Religion from Below

There has always been a tension between "religion," as it is practiced by ordinary people and communities, and the prescriptions of those who see themselves, or who have more official roles, as religious "elite." What, though, does it mean to speak of this “lived” or “popular” religion? Primarily through the close readings of case studies, this course will explore how scholars approach and theorize actual lived religious practice, and whether through such a cross-disciplinary and transhistorical approach we might be able to think more broadly about the ways in which people approach religion, and the reasons they do so.