This expanded second edition provides a clear and comprehensive discussion of theoretical perspectives in relation to a wide range of substantive issues illustrating the diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Offering a broad comparative view, Malcolm Hamilton draws on the insights of history, anthropology and sociology, surveying classic and contemporary theory to give a full picture of the variety and scope of theoretical perspectives. Theoretical issues are related to particular beliefs and practices, showing how abstract concepts affect and illuminate specific areas of religion....

This book explores the ways Arabic, Jewish and Christian intellectuals in medieval Iberia (courtiers and clerics) adapt and transform the Andalusi go-between figure in order to represent their own role as cultural intermediaries.