Local Gods

Reviews / Votes

Local Gods reimagines the contours of the philosophy of religion to include an array of spiritual traditions historically discounted as primitive or pagan. Kalmanson combines memoir, philosophical analysis, and cultural critique to produce novel methodologies that avoid cultural appropriation and exoticization while at the same time producing an eminently readable text infused with her own personal vulnerability. -- Michael David Kaulana Ing, Indiana University Bloomington Local Gods invites the reader to reimagine philosophy of religion as a philosophy of spiritual diversity. It boldly calls for an acknowledgment of the ultranatural, the most natural, to replace the blood logic propounded by self-appointed messengers of god and the angst of diversity it triggers. An honest, self-reflexive, creative, and brilliant methodological intervention. -- Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam A magnificent book, staggering in scope and humbling in depth. It's been a while since I've been so excited about the philosophy of religion. -- Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Wesleyan University A bold reimagining of philosophy of religion as "a spiritual exercise in spiritual diversity," Local Gods turns from abstract theology to the concrete presence of plural divinities. In decentering the monotheistic gaze, Kalmanson crafts a method at once creative and self-implicated-grounded in deference, locality, and lived metaphysics. The result is both conceptually agile and refreshingly unorthodox. I recommend it with real enthusiasm. -- Jason Ananda Josephson Storm, Williams College