Why a semiotics of religion? Why now? What can we learn from semiotics about religion, and vice versa? Any book such as this must provide persuasive answers to these questions, in response to the not unjustified skepticism lingering from prior attempts. At this time when reconstruction is badly needed, in the study of religion, I aim to show that semiotics has much to offer t8 our understanding of both the structural and historical dimensions of religion, beyond and, in some cases, in opposition to the lessons learned from structuralism and poststructuralism a generation or two ago. Equally important is the contribution that a focus on religious phenomena can bring to reinvigorating the field of semiotics.