Senses of Devotion: Interfaith Aesthetics in Buddhist and Muslim Communities

by William A. Dyrness

Publisher:

Cascade

, 2013

Overview

This ethnographic study focuses on the religious imagery and practices of a sample of Buddhist temples and Muslim mosques in the greater Los Angeles area. As a way of expanding interfaith dialogue, it is framed as a conversation between the largely Christian researchers and the 75 respondents, who were asked about the images, space, and practices of their religious experience. From the respondents in their various religious settings, it seeks to distill the specific religious imaginations and aesthetic profiles that might be said to characterize their experience—to discover what might be considered the living images of these faiths. Set in the context of contemporary discussions of the nature of religion and visual culture, this richly textured study of visual and sensory practices in religion raises fundamental questions about the place of belief and ritual practice and the role these play in our increasingly pluralistic religious culture.

Product Details

• Title: Senses of Devotion: Interfaith Aesthetics in Buddhist and Muslim Communities
• Author: William A. Dyrness
• Series: Art for Faith’s Sake
• Publisher: Cascade
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Buddhist art and symbolism › California, Southern; Islamic art and symbolism › California, Southern; Aesthetics › Religious aspects--Buddhism; Aesthetics › Religious aspects--Islam
• ISBNs: 9781620321362, 9781498215206, 162032136X, 1498215203
• Resource ID: LLS:SNSESDEVTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:04:11Z

About William A. Dyrness

William Dyrness, professor of theology and culture, joined the Fuller faculty in 1990 and served as dean of the School of Theology from 1990 to 2000. He teaches courses in theology, culture, and the arts, and was a founding member of the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts. Dyrness has over 30 years of teaching experience in the United States, the Philippines, Kenya, and South Korea. He has published work in a variety of fields, including theology and culture, apologetics, theology and art, and global missions. His recent works include Poetic Theology (2010), A Primer in Christian Worship (2009), the Global Dictionary of Theology (co-edited with Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, 2008), Senses of the Soul: Art and the Visual in Christian Worship (2008), Reformed Theology and Visual Culture: The Protestant Imagination from Calvin to Edwards (2004), Visual Faith (2001), Changing the Mind of Missions with James F. Engel (2000), and The Earth Is God's: A Theology of American Culture (1997). He has also served on the national boards of Christians in the Visual Arts (Wenham, MA), 1999 to 2005, and Development Associates International (Colorado Springs, CO), 2000 to the present, and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is currently at work on a major research project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation on the use of visual images in worship in Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim communities. Additionally, he is currently writing a book with art historian Dan Siedell on the religious influences of modern art.