Introduction

At a time when religion and science are thought to be at loggerheads, art is widely hailed as religion's natural spiritual ally. Philosophy, Art, and Religion investigates the extent to which this is true.

Art and the Sacred

It charts the way in which modern conceptions of Art often marginalize the sacred arts, construing choral and instrumental music, painting and iconography, poetry, drama, and architecture as applied arts that necessarily fall short of the ideal of art for art's sake.

Historical Context

Drawing on both history of art and philosophical aesthetics, Graham sets out the historical context in which the arts came to free themselves from religious patronage, in order to conceptualize the cultural context in which religious art currently finds itself.

Religious Art in Everyday Life

The book then relocates religious art within the aesthetics of everyday life. Subsequent chapters systematically explore each of the sacred arts, using a wide range of illustrative examples to uncover the ways in which artworks can illuminate religious faith, and religious content can lend artworks a deeper dimension.