Narrative Cultures and the Aesthetics of Religion presents the aesthetics of narrativity in religious contexts by approaching narrative acts as situated modes of engaging with reality, equally shaped by the immersive character of the stories told and the sensory qualities of their performances. Introducing narrative cultures as an integrative framework of analysis, the volume builds a bridge between classical content-based approaches to narrative sources and the aesthetic study of religions as constituted by sensory and mediated practices. Studying stories in conjunction with the role that performative acts of storytelling play in the cultivation of the senses, the contributors explore the efficacy of storytelling formats in narrative cultures from antiquity until today in regions and cultures across the globe. Contributors are: Stefan Binder, Arianna Borrelli, Markus Altena Davidsen, Laura Feldt, Ingvild Sælid Gilhus, Dirk Johannsen, Jens Kreinath, Isabel Laack, Martin Lehnert, Brigitte Luchesi, Bastiaan van Rijn, Caroline Widmer, Annette Wilke, Katharina Wilkens. Dirk Johannsen, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Cultural History at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo. His research interests include popular religion in the nineteenth century, literature and religion, cognitive approaches, and trolls. Anja Kirsch, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral researcher in the study of religions at the University of Basel and visiting professor at the University of Bern. Her research interests include narrative theory and the relation of religion and politics in modernity. Jens Kreinath, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the Department of Anthropology at Wichita State University, USA. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork on interreligious relations in Hatay, Turkey. His research interests include ritual semiotics, visual culture, and material religion. NARRATIVE CULTURES AND THE AESTHETICS OF RELIGION Edited by Dirk Johannsen, Anja Kirsch and Jens Kreinath NARRATIVE CULTURES AND THE AESTHETICS OF RELIGION Dirk Johannsen, Anja Kirsch and Jens Kreinath (Eds.) Supplements to Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 14 ISSN: 2214-3270 brill.com/smtr 9 7 8 9 0 0 4 4 2 1 6 6 0 SMTR 14 SUPPLEMENTS TO METHOD & THEORY IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION