Underscoring the centrality of the body has profound effects on the study of religion. Whether religion is understood as an “eminently social thing,” a process of rationalization, “the quest for complex subjectivity,” or a paradoxical experience of something “wholly other” that is terrifying and extremely attractive at the same time, bodies remain vital in religious studies and whatever might be deemed “religious experience.”

To introduce undergraduate students to the various and diverse topics and approaches to the study of religion and embodiment, participants in the embodiment and religion workshops at Rice University and the University of Kent created a website with short introductory essays on various themes, ranging from “the body” and “recognition” to “ritual” and “material culture.” We’ve also included several case-studies that explore topics such as “literature” and “sexuality” in more depth. In addition, this website offers an extensive annotated bibliography, which includes sources pertinent to the study of religion and embodiment.