Faith (religious) schools Books

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Book SynopsisRevitalizing Practice is designed to help theological faculties engage a common set of challenges, particularly in the areas of diversity, formation, and institutional identity. These are not technical problems but are instead the very stuff out of which teaching and learning are practiced. Yet addressing such issues requires intentional strategies and collaborative work. Revitalizing Practice offers four such intentional strategies: A New Ecology Model, An Improvisational Model, An Appreciative Inquiry Model, and A World Café Model. Each of these models provides a thorough and practical framework (based on sound theoretical concepts) designed to help faculties revitalize their practices of theological teaching and learning.Trade Review«Addressing the challenges and changing circumstances of theological schools, they provide creative ways for seminary faculties to reflect on their shared vocation as they create an exciting environment for teaching, learning, and formation for ministry.» (Martha Horne, President and Dean Emerita, Virginia Theological Seminary) «… a cluster of catalytic models that cause one to think differently, to expand and refine vision, and to intentionally design better strategies to achieve mutually agreed upon goals. A very worthwhile read.» (Leland V. Eliason, Executive Director and Provost, Bethel Seminary of Bethel University)Table of ContentsContents: Malcolm L. Warford: Preface – Joseph A. Bessler: Seminaries as Endangered Habitats in a Fragile Ecosystem: A New Ecology Model – Peter T. Cha: Student Learning and Formation: An Improvisational Model – Mary E. Hess: Listening and Learning to Teach in Theological Contexts: An Appreciative Inquiry Model – Timothy C. Tennent: The Ministries for Which We Teach: A World Café Model.

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Book SynopsisThe Social Theory in Education Primer shows how classical sociology sets the frame for theory and research in education. Three major paradigms are explained in their historical context, and are used as a key to making sense of contemporary work that understands education from a sociological point of view. The central classical theorists considered are seen both in their own context, and also as the founders of the major movements that have continuing influence. The social theories of Durkheim, Marx, and Weber are used to frame and orient concepts for the different models of contemporary work. This primer is essential reading for courses devoted to social theory and education; sociology of education; social foundations of education; history of education; history of sociology; sociological theory; and sociology of knowledge.

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Book SynopsisSexuality education has been the cause of much dissension in the Western Muslim community. Delivering sexuality education that is both Islamically inclusive and reflective of the real world of Muslim youth remains a challenge for many school communities. Through the eyes of Muslim teachers, students, and members of wider Islamic communities, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of the problems, perspectives, and possibilities of sexuality education for Muslim youth living in the West. The book explores how these youth negotiate between Muslim and popular cultural constructions of sexuality, and how teachers attempt to develop sexuality education programmes that honour Islamic teachings and culture. Based on empirical research with Australian Muslim communities, this book presents a contemporary conversation which responds to the intense battle concerning sexuality education in Western Muslim communities and will be of great interest to educational researchers, culturaTrade Review«... this well-written account of sexuality education of Western Muslim communities provides an accessible reading of how Muslim youth in Australia showcase agency and creativity while navigating between Muslim and popular cultural constructions of sexuality.» (Koen Leurs, Religion & Gender 4.1, 2014)

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Book SynopsisMaritain, Religion, and Education: A Theocentric Humanism Approach offers a comprehensive study of Jacques Maritain's philosophy of education as applied to the specific field of religious education. This book demonstrates that his philosophy is still relevant and that the philosophical-religious idea of the human person is an indispensable point of departure for any educational theory, particularly in the field of religious education. Maritain's theocentric humanism stresses not only the relation of God and humanity but that of humanity and the world. His thinking fosters unity by considering the human person as unity with religious education becoming a liberating process that conforms to the goal of religious education: to deliver persons from all obstacles to union with God by fostering the spiritual life of religious educators and society alike.Trade Review«Jacques Maritain is a classic figure in Catholic philosophy of education as well as other areas of philosophy. His educational theory is admirably served by the careful exposition and analysis that it receives from Dr. Luz Ibarra. Her work not only clearly expounds his general philosophy of education but also pays special attention to its relevance for the teaching of religion and theology at all levels of education. Dr. Ibarra makes a convincing case that the enterprise of Catholic education can benefit greatly from a contemporary study of this renowned scholar.» (Prof. John Elias, Fordham University, New York) «Dr. Ibarra’s work marks another juncture in the vibrant history of Maritain studies. In exploring the educational theory of Jacques Maritain, Dr. Ibarra brings a much-needed intellectual rigor to the field of religious education. Her work elaborates how religious educators could benefit from Thomistic approaches to education, a relationship that has been dismissed, by some, as worthy only of historical memory. This work, in being philosophically rooted, will be of benefit to religious educators from all traditions.» (Prof. Mario D’Souza, University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto)

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Book SynopsisThere has been growing scholarly attention to questions about the revival of religion and religiosity on global social, cultural and political fronts and the emergence of a post-secular' society. New Social Foundations for Education is dedicated to the drawing of the implications of the contemporary post-secular' social transformation for education. Though the question of the post-secular' stands at the focal point of a wide range of academic debates and discussions, within educational discourse it has not received close scholarly attention. This volume aims to correct this lack by presenting groundbreaking works of leading scholars from Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. Contributions discuss such topics as the mystical tradition and its social and pedagogic implications; transformative and ecological education; new age' spiritualism and its educational implications; and the relations between secular and religious education in different local contexts.Table of ContentsContents: Philip Wexler/Yotam Hotam: New Social Foundations: Education in Post Secular Society – Jürgen Habermas: Notes on Post-Secular Society – Hanan A. Alexander: Education and the Post-Secular Condition: Resanctifying Pedagogy in an Era of Disenchantment – William F. Pinar: On the Teachings of George Grant – Robert A. Davis: Religion, Education and the Post-Secular Child – Yotam Hotam: Pedagogy, Spirituality, and Curricular Design in Waldorf Education – Oren Ergas: The Post-Secular Rhetoric of Contemplative Practice in the Public Curriculum – Suzanne Schneider: Demarcating the Secular: Education Policy in Mandate Palestine – Ayman K. Agbaria/Muhanad Mustafa: Palestinian Secular and Muslim Organizations’ Educational Activism in Israel: Without, Within and Against – Nehemia Stern: Post-Secular Ethnography: Religious Experience and Political Individualism among Neo-Hasidic Religious Zionists in Israel and the West Bank.

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Book SynopsisEvery century has witnessed the birth of a few world-transcending intellectuals as well as talented emerging scholars. Noam Chomsky and Pierre W. Orelus are no exception. Using dialogues exchanged over the course of nine years, combined with heartfelt critical essays, Chomsky and Orelus analytically examine social justice issues, such as unbalanced relationships between dominant and subjugated languages, democratic schooling, neoliberalism, colonization, and the harmful effect of Western globalization on developing countries, particularly on the poor living in those countries. On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice offers a unique perspective on these issues. Educators and scholar-activists interested in challenging the long-standing status quo to inspire transformative social, educational, and political change must read this book.Trade Review«On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice provides a forum for Noam Chomsky to articulate crucial insights, while offering an uplifting narrative describing a concerned individual’s personal correspondence, and then interaction, with Chomsky himself. As such, it’s a useful book that addresses contemporary issues, most notably regarding Haiti, but it’s also a behind-the-scenes description, one of a multitude, of how Chomsky relates to people concerned with making a difference in the world, and what they (and in turn we) can learn from such intellectual, and personal, encounters.» (Robert Barsky, Professor, Vanderbilt University) «On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice is a thoughtful and transformative book that raises crucial questions about the death of democracy and the rise of a unique form of authoritarianism in the United States. Reclaiming the connection between education and social change, it offers its readers an accessible, provocative, and insightful analysis of a number of issues that extend to social justice and the promise of a democracy to come to the savage ideologies, practices, and policies of neoliberalism. Moving lucidly between a language of critique and a discourse of possibility, the book offers a stinging critique of American-style casino capitalism and its attack on those vital public values, ideologies, and institutions that give meaning to any viable democratic society while also providing a number of suggestions about the promise of collective struggle, organized resistance, and the possibilities for a more just future.» (Henry Giroux, Global Television Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University) «Critical educators such as Pierre W. Orelus have consistently challenged the colonial matrix of power in an attempt to redress the crisis within the geoculture of the modern/ colonial world, and in doing so have challenged epistemologies of power and the social relations of production in which these epistemologies are forged. Professor Orelus is from Haiti, and his interest in learning more about the colonization of his homeland is what first led him to become interested in Noam Chomsky’s work.» (from the foreword by Peter McLaren) « … what is facilitative rather than debilitating about this new book is that it doesn’t only offer a language of critique, it simultaneously creates and encourages a collective praxis to make change in the world.» (from the afterword by Pepi Leistyna)«On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice provides a forum for Noam Chomsky to articulate crucial insights, while offering an uplifting narrative describing a concerned individual’s personal correspondence, and then interaction, with Chomsky himself. As such, it’s a useful book that addresses contemporary issues, most notably regarding Haiti, but it’s also a behind-the-scenes description, one of a multitude, of how Chomsky relates to people concerned with making a difference in the world, and what they (and in turn we) can learn from such intellectual, and personal, encounters.» (Robert Barsky, Professor, Vanderbilt University) «On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice is a thoughtful and transformative book that raises crucial questions about the death of democracy and the rise of a unique form of authoritarianism in the United States. Reclaiming the connection between education and social change, it offers its readers an accessible, provocative, and insightful analysis of a number of issues that extend to social justice and the promise of a democracy to come to the savage ideologies, practices, and policies of neoliberalism. Moving lucidly between a language of critique and a discourse of possibility, the book offers a stinging critique of American-style casino capitalism and its attack on those vital public values, ideologies, and institutions that give meaning to any viable democratic society while also providing a number of suggestions about the promise of collective struggle, organized resistance, and the possibilities for a more just future.» (Henry Giroux, Global Television Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University) «Critical educators such as Pierre W. Orelus have consistently challenged the colonial matrix of power in an attempt to redress the crisis within the geoculture of the modern/ colonial world, and in doing so have challenged epistemologies of power and the social relations of production in which these epistemologies are forged. Professor Orelus is from Haiti, and his interest in learning more about the colonization of his homeland is what first led him to become interested in Noam Chomsky’s work.» (from the foreword by Peter McLaren) « … what is facilitative rather than debilitating about this new book is that it doesn’t only offer a language of critique, it simultaneously creates and encourages a collective praxis to make change in the world.» (from the afterword by Pepi Leistyna)Table of ContentsContents: Professional and Personal Encounters With Noam Chomsky: A Critical Self-Reflection – Noam Chomsky and the Linguistic, Political, and Activist World: A Critical Analysis – Democracy, Schooling, and U.S. Foreign Policy - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – Democracy and Language Rights of Minority Groups – Neoliberalism: The Rich Over the Poor - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – Market Democracy in a Neoliberal Order: Doctrines and Reality – Third World Countries Under Western Siege - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – Re-Envisioning Social Justice - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – What Should Be the Role of Intellectuals in the Twenty-First Century?

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Book SynopsisEvery century has witnessed the birth of a few world-transcending intellectuals as well as talented emerging scholars. Noam Chomsky and Pierre W. Orelus are no exception. Using dialogues exchanged over the course of nine years, combined with heartfelt critical essays, Chomsky and Orelus analytically examine social justice issues, such as unbalanced relationships between dominant and subjugated languages, democratic schooling, neoliberalism, colonization, and the harmful effect of Western globalization on developing countries, particularly on the poor living in those countries. On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice offers a unique perspective on these issues. Educators and scholar-activists interested in challenging the long-standing status quo to inspire transformative social, educational, and political change must read this book.Trade Review«On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice provides a forum for Noam Chomsky to articulate crucial insights, while offering an uplifting narrative describing a concerned individual’s personal correspondence, and then interaction, with Chomsky himself. As such, it’s a useful book that addresses contemporary issues, most notably regarding Haiti, but it’s also a behind-the-scenes description, one of a multitude, of how Chomsky relates to people concerned with making a difference in the world, and what they (and in turn we) can learn from such intellectual, and personal, encounters.» (Robert Barsky, Professor, Vanderbilt University) «On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice is a thoughtful and transformative book that raises crucial questions about the death of democracy and the rise of a unique form of authoritarianism in the United States. Reclaiming the connection between education and social change, it offers its readers an accessible, provocative, and insightful analysis of a number of issues that extend to social justice and the promise of a democracy to come to the savage ideologies, practices, and policies of neoliberalism. Moving lucidly between a language of critique and a discourse of possibility, the book offers a stinging critique of American-style casino capitalism and its attack on those vital public values, ideologies, and institutions that give meaning to any viable democratic society while also providing a number of suggestions about the promise of collective struggle, organized resistance, and the possibilities for a more just future.» (Henry Giroux, Global Television Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University) «Critical educators such as Pierre W. Orelus have consistently challenged the colonial matrix of power in an attempt to redress the crisis within the geoculture of the modern/ colonial world, and in doing so have challenged epistemologies of power and the social relations of production in which these epistemologies are forged. Professor Orelus is from Haiti, and his interest in learning more about the colonization of his homeland is what first led him to become interested in Noam Chomsky’s work.» (from the foreword by Peter McLaren) « … what is facilitative rather than debilitating about this new book is that it doesn’t only offer a language of critique, it simultaneously creates and encourages a collective praxis to make change in the world.» (from the afterword by Pepi Leistyna)«On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice provides a forum for Noam Chomsky to articulate crucial insights, while offering an uplifting narrative describing a concerned individual’s personal correspondence, and then interaction, with Chomsky himself. As such, it’s a useful book that addresses contemporary issues, most notably regarding Haiti, but it’s also a behind-the-scenes description, one of a multitude, of how Chomsky relates to people concerned with making a difference in the world, and what they (and in turn we) can learn from such intellectual, and personal, encounters.» (Robert Barsky, Professor, Vanderbilt University) «On Language, Democracy, and Social Justice is a thoughtful and transformative book that raises crucial questions about the death of democracy and the rise of a unique form of authoritarianism in the United States. Reclaiming the connection between education and social change, it offers its readers an accessible, provocative, and insightful analysis of a number of issues that extend to social justice and the promise of a democracy to come to the savage ideologies, practices, and policies of neoliberalism. Moving lucidly between a language of critique and a discourse of possibility, the book offers a stinging critique of American-style casino capitalism and its attack on those vital public values, ideologies, and institutions that give meaning to any viable democratic society while also providing a number of suggestions about the promise of collective struggle, organized resistance, and the possibilities for a more just future.» (Henry Giroux, Global Television Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University) «Critical educators such as Pierre W. Orelus have consistently challenged the colonial matrix of power in an attempt to redress the crisis within the geoculture of the modern/ colonial world, and in doing so have challenged epistemologies of power and the social relations of production in which these epistemologies are forged. Professor Orelus is from Haiti, and his interest in learning more about the colonization of his homeland is what first led him to become interested in Noam Chomsky’s work.» (from the foreword by Peter McLaren) « … what is facilitative rather than debilitating about this new book is that it doesn’t only offer a language of critique, it simultaneously creates and encourages a collective praxis to make change in the world.» (from the afterword by Pepi Leistyna)Table of ContentsContents: Professional and Personal Encounters With Noam Chomsky: A Critical Self-Reflection – Noam Chomsky and the Linguistic, Political, and Activist World: A Critical Analysis – Democracy, Schooling, and U.S. Foreign Policy - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – Democracy and Language Rights of Minority Groups – Neoliberalism: The Rich Over the Poor - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – Market Democracy in a Neoliberal Order: Doctrines and Reality – Third World Countries Under Western Siege - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – Re-Envisioning Social Justice - Noam Chomsky and Pierre Orelus in Dialogue – What Should Be the Role of Intellectuals in the Twenty-First Century?

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Book SynopsisChristianity and the Secular Border Patrol: The Loss of Judeo-Christian Knowledge centrally looks at how secular universities have dominated academic knowledge on the one hand and have also been a part of bias against Christian academics on the other. Authors generally ask for borders of understanding and collegial dialogue to bridge gaps of knowledge that exist because of this bias. Theoretical analysis and narratives from the field describe how overcoming extreme theoretical positions may allow for productive knowledge construction and a more harmonious relationship within the culture wars of our times, especially in higher education.Trade Review«I am personally looking forward to using Christianity and the Secular Border Patrol in a rhetoric class. Along with the current work of theorists like Jeffrey Ringer and Elizabeth Vander Lei, this is work that helps academics to understand and argue for an intellectual landscape that is comprehensive, inclusive, and relevant.» (Ryan K Strader, International Journal of Christianity & Education 22(2)/2018) National ReviewTable of ContentsList of Illustrations – Contributors – Barry Kanpol: Introduction – Mary Poplin: Blinded by Secular Interpretations of Religious Knowledge – David R. Hodge: Secular Privilege: Deconstructing the Invisible Injustice – Charles L. Glenn: Secularism: A Militant Faith in a Post-Secular Age – David R. Hodge: Spiritual Microaggressions: Examining the Covert Messages Directed towards People of Faith – George Yancey: Business Academics and Acceptance of Conservative Christians – Eric L. Johnson – Understanding Scholarly Antipathy towards Christian Scholarly Perspectives Using Christian Critical Psychology: An Ironic Tale and Analysis – Robert Osburn: Religious, Frustrated, and a Long Way from Home: Religiously-Active International Students and Academicians’ Responses to Religion – Joe D. Nichols: An Argument for Service Learning as a Spiritual Avenue for Christian and Secular Border Crossings in Higher Education – Nathan F. Alleman/Perry L. Glanze: Creating Confessional Colleges and Universities That Confess – Geraldine E. Forsberg: Jacques Ellul: A Model of Border-Crossing.

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Book SynopsisChristianity and the Secular Border Patrol: The Loss of Judeo-Christian Knowledge centrally looks at how secular universities have dominated academic knowledge on the one hand and have also been a part of bias against Christian academics on the other. Authors generally ask for borders of understanding and collegial dialogue to bridge gaps of knowledge that exist because of this bias. Theoretical analysis and narratives from the field describe how overcoming extreme theoretical positions may allow for productive knowledge construction and a more harmonious relationship within the culture wars of our times, especially in higher education.Trade Review«I am personally looking forward to using Christianity and the Secular Border Patrol in a rhetoric class. Along with the current work of theorists like Jeffrey Ringer and Elizabeth Vander Lei, this is work that helps academics to understand and argue for an intellectual landscape that is comprehensive, inclusive, and relevant.» (Ryan K Strader, International Journal of Christianity & Education 22(2)/2018) National ReviewTable of ContentsList of Illustrations – Contributors – Barry Kanpol: Introduction – Mary Poplin: Blinded by Secular Interpretations of Religious Knowledge – David R. Hodge: Secular Privilege: Deconstructing the Invisible Injustice – Charles L. Glenn: Secularism: A Militant Faith in a Post-Secular Age – David R. Hodge: Spiritual Microaggressions: Examining the Covert Messages Directed towards People of Faith – George Yancey: Business Academics and Acceptance of Conservative Christians – Eric L. Johnson – Understanding Scholarly Antipathy towards Christian Scholarly Perspectives Using Christian Critical Psychology: An Ironic Tale and Analysis – Robert Osburn: Religious, Frustrated, and a Long Way from Home: Religiously-Active International Students and Academicians’ Responses to Religion – Joe D. Nichols: An Argument for Service Learning as a Spiritual Avenue for Christian and Secular Border Crossings in Higher Education – Nathan F. Alleman/Perry L. Glanze: Creating Confessional Colleges and Universities That Confess – Geraldine E. Forsberg: Jacques Ellul: A Model of Border-Crossing.

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Book SynopsisThe second edition of What Schools Teach Us About Religious Life continues to explore the ways in which private education in the United States mirrors the growing complexity and fluidity of religious life in the United States. Through the study of ten different private schoolsrepresenting a wide variety of religious traditions as well as some secular institutionsa picture of contemporary culture, and the place of religious belief within the culture, emerges. Each chapter of this second edition of What Schools Teach Us About Religious Life contains a different picture of how individual schools then address that culture.Trade Review“In this study—now in its second edition—of ten private (PreK–12) schools throughout the United States, veteran educator Daniel Heischman takes us into the lived worlds of these institutions, probing the unique missions and practices of each. What Heischman sees there tells not only a story of each particular school, but of the complex and shifting religious terrain of American life today. Finding commonalities among the most religiously diverse of schools, as well as noting how non-sectarian schools frequently intersect with the dynamics of a rapidly changing religious landscape, Heischman shows how schools serve as worthy barometers and mediators of contemporary religious life. “Page after page provides fresh insight and rich narrative on how schools foster a life of faith, develop a sense of service, and enrich the spirit.” Joseph McTighe, Executive Director, Council for American Private Education“In our work with divinity students who are preparing for careers in schools, Daniel Heischman’s book provides ample evidence that not only can we engage in religious issues in schools, we must do so.” Jere A. Wells, Director, Educational Leadership and Ministry Program (ELM), Berkeley Divinity School at Yale“Heischman’s seasoned perspective helps him articulate the challenges these schools face in their attempt to give a young person a place and voice in a small universe, but his perspective also allows him to see the larger social universe to which schools belong.” Matthew W. Geiger, former faculty member, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School (VA)Table of ContentsForeword and Acknowledgments – Introduction: Overflowing Containers – Doing Both – A Bold American Experiment – The Elephant in the Corner? – Unashamedly Unapologetic – That Long, Funny Word – Educating Hearts and Minds – Minding the Light – Delving into the Difficult – Changing the Narrative – Religious Connectivity – Conclusion: Gentler Souls.

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Book SynopsisIn White Jesus: The Architecture of Racism in Religion and Education, White Jesus is conceived as a socially constructed apparatusa mythology that animates the architecture of salvationthat operates stealthily as a veneer for patriarchal White supremacist, capitalist, and imperialist sociopolitical, cultural, and economic agendas. White Jesus was constructed by combining empire, colorism, racism, education, and religion; the by-product is a distortion that reproduces violence in epistemic and physical ways. The authors distinguish White Jesus from Jesus of the Gospels, the one whose life, death, and resurrection demands sacrificial love as a responsea love ethic. White Jesus is a fraudulent scheme that many devotees of Jesus of Bethlehem naively fell for. This book is about naming the lies, reclaiming the person of Jesus, and reasserting a vision of power that locates Jesus of the Gospels in solidarity with the easily disposed. The catalytic, animating, and life-alteriTrade Review“I loved this book! In this interdisciplinary resource, the authors powerfully show that White Jesus isn’t an innocuous inaccuracy. Rather, it is a powerful cornerstone of White supremacy and must be seen for the poison that it is. Drawing connections between historical events, theological affirmations and current, real-world examples of White supremacy in Christianity, this book illuminates the many ways in which White Jesus is the enemy, not the savior, of the world. Every Christian influencer—especially clergy, lay leaders, and scholars—should read this book. I know it’ll be required reading in the seminary courses I teach for years to come!” —Christena Cleveland, author of Disunity in Christ:Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart“The authors of White Jesus have written a book for our time. As Christians, especially in the United States, wrestle with their public witness, this book analyzes the architecture of a theology steeped in Whiteness. It challenges readers to consider how a concept so central to Christianity—salvation by faith in Jesus Christ—can be affected by our socio-cultural location and how it even affects the way we craft material culture to reinforce a racially slanted view of the good news. White Jesus should give all of us a certain humility when it comes to theology as we consider the ways we have conflated religion and race and inculcated such ideas through our educational institutions. Although lament is a proper response to this book, so is the sense of hope that comes with realizing that change is possible.” —Jemar Tisby, President of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective“In the age of Trump, Americans have allowed a populist jingoism and White supremacy to dominate the conversation on race, even among Christians. American Evangelicals seem to excuse this dysfunctional intersection between a broken culture and God’s people. How did we get here? This text provides insight into the blueprint of how this dominating and dominant architecture came into being. By understanding this architecture, we may even have the possibility of plotting a way forward that shirks the White captivity of American Christianity. This work does not allow for simple reductionism, memes, or sound bites. It calls for a critical and intellectual engagement of the topic in ways that could change us. An important and significant contribution to a growing field of study.” —Soong-Chan Rah, Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary and author of The Next Evangelicalism and Prophetic Lament“For years, I have puzzled over the gaping chasm that so often divides the teachings of Jesus from the practice of White American Christians on matters of race and social justice—a chasm that led Frederick Douglass to affirm in 1845 that ‘between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference’; a chasm that prompted millions of White American Christians in the 1960s to enroll their children in ‘Christian’ schools so they could avoid attending school with blacks; and a chasm that, in 2016, allowed some 80% of White evangelical Christians to vote for a man with a long record of racism as president of the United States. This conundrum is so bizarre it simply makes no sense unless we admit to the truth embodied in this book—that we have painted Jesus White, God White, and salvation White. And because our religion is our ultimate concern, we have also painted White the deepest recesses of our hopes, our fears, and our loves. Why then should we be surprised to discover the weeds of racism, deeply rooted and flourishing in the garden of the American church?” —Richard T. Hughes, author of Myths America Lives By: White Supremacy and the Stories That Give Us Meaning“White Jesus: The Architecture of Racism in Religion and Education is a book that deals with the religion of Whiteness and its discontents. A very ambitious text, White Jesus seeks to correct the many harms and long-standing traumas that Whiteness as religion has inflicted upon non-White peoples all over the world. Concerned with dismantling White supremacy, it correctly identifies the marriage between Whiteness and Christianity as the starting point for such an endeavor. The authors of this book do an excellent job in dissecting and criticizing the many layers of White religion. From architecture to higher education to missions to liturgy to the ideologies of empire, the historical, cultural, and institutional entanglements of Whiteness and Christianity are laid bare. The gravity of Whiteness and Christianity will force readers to rethink Catholicism, the legacies of the Protestant Reformation, and biblical texts. White audiences, particularly White Christians, who avail themselves to a critique of Whiteness and Christian identity, will be compelled to reimagine Whiteness and Christian identity. White Jesus is a timely text that speaks to our contemporary context, where a global resurgence of White nationalism in the United States, Europe, and other parts of the world is reproducing the many problems this book seeks to overcome. I highly recommend White Jesus; it is a necessary book for our times.” —Ronald B. Neal, Department for the Study of Religions at Wake Forest UniversityTable of ContentsList of Figures – Foreword – Introduction: The White Architecture of Salvation – White Civil Religion, Empire, and Dominance – How Christianity Became White – The Religious White – White Saviors Proselytizing "Pagans": Missionaries, Boarding Schools, and Adoption – Whiteness in Christian Higher Education – White Worship – Before Jesus Became White – Afterword – Index.

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Book SynopsisReligious educators today are called upon to enable young people to develop as fully-rounded human beings in a multicultural and multifaith world. It is no longer sufficient to teach about the history of religions: religion is not relegated to the past. It is no longer sufficient to teach about the observable outward phenomena of religions: religion is not restricted to practices, artefacts, and buildings observable in the outside world. It is also necessary to take seriously what religions believe about themselves, and what religions believe about other religions. Seen from the inside, religions deal in the currency of truth. For the religions themselves, truth matters. Truth-claims can lead to harmony and peace, but they may also engender discord and violence. What ultimately counts is how one set of truth-claims confronts or embraces the truths claimed by other, different voices. Therefore those who teach religion cannot avoid dealing with the theology of religions. In this collection of original essays, religious educators shaped by both Christian and Islamic worldviews discuss the problems and opportunities that now face educators and believers alike, as they are confronted by the challenge of teaching religion and teaching truth. The discussion nurtured at the sixteenth conference of the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values is here developed further, to stimulate wider reflection and shape good local practice.Trade Review«This is a high-calibre addition to the field, one that teachers and those involved in initial and in-service education in religious education should read with close attention.» (John Sullivan, Theological Book Review 25.1, 2013)Table of ContentsContents: Gloria Durka: Theology of Religions: Through the Looking Glass of US Roman Catholicism – Friedrich Schweitzer: Principled Pluralism and Theology’s Contribution to Religious Education: A Protestant Perspective – Mario O. D’Souza: Identity, Diversity, and the Common Good – Fernando A. Cascante-Gómez: Pluralist Latin American Liberation Theology: Theological Themes and Educational Challenges – Kath Engebretson: Interfaith Education in the Christian School – Mualla Selçuk: How Can Islamic Pedagogy Promote an Understanding of ‘Individualized Religion’? – Recai Doğan: An Ottoman Example of the Perception of Other Religions in Islamic Thought – Z. Şeyma Arslan: A Holistic Approach in Education from the Perspective of the Islamic Understanding of Human Beings – Elisabeth Arweck/Eleanor Nesbitt: The Interaction of the Major Religions at Microcosmic Level: Religiously-Mixed Families in the UK – Hans-Georg Ziebertz: The Catholic View on Religious Pluralism in Empirical Perspective – Marian de Souza: The Dual Role of Unconscious Learning in Engendering and Hindering Spiritual Growth: Implications for Religious Education in Pluralist Contexts – Leslie J. Francis/Mandy Robbins: The Theology of Religions and Psychological Type: An Empirical Enquiry among Participants at the Parliament of the World’s Religions – Üzeyir Ok: How Open is Muslim Youth to People of Other Faiths? – Jeff Astley: A Theological Reflection on the Nature of Religious Truth.

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Book SynopsisThis pioneering volume defines the contours of the emerging engagements of Muslim women scholars from around the world with the authoritative interpretive traditions of Islam, classical and contemporary. Muslima theology, here broadly defined to encompass a range of interpretive strategies and perspectives arising from multiple social locations, interrogates Islamic scripture and other forms of religious discourse to empower Muslim women of faith to speak for themselves in the interests of gender justice. Contributions provide an overview of the field at this juncture-ranging from pioneering Muslim scriptural feminism to detailed analyses of legal and mystical texts by a new international cohort of Muslim women academics and activists. Contemporary female Muslim "constructivist" approaches articulate concerns with diversity, including race and religious pluralism, paralleling developments in womanist and mujerista readings of religious texts.Table of ContentsContents: Marcia Hermansen: Introduction: The New Voices of Muslim Women Theologians – Ednan Aslan: Early Community Politics and the Marginalization of Women in Islamic Intellectual History – Zainab Alwani: Muslim Women as Religious Scholars: A Historical Survey – Ndeye Adújar: Feminist Readings of the Quran: Social, Political, and Religious Implications – Aysha Hidayatullah: Muslim Feminist Theology in the United States – Riffat Hassan: Women and Man’s «Fall»: A Qur’anic Theological Perspective – Hatice Arpaguş: The Position of Woman in the Creation: A Qur’anic Perspective – Hidayet Şefkatli: Tuksal Misogynistic Reports in the Hadith Literature – Muna Tatari: Gender Justice and Gender Jihād - Possibilities and Limits of Qur’anic Interpretation for Women’s Liberation – Celene Ayat Lizzio: Gendering Ritual: A Muslima’s Reading of the Laws of Purity and Ritual Preclusion – Carolyn Baugh: Ibn Taymiyya’s Feminism? Imprisonment and the Divorce Fatwas – Etin Anwar: Sexing the Prayer: The Politics of Ritual and Feminist Activism in Indonesia – Rabha Al-Zeera: Violence Against Women in Qur’an 4:34: A Sacred Ordinance? – Jerusha Tanner Lamptey: From Sexual Difference to Religious Difference: Toward a Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism – Debra Majeed: Resisting the Veil of Universalism: Muslim Womanist Philosophy as a Lens for Authentic Representations of African American Muslim Women – Sa‘diyya Shaikh: In Search of al-Insān: Sufism, Islamic Law, and Gender.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is a result of the conference «Islamic Textbooks and Curricula in South East Europe» held in Sarajevo, 21st to 25th October 2010. One of the aims of the conference was to critically assess the existing curricula and textbooks for Muslim education in Europe and to discuss the directions textbook and curricular development needs to take in the near term. This critical assessment and visioning took place in dialogue with the experiences of long-established churches and religious communities. The conference concluded that an emphasis on the European characteristics of Islam is essential in religious education.Table of ContentsContents: Mustafa Ceric: The Meaning of Religious Education for Peace and Dialogue in the Balkans – Enes Karić: New Challenges in Higher Theological Education in the Balkans – Ednan Aslan: Islamic Textbooks and Curricula in Europe – Ramiz Zekaj: Tradition, Actuality and Perspectives on Islamic Education in Albania – Zekirija Sejdini: Curricula and Textbooks for Islamic Religious Education in Austria – Dina Sijamhodžić-Nadarević: The Structure of Islamic Educational Institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Curriculum Development – Sefer Hasanov: The Presentation of the Holy Quran in Islamic Religious Textbooks Taught in Bulgarian Public Schools – Aziz Hasanović: The Experiences of the Islamic Community in Croatia in the Implementation of Islamic Religious Instruction in Public Primary and Secondary Schools – Yasar Sarikaya: Islamic Religious Education in Germany: Curricula and Textbooks – Giorgos Mavrommatis: Muslim Educational Institutions in Greece: Textbooks and Curricula – Tamás Sóos/Zsófia Windisch: Muslim Education in Hungary: Past and Present – Xhabir Hamiti: Islamic Curricula in Kosovo – Fahrudin Ebibi: A Chronology of the Development of Islamic Religious Education in Macedonia – Šerbo Rastoder/Suljo Mustafić: Islamic Education in Montenegro – Agata S. Nalborczyk: Islamic Religious Education in Poland - Curricula and Textbooks – Laurenţiu D. Tanase: Learning Islam in Romania, The Case of the Turk-Tatar Muslim Community – Mevlud Dudić: Some Indicators of the Readiness for Islamic Religious Education – Nedzad Grabus: Religious Education in Slovenia – Juan Ferreiro Galguera: Islamic Religious Education in Spain – Recep Kaymakcan: Islam in Turkish Religious Education: From Traditional Understanding to Modern – Eileen M. Daily: The Arc of the Pendulum: United States Catholic Curriculum Standards for Secondary School Textbooks – Martin Jäggle: The Role of Textbooks and Curricula in European Religious Education from a Catholic Perspective – Martin Rothgangel: Educational Standards for Religious Education from Protestant Perspectives.

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Book SynopsisFollowing 9/11 and the growth of religiously legitimated violence in Islamic countries, the focus of public discussion moved to imams and teachers of religion as actors supporting Muslim isolation and the lack of willingness to integrate – imams became central figures in the debate on Islam. With great enthusiasm, politicians discovered them to be the scapegoats of a failed integration of Muslims in Europe. Integrated imams trained in Europe were to promote Muslim integration, prevent violence, resolve contradictions between society and Muslims and further Islamic enlightenment. With this objective an attempt was made, on the one hand, to rediscover the existing institutions for imam training in Balkan states and, on the other hand, to establish new educational institutions at European universities to train Europe-compliant imams. Due to their central role in the lives of Muslims, the training of imams and teachers of religion is given an important role in the process of Muslim integration.Table of ContentsContents: Ednan Aslan: Training of Imams and Teachers in Europe – Enes Karić: Higher Educational Institutions in the Balkans which Educate Imams and Religious Teachers (Overview from 1990-Present) – Jørgen S. Nielsen: Reflections on the Role and Training of Imams and Islamic Teachers for Europe – Qazim Qazimi: Religious Identity and Globalism – Bayram Karci/Elton Karaj: Religious Education in Albania. The Case of the Tirana Haxi Hamud Dashi Madrasah from 1924–1964 and 1991 onward – Vahidin Beluli: Methods of Professional Advancement for Imams and Islamic Studies Teachers in Austria – Mustafa Hasani: The Status of Imams in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sefer Hasanov: Training Imams and Religious Teachers in Bulgaria – Aziz Hasanović: Spiritual and Professional Profile of Imams in the 21st Century in Europe – Samim Akgönül: The Debate on Imams and Imam Training in France – Ibrahim Serif: The Legal Status of the Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace – Xhabir Hamiti: The Status of the Imam and His Position in the Past and Present. With a Focus on Albanian Territories – Muhamed Ali: Islamic Education in Macedonia: The Case of the Isa Beg Madresa and the Faculty of Islamic Sciences – Omer Halil Kajoshaj: Dawah in the Changing World. New Challenges to the Work of Imams – Johan Meuleman: Educating for an Old Profession in a New Context. The Imam Training Programme of Inholland University, the Netherlands – Mircea Botescu: The European Dobrudjan Islam. A Curricular Perspective on the Education of Imams in Romania – Damir Shagaviev: Training and Retraining of Imams in Russia (An Example of Tatarstan) – Juan Ferreiro Galguera: Training Centres for Imams in Spain – Rehan Neziri: The Training of Imams and Islamic Education Teachers in Switzerland. Between Real Local Needs and Imported Fear – Abdullah Sahin: Rethinking the Meaning of Being Islamicly Educated in a Secular Context. Reflections on the Future of Teacher and Imam Training within the British Muslim Communities – Z. Şeyma Arslan: Training of Imams and Teachers for Islamic Education in Turkey – Hasan Ali Yurtsever: The Role and Training of Imams and Muslim Chaplains in the U.S.A. – Eileen M. Daily: Formation of Catholic Religious Educators in the United States – Sabine Hermisson/Martin Rothgangel: «Spiritual Competence»: Research Project on a New Key Term in Protestant Training for Ministry – Kevser Muratovic: The Relationship Between Imams and Adolescents. Do Imams Have to Show Pedagogical Skills in order to be a Contact Person for Young Muslims with Everyday Issues and Problems? – Ilire Halimi Poniku: Implementation of Educational Standards. An Opportunity for the Advancement of Islamic Education in Kosovo – Jeton Mehmeti: Imams in Western Societies. Why Communication Skills Matter as much as Knowledge.

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Book SynopsisThe book tries to trace the origin of today’s Nigeria. The foundation that produced it was based on faulty principles, which came about due to the fact that both the imperial Lords and the indigenous founding fathers had no clear vision of the nature the new nation should take. The fact that many tribes, tongues and beliefs were unsystematically coerced to form this unwilling alliance added much strain to the feeble chains of unity. Every effort made to address this situation has failed so far. The author shows failures in the political, economic and religious arena while arguing that the development of the mental faculties of the Nigerian youth is the only viable option towards success. This development can only come about through comprehensive education, not based on the acquisition of paper qualifications but on the development of the entire person as an entity.Table of ContentsContents: Creation of Nigeria – The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio – Christian Missionaries in Nigeria – Religious Education and Ethical Formation – Models of Teaching – Quality of Education in Nigeria – Christianity and Islam as Religions of Peace.

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Book SynopsisTable of Contents/ Table of Contents.- I Religion und Sozialer Wandel Theoretische Probleme / Religion and Social Change Theoretical Aspects.- Toward a Theory of Religion and Social Change.- Religion und sozialer Wandel. Die Anwendung eines handlungstheoretischen Modells.- Religion, Geschichte und sozialer Wandel in Max Webers Religionssoziologie.- Anpassung. Zu einem Thema der modernen Religionssoziologie.- Religionssoziologische und sprachstrukturelle Aspekte des Entwicklungsproblems in der islamischen Welt.- II Begriff und Funktion der Religion / Concept and Function of Religion.- On the Nature of Western Religious Explanation.- The Re-Appraisal of Tylor’s Concept of Religion: The Interactionist Analogy.- Some Theoretical Implications of the Religiosity as a Mass Phenomenon in a Contemporary Socialist Society.- III Empirische Untersuchungen / Empirical Investigations.- Kirche im Feld sozialer Interaktion.- Religious Commitments of College Students over Five Decades.- Berufspositionen und Berufsvorstellungen promovierter katholischer Laientheologen.

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Book Synopsishe book is about Turkish Imam-Hatip High School graduates enrolled in European universities. There is not any other publication about this student group Gives an extensive history background of Turkish modernization and religiously conservatives. In this historical background the book tries to follow a social history methods that focuses on local peoples’ responses to Turkish modernization Analyses Imam-Hatip Schools as a channel of upward social mobilization of Turkish religiously conservatives and as a result attempts to tell the story of conservative modernization that is parallel to secular Turkish modernization.Table of ContentsThe book provides information and analysis about a Turkish student community in different locations in Europe, especially in Vienna and Sarajevo. Graduates of Turkish Imam-Hatip High Schools, public schools that offer a combination of a religious and scientific curriculum, choose Europe for their university education because they were excluded from universities in Turkey by secular elites of the country. This book tries to explore the story of European Imam-Hatip graduates with references to Turkish modernization. With an extensive historical background of Turkish modernization, religious conservatism and Imam-Hatip High Schools in Turkey; the relationship between Turkish conservatives and Imam-Hatip Schools, the role of these schools in the social upward mobilization of religiously conservatives, the conservative modernization that took place with the help of Imam-Hatip Schools are just some questions of the book that were asked for exploring and analyzing European Imam-Hatip graduates.|From Symbolic Exile to Physical Exile tells the story of Imam-Hatip graduates and their knowledge migration to Europe. Since these pious Muslims were prevented from entering Turkish universities by a secular elite fearful of losing its control of state and society, many of them have sent their best and brightest to European (and American) universities. They have thus formed a potential counter-elite, preparing themselves for leading roles in Turkey on their return. Until now, the existence of this transnational Imam Hatip network has gone unnoticed in academic studies. Çaglar fills this gap by tracing the development and expansion of the Imam-Hatip Schools, institutions that offer a combination of a religious and scientific curriculum. Through interviews with numerous students and alumni, Çaglar maps transnational branches of this influential network in Vienna, Sarajevo, the Netherlands and Germany. This research therefore is an important contribution to the study of Turkish transnational religious movements.

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