The inaugural volume is here!

Interpreting Religion: Making Sense of Religious Lives is currently available in hardback and electronic formats, and the paperback will be out in November 2023 (preorder here). Edited by Erin F. Johnston (Duke University) and Vikash Singh (Montclair State University), the volume features 10 original contributions by international scholars who apply a range of interpretive approaches to investigate the production, contexts, experiences, and meanings of religion and religious life.​

ABOUT THE SERIES
Within the field of sociology, scholars have advanced various approaches to interpreting the deep meanings underlying human actions, events, and experiences. However, such scholars often diverge in their core assumptions, methods, theoretical vocabularies, and levels of analysis. They draw on different theoretical traditions, from the reflexive social psychology inspired by George Herbert Mead and the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce, to the thick description of Clifford Geertz, the hermeneutics of Paul Ricœur, the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure, the social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz, the cultural anthropology of Mary Douglas, and the psychoanalytic thought of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, among other influences. Moreover, scholars working in these various traditions have established different programs geared toward unpacking and explaining the rich layers of meaning that sustain human relations and shared experiences. Some of these programs – including the strong program in cultural sociology, symbolic interaction/pragmatism, and psychoanalytic sociology/psychosocial theory – continue to provide frameworks for significant scholarly contributions. Yet, efforts to shape new opportunities for dialogue and build bridges among different meaning-centered approaches are sorely needed if we hope to further develop these interpretive lenses and advance an overall understanding of the symbolic and cultural foundations of social life.
 
This series provides a unique forum where scholars using the tools of cultural sociology, symbolic interaction/pragmatism, psychoanalytic sociology, and/or other interpretive lenses can come together to explore their respective approaches to common themes. Each volume is centered on a substantive or analytic topic and includes original essays in which notable scholars in the field demonstrate and address their approaches to unpacking meaning in the social world. 
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
"Bristol University Press, and its imprint Policy Press, are committed to publishing the highest quality scholarship in the social sciences and aligned disciplines. We want our work to make a positive contribution from the advancement of ideas through to practical implementation. As a not-for-profit publisher, we are able to put integrity before profit and research before sensationalism to ensure that we provide an internationally respected platform for the global scholarly community to disseminate work that matters."