This article examines the aesthetic turn in contemporary religious practice. I argue that aesthetic modes of representation are central to the religious practices, myths, and rituals, that shape moral practice. The paper draws on Nietzsche’s analysis of aesthetics and Carl Einstein’s examination of the relationship of aesthetics to myth and ritual. Empirically, the role of aesthetics is manifest in a number of contemporary ethnographies of religion that emphasise practice, embodiment and performance to religion. I argue that aesthetic experience is crucial in the construction of moral relationships, and ethical demands, that arise out of religious practice.

Item Type:	Conference Extract
Research Division:	Human Society
Research Group:	Sociology
Research Field:	Sociology not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in human society
UTAS Author:	Ezzy, D (Professor Douglas Ezzy)
ID Code:	89737
Year Published:	2013
Deposited By:	School of Social Sciences
Deposited On:	2014-03-13
Last Modified:	2014-03-13
Downloads:	0