We Have Been Modern After All: Differentiating Magic in Modernity

We survey recent scholarship on magic that rejects the disenchantment narrative about modernity for drawing boundaries between magic and science as well as between the modern West and its Others. This scholarship denies that magic is differentiated in modernity and, indeed, challenges the reality of...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
VerfasserInnen: DeJonge, Michael P. 1978- (Verfasst von) ; Wright, Weston ca. 20./21. Jh. (Verfasst von)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Veröffentlicht: 2025
In: Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Jahr: 2025, Band: 93, Heft: 2, Seiten: 187-207
Online-Zugang: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:We survey recent scholarship on magic that rejects the disenchantment narrative about modernity for drawing boundaries between magic and science as well as between the modern West and its Others. This scholarship denies that magic is differentiated in modernity and, indeed, challenges the reality of modernity itself. We draw from theories of societal differentiation to argue for an alternative account of modernity that implies neither disenchantment nor Western superiority but does allow for theorizing the reality of modernity and the differentiation of magic within it. The argument is relevant for religious studies more broadly to the degree that questions about the differentiation of magic overlap with questions about the differentiation of religion. Further, the communicative, constructive approach developed here is offered as a complement to discursive, deconstructive approaches prominent in religious studies.
ISSN:1477-4585
Enthält:Enthalten in: American Academy of Religion, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/jaarel/lfaf048