Mary Douglas s seminal Purity and Danger (Routledge, 1966) continues to be crucial reading for students and scholars. Published in the 50th anniversary year, Purity and Danger Now sets out to shed fresh light upon the themes raised by Douglas by drawing on recent developments in the social sciences and humanities, as well as current empirical research. In presenting new perspectives on the topic of purity and impurity, the volume integrates work in anthropology and sociology with contemporary ideas from religious studies, cognitive science and the arts.

This new...