Performative Ground of Religion and Theatre

<p>Religious practitioners and theatregoers have much in common. So much in fact that we can say that religion is often a theatrical phenomenon and that theatre can be a religious experience. By examining the phenomenology of religion we can in turn develop a better understanding of the phenomenology of theatre. That is to say religion can show us the ways in which theatre is <i>not</i> fake.</p><p></p><p>This study explores the overlap of religion and theatre especially in the crucial area of experience and personal identity. Reconsidering ideas from ancient Greece premodern India modern Europe and the recent century it argues that religious adherents and theatre audiences are largely themselves the mechanisms of their experiences. By examining the development of the philosophy of theatre alongside theories of religious action this book shows how we need to adjust our views of both.</p><p></p><p>Featuring attention to influential notions from Plato and Aristotle from the <i>Natyashastra</i> from Schleiermacher to Sartre Bourdieu and Butler and considering contemporary theories of performance and ritual this is vital reading for any scholar in religious studies theatre and performance studies theology or philosophy.</p>