A History of Religion in 5½ Objects

Starred review from February 1, 2014

Plate (religious studies, Hamilton Coll.; Religion and Film) shares an unusual and intriguing perspective on religion that should not be overlooked among weighty theological tomes and the vast literature of spiritual self-help. The well-written and accessible text surprises and intrigues as it recounts the roles of stone, incense, drums, crosses (not just in Christianity), and bread in a variety of religions across space, time, and cultures. This is a book about "felt" religion, the physical rather than intellectual. It addresses how the odor of incense has identified sacred space, the tactile and monumental impact of stone, the trance-inducing beat of the drum, and the physicality of shared bread. Having identified sight as the "privileged sense of the West," Plate focuses on the power of other senses to connect the sacred and the mundane in helping to fill, at least partially and temporarily, the void created when, as per Plato's metaphorical Symposium (the "1/2" of the title), the gods split our original natures. VERDICT In some ways complementing Jon Canon's The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces, this is an elegant and sensitive book. Highly recommended to general readers open to a different perspective on religious practice.--James R. Kuhlman, Kentucky Wesleyan Coll., Owensboro

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