Relics

Abstract

Relics, usually associated with Christian practice, have been an important but neglected feature of many religious traditions, including Buddhism and Islam. Anthropology has contributed comparative perspectives to the cultural rather than theological analysis of relics both as body parts and as contact relics—items associated with the “special dead.” The power of images in many cultures (of gods, ancestors, kings, queens, saints, and heroes) can also be attributed to their role as “image relics” of special personages. Prioritizing a focus on religious practice rather than doctrine, while avoiding the problematic category “secular,” shows that relic‐related behavior has been fundamental to religion—human engagement with higher powers—across cultures and over many millennia. High valuation of relics continues in “celebrity culture,” where memorabilia associated with modern special personages—contact relics of musicians, artists, and film stars—is treasured and fetches high prices on the international market.