Routledge Handbook of Language and Religion

This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the broad range of empirical research into language and religion, which is a rapidly growing but diverse range of inquiry, encompassing disciplines such as linguistics, theology, anthropology, and psychology. Although language and religion research has been growing, no centralised volume has attempted to bring together these different areas of research into language and religion across these disciplinary boundaries.In addition to its disciplinary breadth, the book is unique in its proposed range of methodological, geographical, and religious diversity. The book also explores a wide range of what can be classified as religious texts: from traditional prayer books passed down from generation to generation to people arguing about the intended meaning of these books on YouTube. This diversity is made easier to navigate for the reader by the chapter structure. Each chapter includes an overview of a prominent topic, presents the current situation, and provides readers with a list of further resources to direct their future research.The topics covered in this book help to raise awareness of the role language plays in many faiths. In a global context of growing Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and a range of other prejudices, the need for inter-religious dialogue has arguably never been greater to help break down stereotypes.