What a text states in words can be superficially read and supposedly understood, but what a text encodes and performs with what it states is another. Especially so when it is religious language. In this groundbreaking and paradigm forming work, Valerie Hobbs explores the potency - redemptive and destructive - of religious language and provides for many of us a new way of thinking about what we read and what we write. Theologians may find themselves hiding from her words. * Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary, USA * An original and refreshing analysis, all the more stunning for its organizational clarity. By exploring the ways religious language is defined, used, and interpreted both within and beyond religious contexts, Hobbs provides readers with a surprisingly robust model for understanding how religious discourse can be identified and unpacked in communicative encounters across the world. * Flagg Miller, Professor of Religious Studies, University of California, Davis, USA * If you think a book about religious language is not for you, think again. This is a captivating and accessible analysis of the way in which we express our hopes, fears and the things we hold sacred. Ranging across religious and secular terrain, it explores examples from the political use of biblical texts to adverts and sermons which draw on the language of the divine, destiny and death. * Kim Knott, Professor Emerita of Religious and Secular Studies, Lancaster University, UK * As well as being an excellent introductory textbook to religious language, this book advances our understanding of religious language and how it pervades many aspects of our lives from politics to pop music. It gives a clear and concise introduction to religious language, clear methods for analysing it, and a rich array of well-worked examples. Hobbs book will be invaluable to students of religious language and is a superb example of how to analyse language in contemporary contexts. * Michael Farrelly, Senior Lecturer in English Language, University of Hull, UK * A well-written, accessible, interesting, and above all, essential contribution to the growing field of Language and Religion ... and a valuable addition to any personal or institutional library. * Discourse Studies * Useful features of this book include further reading and discussion questions at the end of each chapter. This book would be a useful resource for students and researchers studying religious language in contemporary contexts. * Language in Society *
