Sacred Pain
Hurting the Body for the Sake of the Soul
Ariel Glucklich
Reviews and Awards
Winner of an AAR Book Award for 2002
"Succeeds not only because of the immense and careful scholarship it displays, but also because it establishes a creative dialogue between science and religion on a question of enduring, and today largely forgotten, importance. Most of all, the book invites its readers to appreciate that pain need not be meaningless."--Stephen G. Post, First Things
"Erudite and wide-ranging...compelling.... This fascinating, closely argued study suggests that in religion as in sports, there is no gain without pain."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This demanding book does justice to the complexity of its subject as Glucklich masterfully leads the reader through all the diverse paths that connect with the central topic. He is a skilled writer who presents complicated material well without sacrificing meaning or nuance."--Library Journal
"A brilliantly written, thought-provoking volume on the transformative potential of physical pain experienced within a religious context."--Harold G. Koenig, M.D., co-author, Handbook of Religion and Health
"Ariel Glucklich is that rare being, a genuine comparativist, of cosmopolitan learning and wide sympathies. Drawing upon such diverse approaches as neurobiology, social psychology, ritual studies, cultural theory, phenomenology, and history of religion, he succeeds in shedding light on the darkest reaches of the seemingly chaotic realm of pain. Glucklich reminds us of all-but-forgotten insights into the transformative power of sacred pain, brings these insights into dialogue with the best thinking that is being done in the behavioral and biological sciences, and in so doing forges new instruments for the study of religious consciousness."--Carol Zaleski, Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, Smith College