Significations: Signs, Symbols, and Images in the Interpretation of Religion
by Charles H. Long
Category: Religion

Significations is a criticism of several major approaches (phenomenological, historical, theological) to the study of religion in the United States, in which the author attempts (1) a reevaluation of some of the basic issues forming the study of religion in America, (2) an outline of a hermeneutics of conquest and colonialism generated during the formation of the social and symbolic order called the "New World," and (3) a critique of the categories of civil religion, innocence, and theology from the perspective of the black experience and the experience of colonized peoples. "Significations, a landmark in the History of Religions, will remain a durable classic in the discipline for a long time to come. The beauty of the book, in part, lies in Charles Long's ability to draw immensely from African American and Indigenous traditions and his personal experiences, to provide theoretical insights into issues of meanings and significance of religion in our contemporary world. This book is certainly one of the most original and provocative texts in Religious Studies available to us today."--Jacob Olupona.