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Introduction: Re-sacralizing the Social: Spiritual Kinship at the Crossroads of the Abrahamic Religions

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New Directions in Spiritual Kinship

Part of the book series: Contemporary Anthropology of Religion ((CAR))

Abstract

This introduction examines the significance of spiritual kinship, or kinship reckoned in relation to the divine, in creating myriad forms of affiliations between and among Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Rather than confining the study of spiritual kinship to Christian godparenthood or presuming its disappearance in relation to secularism, the authors argue that the study of spiritual and sacred kinship generates a new starting point for comparative discussions of kinship and religion. This includes investigations of how religious practitioners enact and contest spiritual and sacred solidarities through ritual, discursive, and ethical practices across social domains, networks, and trans/national collectives.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Religion, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Todne Thomas

  2. The Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Rose Wellman

  3. Independent Researcher, Toronto, Canada

    Asiya Malik

Authors
  1. Todne Thomas
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  2. Rose Wellman
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  3. Asiya Malik
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Religion, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Todne Thomas

  2. Independent Researcher, Toronto, Canada

    Asiya Malik

  3. The Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Rose Wellman

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Thomas, T., Wellman, R., Malik, A. (2017). Introduction: Re-sacralizing the Social: Spiritual Kinship at the Crossroads of the Abrahamic Religions. In: Thomas, T., Malik, A., Wellman, R. (eds) New Directions in Spiritual Kinship. Contemporary Anthropology of Religion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48423-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48423-5_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48422-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48423-5

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