Purity and Danger van Mary Douglas is an influential study book that examines the meaning of purity and contamination within various societies. The book highlights how the theme 'purity and danger' plays a central role in social structures, values, and conceptions of knowledge.
Douglas analyzes in Purity and Danger the deeply rooted concern about purity, which returns in religion, sociology, and cultural theory. Her clear and accessible writing style makes complex ideas understandable to a wide audience. The Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by the author in which she emphasizes the work's lasting relevance.