An introduction to religious language : \ exploring theolinguistics in contemporary contexts / \ Valerie Hobbs.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Why religious language? -- What is religion? : what is religious language? -- Functions of religious language -- Investigating religious language : contexts, text types and strategies -- Investigating religious language : vocabulary, archaism and parallelism -- Investigating religious language : metaphor and intertextuality -- Religious language and prayer -- Religious language at the time of human death -- Religious language here, there, everywhere -- Religious language : an open horizon.

"Religious language is all around us, embedded in advertising, politics and news media. This book introduces readers to the field of theolinguistics, the study of religious language. Investigating the ways in which people talk to and about God, about the sacred and about religion itself, it outlines the key methods required for examining religious language and considers why people make certain linguistic choices. Complete with discussion questions and comprehensive lists of further readings, this is the ideal introduction to the study of religious language"-- \c Provided by publisher.