms and conditions that have formed it The volume is organized into thematic sections: Forces and Futures; Activisms and Labors; Agencies and Practices; Relationships and Institutions; Texts and Objects
Chapters range across religious, geographical, historical, political, and social contexts and feature an array of case-studies, experiences, and topics that exemplify the reflexive intention of the volume, including explorations of race, whiteness, colonialism, and the institutional intolerance of minority groups Contributors also advance new areas of research in religion including artificial intelligence, farming, migrant mothering, child sexual abuse, mediatization, national security, legal frameworks, addiction and recovery, decolonial hermeneutics, creative arts, sport, sexual practices, and academic friendship This is an essential contribution to the fields of religious studies and gender and sexuality studies
OPEN ACCESS
Cosmopolitan Crete
A History of Cultural, Ethnic, Linguistic, and Religious Mixing
Louis A Ruprecht Jr , Georgia State University, USA
This open access book studies the history of the island of Crete as a site of ethnic and religious mixing and reveals how this relates to modern day interest in pluralistic community formation
Louis A Ruprecht Jr explores the mixture of culture, traditions, languages, and religion in the Greek island of Crete to explore the idea that mixing creates both marvels and monsters The book considers how all of the bodies living and mixing on Crete were caught up in ritual, ceremony, and contexts which can be identified as religious Ruprecht explores archeology, literature, myths, and biblical stories, revealing how the history of mixing cultures and ideas in Crete, focusing mostly on Greek mythology and the early spread of Christianity In essence, Ruprecht uses Crete’s history as an example to show how we can live in mixed societies rather than amidst constant culture wars
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4 0 license on bloomsburycollections com Open access was funded by Emory University and the Andrew W Mellon Foundation
UK May 2026 • US May 2026
192 Pages • 10 tables
PB 9798216445395 • £28 99 / $39 95
HB 9781666972351 • £85 00 / $115 00
ePDF 9798216261841 • £76 50 / $103 50
ePub 9781978760493 • £76 50 / $103 50
Bloomsbury Academic
Spiritual Formation for the Burnout Generation
An Asian American Christian Perspective
Heesung Hwang
This book considers the spiritual, cultural, and systemic realities of burnout in contemporary society from an Asian American, Christian perspective Drawing on biblical narratives, theological reflection, and Asian cultural values, Heesung Hwang explores how practices such as Sabbath, huesik (intentional sacred rest), and contemplative disciplines open pathways for renewal Across ten chapters and an epilogue, this book weaves together personal stories, scriptural insights, and communal practices, offering a holistic framework for resilience against the matrices of hyper-productivity, consumerism, and digital connectivity In doing so, Hwang underscores that burnout is not only a personal struggle, but a systemic and spiritual crisis requiring cultural critique, communal support, and leadership transformation Designed for both academic and congregational contexts, this book serves as a reflective resource and study guide, with questions and activities attuned to individual or groups settings Ultimately, Hwang calls for reclaiming sacred rhythms of rest, reconnecting with spiritual practices, and reimagining structures of life and ministry that foster long-term flourishing affirming that even in collapse, grace creates pathways for return, healing, and hope
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