Religion in 50 Words: A Critical Vocabulary is the first of a two-volume work that seeks to transform the study of religion by offering a radically critical perspective. It does so by providing a succinct and critical examination of the key words used in the modern study of religion. Arranged alphabetically, the book explores the historic roots, varied uses, and current significance and utility of the technical terms used within the current field of religious studies. These are the terms that both students and scholars routinely deploy to think about, describe, and analyze data-sometimes without realizing that they are themselves technical tools in need of attention.

Among the topics covered:

• Belief
• Critical
• Culture
• Definition
• Environment
• Gender
• Ideology
• Lived religion
• Material religion
• Orthodoxy
• Politics
• Race
• Sacred/profane
• Secular
• Theory

This book submits all of its terms to a critical interrogation and subsequent re-description, thereby allowing a collective reframing of the field. This volume is an indispensable resource for students and academics working in religious studies.

"Covering an essential set of concepts, Religion in 50 Words offers vital grounding for the study of religion-helping readers to understand what we often overlook: how we secure and what we mean by the words we use when studying religion. They name and tackle the fundamental question: what do words have to do with the study of religion? I highly recommend this book." Anthony B. Pinn, Rice University, USA "This substantive and singular guide describes and analyzes the embedded and extended meanings of the categories?and terms used in the contemporary study of religion. Written in an informative rather than normative tone, it will help students of religion clarify our thinking and say what we mean."William Scott Green, University of Miami, USA "A scholar is only as good as her tools, and with this volume Hughes and McCutcheon have provided scholars of religion with a metaphorical whetstone on which they can sharpen their most important tools: their concepts. In each of these fifty chapters, Hughes and McCutcheon outline the contours of the fault lines in the field, show how different scholarly approaches utilize broadly shared concepts but often for competing purposes, and evaluate the relative merits of rival approaches. This volume will be of interest to both seasoned scholars and students new to the field looking for a survey of our field's contested vocabulary." Craig Martin, St. Thomas Aquinas College, USA "Religion in 50 Words is not just another collection of useful (or useless) words for studying religion. It is a masterful introduction to the critical use of terms in the academic study of religion. Written by two of the most qualified scholars to undertake such an endeavour, this volume opens up the interdisciplinary 'field' that is the study of religion." Kocku von Stuckrad, University of Groningen, The Netherlands