The Anthropological Study of the Jains: Two Essays

Babb, Lawrence A.; Cort, John E.

Abstract

Lawrence A. “Alan” Babb (1941-2023) was a leading anthropologist of South Asian religions, whose extensive scholarship on the Jains played a pivotal role in bringing the study of the Jains into the mainstream of South Asian Studies. His writings consistently were theoretically astute, but he rarely wrote articles devoted solely to questions of method and theory. The two short essays presented here are an exception. He wrote them for audiences of Jains who were interested in scholarly approaches to their tradition. They therefore provide an excellent overview of Babb’s anthropological methods, and indicate how the anthropological study of the rituals and lived experience of the Jains is an essential component to textual studies of doctrine for a larger, more complete understanding of the Jains. These articles are difficult to access, and neither is found in standard academic indices and bibliographies. IJJS therefore reprints them here as a service to the field of Jain Studies.

Citation

Babb, L. A., & Cort, J. E. (in press). The Anthropological Study of the Jains: Two Essays. International Journal of Jaina Studies, 21(1), 1-20

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 14, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jan 20, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jan 22, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 22, 2025
• Journal: International Journal of Jaina Studies
• Electronic ISSN: 1748-1074
• Publisher: Centre of Jaina Studies
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-20
• Keywords: L.A. Babb, anthropology, popular religion, ritual, South Asia, Jains, methodology
• Publisher URL: https://www.soas.ac.uk/research/soas-journals-and-books/international-journal-jaina-studies