With so many women approaching their diets, body image, and pursuit of a slender figure with slavish devotion, The Religion of Thinness is a timely addition to the discussion of our cultural obsession with weight loss. At the heart of this obsession is the belief that in order to be happy, one must be slim, and the attendant myths, rituals, images, and moral codes can leave some women with severe emotional damage. Idealized images in the media inspire devotees of this “religion” to experience guilt for behaviors that are biologically normal and necessary, and Lelwica offers two ways to combat this dangerous cultural message. Advising readers to look hard at the societal cues that cause them to obsess about their weight, and to remain mindful about their actions and needs, this book will not only help stop the cycle of guilt and shame associated with food, it will help readers to grow and accept their bodies as they are.

More about Michelle M. Lelwica
Dr. Michelle Lelwica is the author of Starving for Salvation: The Spiritual Dimensions of Eating Problems among American Girls and Women, which is an academic analysis of the religious and cultural underpinnings of eating disorders and related problems. She has also published a number of scholarly articles, delivered papers, and lectured widely on the role of religion and spirituality in women’s conflicted relationship to food and their bodies.

She is currently Associate Professor in the Religion Department at Concordia College—Moorhead, MN where she teaches classes that deal with embodiment, mindfulness, religion, gender, and cultural critique. She studied religion at Harvard Divinity School, where she received her Doctorate of Theology (Th.D.) in the area of Religion, Gender, and Culture in 1996. Michelle lives with her husband and two children in northern Minnesota. She is motivated by the dream of creating a world in which the bodies and spirits of all people—and all beings—are loved, nurtured, and respected not in spite of but because of their marvelous diversity.