Theodore M. Vial 
Liturgy Wars [PDF ebook] 
Ritual Theory and Protestant Reform in Nineteenth-Century Zurich

The nineteenth century was a period of intense religious conflict across Europe, as people confronted the major changes brought out by modernity. In Zurich, one phase of this religious conflict was played out in a struggle over revisions to the ritual of baptism. In its analysis of the Zurich conflict, Liturgy Wars offers a strategy for understanding the links between theology, ritual and socio-politics. Theodore M. Vial offers a new perspective on contemporary ritual studies – and critiques the cognitivist approaches of Lawson and Mc Cauley, as well as Catherine Bell’s analysis of power and the body – by reintegrating the importance of speech acts into considerations of ritual.