engineering

Material religion

Material religion is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Material religion rather than just read about it. In short: Material religion is a framework used by scholars of religion to examine the interaction between religion and material culture. It focuses on the place of objects, images, spaces, and buildings in religious communities.

Key takeaways

Material religion belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Material religion to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Material religion from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Material religion is a framework used by scholars of religion to examine the interaction between religion and material culture. It focuses on the place of objects, images, spaces, and buildings in religious communities. The framework has been promoted by scholars such as Birgit Meyer, Sally M. Promey, S. Brent Plate, and David Morgan.

Definition

S. Brent Plate, scholar of religion, explains that material religion "must be understood as deriving from rudimentary human experiences, from lived, embodied practices". He states that "to learn about religion we have to come to our senses. Literally. We have to begin to discover... that we cannot know the worlds of any other culture, let alone our own, unless we get inside the sensational operations of human bodies."

History In 2005, the peer-reviewed journal Material Religion was launched. In their editorial statement, the editors described the journal as "a new project in the study of religious images, objects, spaces, and material practices."

Criticism The anthropologist Simon Coleman suggests that the term "material religion" is tautological, in that "religion is inherently material in its very constitution." Additionally, the scholars of religion Christopher R. Cotter and David G. Robertson suggest that the material religion framework could be an alternative means to explore religion, in contrast to the dominant world religions paradigm which they regard as problematic. According to them, material religion represents "phenomenology by stealth". Some scholars within the study of religion have criticised the material religion approach for often seeking to reintroduce the phenomenology of religion into the discipline.

Sources

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links "Material religion" by David Morgan at The Religious Studies Project "Working, Not Wonking" by Russell T. McCutcheon

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Material religion

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Material religion claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Material religion before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Material religion ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Material religion

In research: Material religion appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Material religion in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Material religion is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Religious studies, Religious studies stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Material religion outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Material religion” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Material religion in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Material religion means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Material religion out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Material religion in simple terms?

Why does Material religion matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Material religion?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Material religion.