Religion and Body Modification

From circumcision and branding to tattooing and hair removal, acts of body modification are central to many religious traditions and communities. These acts of cutting, burning, plucking, and puncturing operate on the level of individual bodies, but they also entail larger issues of community, politics, law, and power. Join us as we examine the modified religious body across traditions and time periods, from circumcision in early Judaism and Christianity to tattooing in the modern Church of Body Modification. We approach the modified body as a way to grapple with larger questions about body and community, scripture and law, gender and power, and being and belonging. Taking the body as a point of critical inquiry not only provides an opportunity to learn about different religious traditions and their practices; it also pushes us to examine some of the foundational categories and assumptions that structure the world today. No prerequisites are necessary.