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Review: Giumbelli, Emerson (2014), Símbolos Religiosos em Controvérsia. São Paulo: Terceiro Nome

2014; Associação Brasileira de Antropologia; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s1809-43412014000200016

1809-4341

Ruy Llera Blanes,

Religion and Society in Latin America

In a time when the concept of 'symbol' seems to be falling into the margins of anthropological debate, the book Símbolos Religiosos em Controvérsias (Religious Symbols in Controversies), by Emerson Giumbelli, offers us an important reminder that symbols still do matter.Decades after the contributions of Keesing, Geertz, Turner, Douglas and others, we realize that matters of representation, iconicity and metaphor still seem to play an important role in the way we relate to each other and engage in political activity.The viewpoint that supports this argument stems from a field plagued with symbols, symbolisms and symbolistics: religion.When we observe the public display