Falsafah-yi Hunar'hā-yi Dīnī: Persian 1403

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 investigate the extent to which this is true. It charts how 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'. Drawing on both the history of art and philosophical aesthetics, Graham sets out the historical context in which the arts came to free themselves from religious patronage, to conceptualize the cultural context in which religious art currently finds itself. 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 how artworks can illuminate religious faith, and how religious content can lend artworks a deeper dimension.