Holy Waters An Interdisciplinary Examination of Religion and Alcohol

This edited volume brings together scholars from across disciplines to examine the relationship between religion and alcohol.

It examines the historical, social, ritual, economic, political, and cultural relationship between religion and alcohol across time periods and around the world. Twelve chapters are tied together by two major themes: first, gender identity, and its intersection with religion and alcohol; second, identity construction in religious communities, demonstrating how alcohol can be used as a distinguishing factor for religious, ethnic, and national identity. A key focus of the volume is how alcohol can bridge and divide the point at which the sacred and secular meet.

With its interdisciplinary approach and engaging style, this book is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students in religion departments and appeals to scholars of material culture, food, and alcohol. Additionally, the book is of interest to professionals in the alcohol industry, particularly those involved in microbrewing and winemaking, who are interested in understanding the historical and cultural contexts of their craft.

Introduction Ryan Lemasters, Stephen Covell, Jacob Barrett, Zachary T. Smith 1. Wine, Beer, and Drunkenness in the Hebrew Bible, ancient Israel, and Biblical Scholarship Rebekah Welton 2. “Again you will plant vineyards”: Prophecy, Jewish settlement, and temporal dissonance in the occupied West Bank Ian McGonigle 3. Cultural Enology: What Wine Can Teach Us about Religion (and about Jewish Kabbalah and Hasidism in Particular) Vadim Putzu 4. Gender and alcohol consumption in a Theravada Buddhist village in Sri Lanka Michele R. Gamburd 5. Monastic Moonshine: Alcohol and the Kingdom of Heaven in the Middle Ages Deborah Vess 6. A Sip of Agbevboto with the Ancestors in Nigeria Benson Ohihon Igboin 7. Not Religion: The Problems of Religion and the Making of Alcoholics Anonymous Taylor W. Dean 8. The Cause of Temperance: Cherokee Women and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union at the Turn of the Twentieth Century Izumi Ishii 9. Unholy Waters: The Role of Alcohol in Identity and Boundary Creation within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints William Perez 10. Thirsty Monks, Big Bad Baptists, and Bold Messiahs: Marketing Beer with Religion Benjamin E. Zeller 11. “Original No 1 Prayer Drink”: The Role of Seaman’s Schnapps in Nigerian Festivals Oluwafunminiyi W. Raheem 12. Imbibing the Spirit: Alcohol and the Cultivation of Christian Spiritual Community Kyle A. Schenkewitz Index

Ryan Lemasters is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Kansas, USA.

Stephen Covell is Chair of the Department of Comparative Religion and the Mary Meader Professor of Comparative Religion at Western Michigan University, USA, where he also founded the Soga Japan Center. His publications include Japanese Temple Buddhism (2005) and The Teachings and Teaching of Temple Buddhism in Contemporary Japan (2024).