Overview

"Religious exoticism implies a deeply ambivalent relationship to otherness and to religion itself: traditional religious teachings are uprooted and fragmented in order to be appropriated as practical methods for personal growth. Western contemporary societies have seen the massive popularization of such ""exotic"" religious resources as yoga and meditation, Shamanism, Buddhism, Sufism, and Kabbalah. Véronique Altglas shows that these trends inform us about how religious resources are disseminated globally, as well as how the self is constructed in society. She uses two case studies: the Hindu-based movements in France and Britain that started in the 1970s, and the Kabbalah Centre in France, Britain, Brazil, and Israel. She draws upon major qualitative and cross-cultural empirical investigations to conceptualize religious exoticism and offer a nuanced and original understanding of its contemporary significance. From Yoga to Kabbalah broadens scholarly understanding of the globalization of religion, how religions are modified through cultural encounters, and of religious life in neoliberal societies."

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9780199997626

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"""[Altglas's] research evokes intriguing questions that the field should interrogate Altglas's corrective analysis-that individuals (and their individualized forms of bricolage) are always socially situated, if not determined-supplies a welcome rejoinder in the field, and it is one that cannot be ignored. ""--Nova Religio ""This book is pioneering, important, critical, and timely. It shows that Kabbalah Centres in four different countries and neo-Hindu movements in France and Britain raise some fascinating theoretical questions which challenge conventional thinking about bricolage, religious exoticism, and psychological self-realization. The combination of lively ethnographic detail and conceptual precision is truly impressive and will appeal to all readers with interests in social, religious, and cultural logics."" --James A. Beckford, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Warwick"

This book is pioneering, important, critical, and timely. It shows that Kabbalah Centres in four different countries and neo-Hindu movements in France and Britain raise some fascinating theoretical questions which challenge conventional thinking about bricolage, religious exoticism, and psychological self-realization. The combination of lively ethnographic detail and conceptual precision is truly impressive and will appeal to all readers with interests in social, religious, and cultural logics. --James A. Beckford, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Warwick

This book is pioneering, important, critical, and timely. It shows that Kabbalah Centres in four different countries and neo-Hindu movements in France and Britain raise some fascinating theoretical questions which challenge conventional thinking about bricolage, religious exoticism, and psychological self-realization. The combination of lively ethnographic detail and conceptual precision is truly impressive and will appeal to all readers with interests in social, religious, and cultural logics. James A. Beckford, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Warwick Altglass work is impressive both as an ethnographic study and as a theoretical exploration of religious bricolage and exoticism. Indeed, the fact that it manages to be successful on both of these fronts is no small feat and demonstrates an astounding achievement in scholarship. Anna Pokazanyeva, Religions of South Asia (2015)

Author Information

Véronique Altglas is Lecturer in Sociology at Queen's University Belfast. She has conducted research on the transnational expansion of neo-Hindu movements and the Kabbalah Centre, the management of minority religions in France and Britain, and anti-Semitism.

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