Conclusion

The conclusion underlines the relevance of atmospheres for the study of religion and for sociocultural and political processes in the contemporary world more broadly. It reiterates the main concern of this book, namely to take the sonic seriously in its own right and to be attentive to its own specific modalities and knowledge. Seeking to do justice to sonic presences that are difficult to render into language, the book has approached them as atmospheres that enact suggestions of movement. The conclusion argues that the study of atmospheres—in particular, atmospheric encorporation—can show that our felt bodies can at least sometimes be one with those of others, even though the latters’ alterity is not effaced by atmospheric incorporation in an enduring sense. In other words, in such situations, our felt bodies can be sentient together with those of others, while the latter remain sensible to us.