Religion in Cultural Imaginary: Explorations in Visual and Material Practices in Bloomington, MN

The multivalent concept of the imaginary is utilized to capture the presence and diffusion of religious references, symbols, worldviews, and narratives in various media and social spheres, including politics, economics, art, and popular culture. Used to describe the reception and transformation of religious references through time and cultures, imaginary can be defined as a shared pool of mental images and material products, of ideas, symbols, values, and practices that sustain meaning-making processes and cohesion within a collective. Situated at the intersection of sociological, political-philosophical, and cultural studies approaches to religion, this interdisciplinary study offers an intense exchange between theoretical discussions of religion in cultural imaginaries and richly researched empirical analysis.