The third chapter is the theoretical centrepiece of the book and argues that efforts to ‘recognize religion’ in global politics remain ignorant of the costs involved. Building on this argument, it asks if the troubles with recognizing religion reflect more basic qualities of the grammar of recognition. Following the work by Jacques Rancière, Patchen Markell, Elizabeth Povinelli, James Tully, and Jens Bartelson it shows that recognition has two faces and that along with its frequently acknowledged empowering aspect, it also comes with costs. This is significant because it shows that the problems accompanying the ‘engagement’, ‘inclusion’, or ‘recognition’ of religion do not stem from academic ignorance, ideological bias, or conservative politics but rather are part of the conditions of possibility of recognition. The chapter thereby argues for the importance of understanding the conditions of possibility for recognition, that is, the epistemological politics of recognizability. To understand the costs of recognizing religion in global politics, therefore, one must study in detail the processes by which religion became intelligible as such. This is addressed in Chapters 4 and 5. Finally, I argue that being attentive to costs of recognition enables us to better understand choices of unintelligibility and the privileges of invisibility.