Mapping the Material: Religious Practices in Changing Times

In this engaging new collaboration, writers John Reader and John Atherton argue that traditional theology has struggled to understand the contemporary relationship between religion and a secular public sphere. Developing an interdisciplinary approach rooted in religious studies and drawing on economics, philosophy and psychology, they suggest the need for genuine dialogue, communication and negotiation between the different belief and value systems in our society. Taking examples from their respective research, the writers share an insight into how mapping the material - focusing on concrete examples rather than abstract or idealised notions – might contribute towards a discourse illustrating how faith still plays its role in the public sphere.