<p>This Special Issue is both experimental and comparative. It appropriates diverse disciplinary idioms from the distinctive fields our authors inhabit to focus on the ever-recurrent theme of the individual and the study of religion. Here the familiar topics of &quot;belief&quot; &quot;practice&quot; and &quot;identity&quot; come into conversation with each other from scholars in anthropology sociology African-American history Asian religions philosophy religious studies critical theory and ancient history. This unashamedly eclectic venture demonstrates both the remarkable diversity enacted by the signifier &ldquo;religious&rdquo; and the dynamic potential of conversation between interesting scholars working on remarkably interesting topics.</p>