Includes bibliographical references and index.

Narrative and religious practices : Sacred texts / Michael D. Swartz ; Ritual and narrative / Fritz Graf ; Myth and ritual / Fritz Graf ; Actually, you can compare apples to oranges: secrets of successful comparison of myths / Ivan Strenski ; Narrating the faith in Greek Orthodox liturgy / Nicholas Marinides ; Myth and ritual in modern paganisms / Sabina Magliocco ; Narratives that do things / David Frankfurter -- Narratives and the construction of belief : Constructing belief through narrative engagement / T. M. Luhrmann ; Narrating supernatural experiences / Kirsi Hanninen ; Narrating supernatural experiences / Kirsi Hanninen ; How myths and other stories help to create and sustain beliefs / Sarah Iles Johnston ; Narrating through images / Catharina Graf ; Reading iconography as narrative / Roger Beck ; Narrating the future / Meghan Henning -- Narratives about religion : The lifestory of the Buddha / John S. Strong ; The biography of a pagan saint: Apollonius of Tyana / Roshan Abraham ; The lives of Christian saints / Rico G. Monge ; Religion goes to the movies / Jeremy Guida ; Screen narratives: film and television / Erica Hurwitz Andrus -- Narrating religions as an interpretive practice : Talmud / Lynn Kaye ; Narrating the Upanisads / Steven E. Lindquist ; The preservation and adaptation of Norse myth / Damon T. Berry ; Narrating religion through museums / Pamela E. Klassen ; On the mythologies of scholarship: the deep narratives of the study of religion and some possible futures / Jeffrey J. Kripal.

This volume examines the ways in which people express ideas about religions and within religions, through oral and written speech, rituals, and the visual arts. It covers the role of narratives in the expression of religious beliefs; how narratives help to create and sustain beliefs; how people tell stories about religions; and the ways in which religious beliefs and practices have been interpreted by people who have tried to understand, use, and critique them.

Description based on print version record.