history of religion in 5 1/2 objects, A
Book Description
Discover how the sacred lives within the ordinary through an innovative exploration of humanity's deepest spiritual connections. Scholar S. Brent Plate reveals that religion is far more tangible than abstract theology might suggest, rooting our understanding in the physical world we touch, smell, hear, taste, and see every day.
Rather than focusing on doctrines or debates, this groundbreaking approach examines five fundamental objects that have shaped religious experience across cultures and centuries. Through stones that mark sacred spaces and memories, crosses that symbolize transformation, incense that carries prayers skyward, drums that pulse with communal rhythm, and bread that nourishes both body and spirit, Plate demonstrates how material things become gateways to transcendence.
Each object engages one of our five senses, showing how religious practice emerges from our embodied human experience rather than purely intellectual belief. Whether examining Hindu celebrations in Banaras, Muslim wedding ceremonies in West Africa, or Catholic masses in rural America, the book reveals striking patterns in how people across the globe have used these same materials to create meaning and connection.
This fresh perspective shifts our understanding away from contemporary religious conflicts toward the universal human need for belonging and purpose. By exploring what we can hold, smell, and experience directly, readers discover that spirituality begins not in the mind but in our fundamental relationship with the physical world around us.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~7 hours)
📄 Length: 248 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore General
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Senses and sensation
- ✓ Explore RELIGION / Comparative Religion
- ✓ Explore Comparative Religion
- ✓ Explore Christian Rituals & Practice
- ✓ Explore Sinne
- ✓ Explore RELIGION / History
