Autorentext
Ariel Glucklich is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University, Washington DC. A scholar of Hinduism, he has also published in the field of religious psychology. His book Sacred Pain won the American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in 2002.

Klappentext

Using a psychological and historical approach, the book describes the ways that religions deepen and prolong feelings of wellbeing.

Zusammenfassung
Exploring religion as a psychological factor in improving life, this book describes the pervasive and diverse uses of pleasure in religious literature and practice. It argues that in promoting joy and pleasure, religion seeks to strengthen social bonds at the same time that it enhances the individual's pursuit of meaning.

Inhalt

Introduction: religion, pleasure and evolution; 1. The variety and mystery of religious pleasure; 2. The nature and cultivation of complex pleasure; 3. The discovery of mastery pleasure; 4. Philo's mastery, Plotinus' play and the mystic's joy; 5. Pleasure, play and magical thinking; 6. Church-sect theory and pleasure; 7. Narratives and rituals of pleasure; 8. A scholar's Shabbat in central Virginia; Conclusion.