Approaches to the Visual in Religion

Contributions by Pierre BĂ¼hler Contributions by Anna-Katharina Höpflinger Contributions by Ann Jeffers Contributions by Marie-ThĂ©rèse Mäder Contributions by Zoe Bennett Contributions by Monika Glavac Contributions by Stefanie Knauss Contributions by Tommi Mendel Contributions by Natasha O'Hear Contributions by Fabian Perlini-Pfister Contributions by Debora Tonelli Contributions by Melanie J. Wright Contributions by Davide Zordan Edited by Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati Edited by Christopher Rowland

Book cover: Approaches to the Visual in Religion

Extent: 268 pages

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Subjects: Religious Studies

Series: Research in Contemporary Religion (RCR)

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(June 2011)

ISBN: 9783525604427

6.34 x 9.33 inches

Price: $125.00

In stock

Different views on the visual media that interacts with religion.


The authors of this volume investigate the analysis of visual sources and their indispensable role for understanding and interpreting religions, their symbol systems, and the wider traditions of which they are a part. A particular interest in this study is the focus on the methodological challenge of images from a comparative perspective. The common concern that ranges over all the contributions is the search for a methodological perspective where images may be analysed in a comprehensive way, with particular regard for the social, and wider intellectual settings, as well as the religious, in which the images are embedded. Accordingly, we seek to show that visual sources need to be interpreted from different angles, In the last decades, a broad range of publications has contributed to highlight the significance of images, and visual media in general, for understanding religious traditions, communities and discourses in both historical and contemporary perspective. In more recent research streams, focussing on visual media in religious traditions and symbol systems, various avenues have opened up and been explored focussing on the status of images and of the gaze of the viewer as central aspects. Furthermore, there are illuminating contributions dealing with the theoretical premises and settings with which to approach the visual as a central component of religion, on the one hand giving an overview of essential definitions and implications, on the other hand concentrating on specific techniques and/or media.

Dr. Pierre BĂ¼hler ist em. Prof. fĂ¼r Systematische Theologie ins. Hermeneutik und Fundamentaltheologie an der Universität ZĂ¼rich.

  • Contributions by Pierre BĂ¼hler
  • Contributions by Anna-Katharina Höpflinger
  • Contributions by Ann Jeffers
  • Contributions by Marie-ThĂ©rèse Mäder
  • Contributions by Zoe Bennett
  • Contributions by Monika Glavac
  • Contributions by Stefanie Knauss
  • Contributions by Tommi Mendel
  • Contributions by Natasha O’Hear
  • Contributions by Fabian Perlini-Pfister
  • Contributions by Debora Tonelli
  • Contributions by Melanie J. Wright
  • Contributions by Davide Zordan
  • Edited by Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati
  • Edited by Christopher Rowland

"...this collection of essays captures the interests that have come to prevail in recent years. ...it offers a helpful snapshot of what some European scholars are doing at present..." -- David Morgan, The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 23:250-252, 2013
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