ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines a wide range of social phenomena, from the rise of the Japanese state and diverse forms of state secularism, to practices of healing and harming, and of shaping speech and selves, to large-scale movements and transformations of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. It explores the roles played by two major traditions – Shintoism and Buddhism – and how people's actions may imply their belief in a proposition about the spiritual world without them directly expressing that belief. The book focuses on imagery and worship as the basis for a more general discussion of imagery. It considers the diversity of religious understandings and practices even in small-scale societies. The book also examines the debates within Christianity, for example concerning the role of the Virgin Mary and the nature of divine election.
