1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910819748703321

Titolo

The limits of meaning : case studies in the anthropology of Christianity / / edited by Matthew Engelke and Matt Tomlinson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Berghahn Books, , [2007]

2007

ISBN

0-85745-709-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (248 p.)

Classificazione

BE 3250

Disciplina

306.6/3

Soggetti

Christianity and culture

Ethnology - Religious aspects - Christianity

Meaning (Philosophy) - Religious aspects - Christianity

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Meaning, anthropology, Christianity / Matt Tomlinson and Matthew Engelke -- When silence isn't golden : charismatic speech and the limits of literalism / Simon Coleman -- Clarity and charisma : on the uses of ambiguity in ritual life / Matthew Engelke -- Rituals without final acts : prayer and success in World Vision Zimbabwe's humanitarian work / Erica Bornstein -- Nationalism and millenarianism in West Papua : institutional power, interpretive practice, and the pursuit of Christian truth / Danilyn Rutherford -- The limits of meaning in Fijian Methodist sermons / Matt Tomlinson -- Converting meanings and the meanings of conversion in Samoan moral economies / Ilana Gershon -- Dusty signs and roots of faith : the limits of Christian meaning in highland Bolivia / Andrew Orta -- Paranomics : on the semiotics of sacral action / James Faubion -- Afterword : on limits, ruptures, meaning, and meaninglessness / Joel Robbins.

Sommario/riassunto

Too often, anthropological accounts of ritual leave readers with the impression that everything goes smoothly, that rituals are ""meaningful events."" But what happens when rituals fail, or when they seem ""meaningless""? Drawing on research in the anthropology of Christianity from around the globe, the authors in this volume suggest that in order to analyze meaning productively, we need to consider its



limits. This collection is a welcome new addition to the anthropology of religion, offering fresh debates on a classic topic and drawing attention to meaning in a way that other volumes have