Religion and beliefs Books
Harvard University Press Rivayati Hemiti Ašawahistan
Book SynopsisThe present work is the only complete translation into English of a Middle Persian text, written about 955 A.D., which tells us about the legal problems of Zoroastrians living in Iran under Muslim rule. The form of the book is a series of dogmatic questions and answers which present a compilation of Zoroastrian religious, social, and civil laws.
£20.66
Harvard University Press When Time Shall Be No More Prophecy Belief in
Book SynopsisAs influential as prophecy is in the worldview of so many, the belief in the phenomenon remains a popular mystery, largely unstudied and little understood. When Time Shall Be No More offers for the first time an in-depth look at the subtle, pervasive ways in which prophecy belief shapes contemporary American thought and culture.Trade ReviewA splendid, rigorously documented treatise, as up to date as the morning newspaper… No book provides more comprehensive information about the awesome degree to which Biblical literalism and prophetic fervor have invaded the hearts and minds of Americans, rich and poor, educated and ignorant… [Those] who read the book can laugh and weep. -- Martin Gardner * Washington Post Book World *Paul Boyer traces the roots and branches of the rich, strange complex of biblical exegesis and twisted journalism that he calls ‘prophecy belief.’ When Time Shall Be No More exhaustively describes a strange species of rabid predictions of the wrath to come. -- Anthony Grafton * New Republic *Splendid… [A] compelling cultural history. -- L. S. Klepp * Village Voice Literary Supplement *This is one of the most important and impressive books I have ever read in American cultural history. It is richly researched, ably argued, exhaustive in its coverage of the subject of apocalyptic belief in the United States, yet a constant revelation. Indeed, it amounts to the discovery of what many of us in this field have halfway understood but never quite realized, that the dominion of prophecy and ‘end-time’ religion is vast and of utmost importance in understanding the whole of American culture. It will scarcely be possible now not to see the importance of this fringe culture that affects millions of Americans and which, from time to time, finds itself near the very center. -- James Gilbert, University of MarylandThis is not a facile study, attempting to draw large and arresting conclusions from a mere sample of the evidence. Boyer committed himself to an intense study of popular prophetic belief and the result is a learned, persuasive, and nuanced study of a very important subject. The book is inherently interesting and superbly written. -- Nathan O. Hatch, University of Notre DameIt is a work of high quality in every respect and is as good as anything I know of on the subject. In addition to writing well, the author is judicious and insightful in his judgments and maintains a tone of seeking understanding rather than, as do most writers on such topics, taking cheap shots at easy targets. Also and importantly, I found the book engaging and was eager to keep reading. -- George Marsden, University of Notre DameTable of ContentsPreface Prologue: The Hidden World of Prophecy Belief I. The Genre and Its Early Interpreters 1. Origins of the Apocalyptic 2. Rhythms of Prophecy Belief 3. The Premillennial Strand II. Key Themes after World War II 4. The Atomic Bomb and Nuclear War 5. Ezekiel as the First Cold Warrior 6. The Final Chatisement of the Chosen 7. The United States in Prophecy 8. Antichrist, 666, and the Mark of the Beast III. The Enduring Apocalyptic Vision 9. The Continuing Appeal of Prophecy Belief 10. Apocalyptic Portents in a Post-Cold War World Notes Acknowledgements Credits Index Illustrations follow pages 144 and 280
£25.16
Harvard University, Center for Hellenic Studies Singing Mosess Song
Book SynopsisHow does performing affect those who perform? Starting from observation of the intergenerational tradition of performing the Song of Moses, Keith A. Stone provides a close reading of the text of the Song and explores ways in which the Song contributes to Deuteronomy's educational program through the dynamics of reenactment.
£16.10
Harvard University Press Prophecy without Contempt
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWhat a welcome book! Kaveny shows us a reality hidden in plain sight, the rhetorical form of the jeremiad, which is crucial for understanding how and why political discourse has become so sour and polarized. Her wonderfully fresh and important approach deserves to be pondered by all who hope to understand the public square today. -- John O’Malley, Georgetown UniversityThrough solid historical insights and careful moral reasoning, Kaveny gives her readers something that has become increasingly rare: a strong religious voice that points not to a shouted dialogue of the deaf, but to integrity, community, healing, and ways of getting along. It is an important book for the times. -- Mark Noll, University of Notre DameCathleen Kaveny has given us a book that brings us closer to both the rhetoric and the reality of American politics. In our history, commitment is not incompatible with civility, and Prophecy without Contempt shows how we might recover that possibility for the future. -- Robin Lovin, Southern Methodist UniversityA monumental achievement, and a much-needed addition to the academic and societal conversation about the role of religion in public life. In precise prose and with careful analysis, Kaveny challenges some of the leading theorists about public discourse and puts forward her own theories, all accompanied by a storyteller’s gift for anecdote and a philosopher’s talent for explication. -- Michael Sean Winters * National Catholic Reporter *Kaveny’s project in Prophecy without Contempt is important and path-breaking. The place of religious discourse in the American public square has received much attention for many years, but the role of prophetic indictment has been largely overlooked. Kaveny’s book not only opens a ‘new front’ in these debates, but starts the conversation with a rich analysis of the history and function of prophetic discourse and a carefully developed normative framework to guide its use. The interdisciplinary work that informs Kaveny’s book is especially impressive. As an ethicist and legal academic, Kaveny draws on resources from these disciplines, and she also integrates sophisticated analyses of American history, biblical scholarship, and literary criticism. -- Kathleen A. Brady * Commonweal *[An] original account of public speech in America’s past, present, and possible future…The timely genius of Prophecy Without Contempt lies in its examination of the rhetoric of contemporary moral and political debates in light of this tradition of the American jeremiad, which she sees running through the American Revolution and Civil War into the present. Although Kaveny deliberately ends her study with the presidential election of 2004, when speeches were pitched to attract the ‘moral voter,’ she offers an essential perspective on the 2016 primaries. -- William Storrar * Commonweal *Inspiring…[Kaveny] suggests that religion’s most powerful public role involves ‘prophetic indictment’ of our shortcomings. Martin Luther King Jr. is one model of this, Abraham Lincoln another. She insists that the most powerful prophets are tempered by ‘a lively sense of humility.’ They understand both the limits of their knowledge and their own moral shortcomings. They also have ‘social humility regarding the status of other peoples, including one’s enemies, in God’s affections.’ In other words, they don’t consign their foes to hell. -- E. J. Dionne, Jr. * Washington Post *This is a well-imagined, highly detailed, multidisciplinary, compelling, and clearly written analysis of the history (from biblical, to American Puritan, to contemporary U.S.) of the conceptual roots, religious and cultural nature, and contributions to civil (or uncivil) political discourse of the ‘American Jeremiad’ or prophetic indictment. -- L. S. Hulett * Choice *
£23.36
Princeton University Press Jewish Marriage in Antiquity
Book SynopsisMarriage might be a highly contested topic, but certainly no more than it was in antiquity. This book offers the study of Jewish marriage in antiquity, from ca 500 BCE to 614 CE. Placing Jewish marriage in its cultural milieu, it investigates whether there was anything essentially "Jewish" about the institution as it was discussed and practiced.Trade Review"[An] illuminating and comprehensive book... The difficult questions of Jewish marriage today, such as a concern over Jews marrying non-Jews and the changing definitions of who constitutes a married couple, may not actually have many new elements. Judaism of the past and present has always been in conversation with its host society about such fluid matters."--Tawny L. Holm, Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewTable of ContentsAbbreviations and Conventions ix Preface xiii Introduction xv PART I: Thinking about Marriage CHAPTER ONE: Why Marry? 3 CHAPTER TWO: Metaphor and Myth 42 CHAPTER THREE: Marriage and Law 68 PART II. Marrying CHAPTER FOUR: Shreds of Real Marriage 93 CHAPTER FIVE: Making Match 101 CHAPTER SIX: Endogamy and Exogamy 133 CHAPTER SEVEN: Customs and Rituals of Marriage 162 CHAPTER EIGHT: Irregular Unions 182 PART III. Staying Married CHAPTER NINE: The Economics of Marriage 199 CHAPTER TEN: The Ideal marriage 225 CONCLUSIONS 259 Notes to the Chapters 273 Bibliography 367 Subject Index 401 Index of Premodern Sources 410 Index of Modern Authors 425
£103.70
Princeton University Press Asian Religions in Practice
Book SynopsisOffers overviews of the religions of Asia, providing both historical context and insightful analysis of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, and Bon, as well as many local traditions.Table of ContentsIntroduction3Religions of India in Practice8Buddhism in Practice56Religions of China in Practice88Religions of Tibet in Practice123Religions of Japan in Practice154
£31.50
Princeton University Press Through a Speculum That Shines Vision and
Book SynopsisOffering a treatment of visionary experience in some of the main texts of Jewish mysticism, this book reveals the visual nature of religious experience in Jewish spirituality from antiquity through the late Middle Ages. It shows how Jewish mystics preserved the invisible transcendence of God without doing away with the visual dimension of belief.Trade ReviewWinner of the 1995 Sarah H. and Julius Kushner Award, National Jewish Book Council One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1995 Winner of the 1994 Excellence in Book Publishing Award, American Academy of Religion "Massive, magisterial... Wolfson has amassed an impressive array of texts to establish the foundational importance of seeing God for Jewish mysticism ... and his book formulates many questions that will undoubtedly occupy subsequent investigators as they grapple with the significance of its findings... This book comprises a manifold contribution to our appreciation of Jewish mysticism and Jewish intellectual history in the Middle Ages."--Jeremy Cohen, American Historical Review "Energy and excitement ... burst forth from page after page of this remarkably wide-ranging yet tightly argued work... Wolfson's work is scholarship in the grand tradition--sweeping in scope and references, precise in analysis and argumentation."--Everett Gendler, Theological Studies "A learned, authoritative and scrupulously documented study of visionary experiences among medieval Jewish prophets and mystics."--Earle J. Coleman, Menorah Review "Arguing that kabalistic experience is first and foremost a visual rather than an aural experience ... Wolfson traces the subject in rich detail, from its biblical origins through the mystical sources of the talmudic and posttalmudic era... With the publication of this major study, Wolfson has confirmed his position as one of the leading students of medieval Jewish mysticism."--ChoiceTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction3Ch. 1"Israel: The One Who Sees God" - Visualization of God in Biblical, Apocalyptic, and Rabbinic Sources13Ch. 2Vision of God in Mystical Sources: A Typological Analysis52Ch. 3Visionary Ascent and Enthronement in the Hekhalot Literature74Ch. 4Theories of the Glory and Visionary Experience in Pre-Kabbalistic Sources125Ch. 5Haside Ashkenaz: Veridical and Docetic Interpretations of the Chariot Vision188Ch. 6Visionary Gnosis and the Role of the Imagination in Theosophic Kabbalah270Ch. 7The Hermeneutics of Visionary Experience: Revelation and Interpretation in the Zohar326Conclusion393Appendix: Manuscripts Cited399Select Bibliography of Primary Sources Cited401Select Bibliography of Secondary Sources Cited409Index439
£51.00
Princeton University Press Buddhism Transformed Religious Change in Sri
Book SynopsisAs the Sinhalas themselves perceive it, Buddhism proper has always shared the religious arena with a spirit religion. While Buddhism concerns salvation, the spirit religion focuses on worldly welfare. This work describes and analyzes the changes that have profoundly altered the character of Sinhala religion in both areas.Trade Review"A collection of brilliant ethnographic studies of religious innovation and change among Sinhala Buddhists."--Martin Southwold, The [London] Times Literary Supplement
£38.25
Princeton University Press Hallaj
Book SynopsisExplores the life and teaching of a famous tenth-century Sufi mystic and martyr: Al-Hallaj. This book describes not only his experience but also the whole milieu of early Islamic civilization.Trade Review"The French original of this work has stood for most of this century as a model of the way Western scholarship can illumine a foreign culture, not patronize or denature it... This translation climaxes one of the most focused projects of humanistic scholarship this century has seen."--Huston Smith, Commonweal "An incomparable study of the religious forces, the social and political life, and the whole culture of the Islamic world within which [this saint] lived and died."--Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Speculum: A Journal of Mediaeval StudiesTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsForeword to the Abridged EditionPrefaceCh. 1Biographical Outline1IPrologue1IIChronological Tableau of Hallaj's Life and Posthumous Survival9Ch. 2The Years of Apprenticeship: His Teachers and Friends24INative Milieu24IIThe Cultural Milieu of Basra33IIIAnecdotes from His Years of Apprenticeship: His Hajj (Ghutba)52Ch. 3Travels and Apostolate72IHis Modes of Travel: His Dress, His Itineraries, His Stopping Places72IIThe Two Periods of Public Preaching in Ahwaz (272-273 and 279-281)74IIIThe Other Regions Traveled Through89IVThe Social Expression of Hallaj's Vocation, and His Contacts with the Cultural Renaissance of His Time101VThe Last Hajj of Hallaj and the Waqfa of Arafat114Ch. 4In Baghdad: Zealous Preaching and Political Indictment117IBaghdad117IIPublic Preaching in Baghdad132IIIPolitical Indictment: The Dawat Ilal-Rububiya, Usurpation of the Supreme Power of God150Ch. 5The Indictment, The Court of Justice, and the Actors in the Drama157IThe Indictment and Ibn Dawud's Initiative157IIThe Definition of Zandaqa, a Heresy Threatening the Security of the State177IIIThe Sovereign Authority and Its Delegation to a Court of Justice; the Court of Justice, Its Powers and Jurisdiction180Ch. 6The Trials208IA Critical Note about the Historical Sources for the Trials208IIThe First Trial (298/910 to 301/913)211IIIThe Eight Years of Waiting219IVThe Second Trial (308/921 to 309/922)227VThe Denouement and the Judgment of Condemnation256Ch. 7The Martyrdom280The Peripeteias of the Execution280
£31.50
Princeton University Press The Presence of Siva
Book SynopsisOne of the three great gods of Hinduism, Siva is a living god. The most sacred and most ancient book of India, "The Rig Veda", evokes his presence in its hymns. This title details the metaphysics, ontology, and myths of Siva from the Vedas and the Puranas. It aims to reveal the paradoxes in Siva's nature and in the nature of consciousness.Trade Review"A landmark in the study of Hinduism. . . . It is rich in materials of great interest and value to historians of religion, Indologists, and students of mythology. There is nothing like it."—Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago Divinity School
£42.50
Princeton University Press Judaism Christianity and Islam The Classical
Book SynopsisIncludes texts and comments on the covenant and early history of the Chosen People and their post-Exilic reconstruction; the career and message of the Messiah Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad; the concept of holiness and of a "kingdom of priests"; and, finally, the notions of church and state and the state as a church.
£43.20
Princeton University Press Kurozumikyo and the New Religions of Japan
Book SynopsisTrade Review"What particularly characterizes her [Hardacre's] work is the harmonious blend of theory and concrete illustration... Hardacre has lived with the members of the Kurozumiky not only as a scholar but also as a human beingto be more precise, as a womanwho wants to share their joys and sorrows. This results in a deep empathy with the believers and also with their religion itself."--Jan Swyngedouw, Monumenta Nipponica "With the appearance of this work, Hardacre has established herself as one of the foremost interpreters in this field... Chapter 1, 'The World View of the New Religions,' is perhaps the best succinct introduction to the new religions of Japan to date... One of the real strengths of this work, compared to earlier ones, is that the author is genuinely interested in religious praxis, not just intellectual systems or doctrinal dimensions. Reading this book, one gains a deep appreciation of how religion 'works' for believers."--Gary L. Ebersole, Journal of Religion
£31.50
Princeton University Press Judaism Christianity and Islam The Classical
Book SynopsisFocuses on spirituality and worship and contains material on monasticism, theology, mysticism, and the "End Time."
£42.50
Princeton University Press The Wisdom of the Serpent
Book SynopsisTraces the images of spiritual initiation in religious rituals and myths of resurrection, poems and epics, cycles of nature, and art and dreaming. This book dramatizes the metamorphosis from a common experience of death's inevitability into a transcendent freedom beyond individual limitations.
£999.99
Princeton University Press Early Chinese Mysticism
Book SynopsisDid Chinese mysticism vanish after its first appearance in ancient Taoist philosophy, to surface only after a thousand years had passed, when the Chinese had adapted Buddhism to their own culture? This survey of the mystical dimension of Taoism disputes the commonly accepted idea of such a hiatus.
£36.00
Princeton University Press The Hajj The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the
Book SynopsisAmong the duties God imposes upon every Muslim capable of doing so is a pilgrimage to the holy places in and around Mecca in Arabia. By collecting the firsthand accounts of these travelers and shaping their experiences into a detailed narrative, this title provides a history of the central ritual of Islam from its remote pre-Islamic origins.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1994 "Peters's The Hajj provides a clear and accurate picture of the organization of [Muslim] rituals. His book is ... sufficiently comprehensive to replace older accounts of the Hajj. By reading the sources it cites, one can follow the key rituals in some detail."--Robert Irwin, The London Review of Books "A strong impression of the powerful impact of the pilgrimage on all who witnessed it."--Francis Robinson, The Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsThe Hajj in Early Photo DocumentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionMapsCh. IOrigins3The Religion of Abraham3The Primitive Sanctuary9Arabian Paganism19Muhammad and the Hajj38Ch. IIMecca and the Ways Thither60Changes in the Haram60The Paths to Mecca71The Ways from Iraq73The Syrian Hajj79The Hajj Route from Egypt86The Interior Arabian Routes98Ch. IIIThe Medieval Hajj (1100-1400 C.E.)109Ibn Jubayr on the Hajj in 1183-1184109Entering the State of Ihram114The Pilgrimage to Arafat (13 March 1184)119The Umra of Rajab129Medina the Radiant137Ch. IVUnder New Auspices144The Syrian Pilgrimage145The Carriage and Care of Pilgrims149The Bedouin Problem157The Egyptian Pilgrimage162Iranians Make the Hajj172The Caravan as Marketplace in Early Ottoman Times180The Red Sea Crossing184Ali Bey in Mecca (1807)194The Wahhabis in Mecca197Ch. VThrough European Eyes: Holy City and Hajj in the Nineteenth Century206On Making the Hajj under Pretense206Charles Doughty on the Hajj223On First Arriving in Mecca229The Haram and Its Denizens233The Pilgrimage of 1842248Back from Arafat252A Visit to Medina257Ch. VISteamships and Cholera: The Hajj in Modern Times266The End of the Traditional Hajj266Arrangements Large and Small272Getting There: Transportation on Sea and Land282Health and the Hajj301Ch. VIIThe Great War and After316The Hijaz Railway316Wartime Pilgrimages321The Postwar Hajj331The Wahhabi Pilgrimage of 1925352Notes363Works Cited383Index393
£42.50
Princeton University Press Chan Insights and Oversights An Epistemological
Book SynopsisFor many people attracted to Eastern religions (particularly Zen Buddhism), Asia seems the source of all wisdom. This book examines the study of Chan/Zen from the standpoint of postmodern human sciences and literary criticism. It also questions the assumptions of 'Easterners'.Trade ReviewWinner of the 1993 Tricycle Prize for Excellence in Buddhist Scholarship "A highly sensitive and richly textured re-examination of the Chan/Zen tradition. [Faure] is to be congratulated for having provided us with just such a fruitful (and by no means temporary) scholarship that enriches our understanding of Chan/Zen. It makes us keenly aware that Chan/Zen is ... a continuously evolving entity that can withstand the most rigorous and critical scholarly inquiry."--Richard Shek, The Journal of Asian History "Thoughtful and thought-provoking. After reading Faure's contributions in The Rhetoric of Immediacy and Insights and Oversights, none of us working the fields of Zen, Buddhist studies, or historical and cultural studies can go about our work in quite the same way... Our thinking [is] reshaped by the topics he raises and the approaches he uses."--Martin Collcutt, Journal of Japanese StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction3Chan as Secondary Orientalism5The Cultural "Encounter Dialogue"9Comparison, Counterpoint, Intertwining10Ch. 1Chan/Zen in the Western Imagination15Missionary Accounts15Buddhism and Quietism29Chan and Indian Mysticism34The Apostle Bodhidharma45Claudel and Buddhism50Ch. 2The Rise of Zen Orientalism52Suzuki's Zen53The Western Critics of Suzuki67Nishida and the Kyoto School74Ch. 3Rethinking Chan Historiography89Places and People92The Rise of Chan Historiography in Japan99The Cost of Objectivism110The Teleological Fallacy114Writing Chan History123Ch. 4Alternatives126The Structural Approach126The Hermeneutic Approach135Toward a Performative Scholarship145Ch. 5Space and Place155Chan and Local Spirits156From Place to Space159Chan In-sights and Di-visions167Ch. 6Times and Tides175Conflicting Models177Dogen and His Times187The Ritualization of Time192Ch. 7Chan and Language: Fair and Unfair Games195On the Way to Language199Poetical Language in Chan205How to Do Things with the Koan211Ch. 8In-scribing/De-scribing Chan217A Qualified Anti-intellectualism217Chan Logocentrism220Orality in Chan228Chan as a Kind of Writing233Another Differend234Chan Rhetoric237Ch. 9The Paradoxes of Chan Individualism243The Western Configuration of the Self243Early Buddhist Conceptions251Chinese Conceptions254The Individual and Power257Solitaire/Solidaire261Epilogue269Glossary275Bibliography281Index317
£42.50
Princeton University Press The Rhetoric of Immediacy A Cultural Critique of
Book SynopsisGuides Western readers in appreciating some of the more elusive aspects of the Chinese tradition of Chan Buddhism and its outgrowth, Japanese Zen. This title focuses on Chan's insistence on 'immediacy' - its denial of all traditional mediations, including scripture, ritual, good works.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1992 "Not since D. T. Suzuki (1870-1966) has any responsible scholar attempted in English to synthesize such a broad stretch of the history of Zen Buddhism as has Bernard Faure... [The book] offers the best narration in English of the role that magicians, healers, jesters, relics, mummies, dreams, funerals, deities, and mundane rituals play in a tradition that lays claim to emptiness."--Stephen F. Teiser, Journal of Religion "Readers will be rewarded by truly insightful vistas of bottomless chasms and distant peaks, flowering puns and mutant etymologies, stunning flights of free association, and encounters with many species of exotic facts, not to mention the tracks and droppings of latter-day giants of social-historical theory."--Monumenta Nipponica
£42.50
Princeton University Press The Zen Monastic Experience
Book SynopsisAn account of day-to-day Zen monastic practice. In discussing the activities of the postulants, the meditation monks, the teachers and administrators, and the support monks of the monastery of Songgwang-sa, it reveals a religious tradition that differs radically from the stereotype prevalent in the West.Trade Review"A myth-shattering foray behind the walls of a Korean Zen Buddhist monastery... Less the sound of one hand clapping than of hands, mind and heart working together to lead a sanctified life--and, as such, a sound corrective to Western misunderstandings about Zen."--Kirkus Reviews "[This book] is ... forged from [Buswell's] own experience and practice... He enlivens his study with a detailed personal account of his daily life at Songgwang-sa, one of Korea's main monasteries, and with wry humor... This book should be read by anyone interested in the daily life of Zen training."--Martine Batchelor, Tricycle: The Buddhist ReviewTable of ContentsList of PlatesPrefaceConventions UsedIntroduction: Zen Monasticism and the Context of Belief3Ch. 1Buddhism in Contemporary Korea21Ch. 2Daily and Annual Schedules37Ch. 3Songgwang-Sa and Master Kusan49Ch. 4A Monk's Early Career69Ch. 5The Support Division of the Monastery107Ch. 6Relations with the Laity135Chronology of the Puril Hoe147Ch. 7The Practice of Zen Meditation in Korea149Ch. 8Training in the Meditation Hall161Ch. 9The Officers of the Meditation Compound203Conclusion: Toward a Reappraisal of Zen Religious Experience217Epilogue: Songgwang-sa after Kusan224Appendix: Principal Chants Used in Korean Monasteries229Glossary of Sinitic Logographs243Works Cited253Index265
£31.50
Princeton University Press Islam in South Asia in Practice
Book SynopsisBrings together the work of more than thirty scholars of Islam and Muslim societies in South Asia that highlight a wide variety of genres, many rarely found in standard accounts of Islamic practice, from oral narratives to elite guidance manuals, from devotional songs to secular judicial decisions arbitrating Islamic law.Trade Review"[Islam in South Asia in Practice] successfully achieves its place as both a challenge to the Orientalist models of scholarship of the past as well as makes accessible the arguments and primary sources to a larger audience... [T]he overall quality and tone of the articles is one that ... pushes the field in important and meaningful ways, but manages to do so in a manner that can play well in classrooms."--Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, Journal of Contemporary Asia "[T]he concentration of information and insight provided here--from Islamic doctrine to the mechanics of religious practices, sacred texts and spiritual discipline--goes a long way towards capturing the multifaceted meaning of what it has meant to live one's life as a Muslim at different times and in different places in South Asia."--Sarah Ansari, Journal of Islamic Studies "[G]iving access to a wide-range of texts, Islam in South Asia in Practice as an anthology is a rich source of the study of modern/pre-modern South Asian Islam--its religious practices, institutions, and worldview. Islam in South Asia in Practice can better serve as an introduction as well as guide and reference book, respectively, to a wide-ranging texts and practices and scholarly debates and discussions on South Asian Islam. In sum, given the extensive variety of topics and issues and broad selection of themes and concerns it covers is a must read for all those students and scholars who are interested in the history of Islam in South Asia in general and 'in practice' in particular."--Tauseef Ahamd Parray, Islam and Muslim Societies JournalTable of ContentsPrinceton Readings in Religions v Note on Translation, Transliteration, and Acknowledgments vii List of Illustrations xiii Contributors xv Preface: Islam in South Asia in Practice by Barbara D. Metcalf xvii Maps xxvi Introduction: A Historical Overview of Islam in South Asia by Barbara D. Metcalf 1 Devotion and Praise: To Allah, Muhammad, Imams, and Elders Introduction by Barbara D. Metcalf 43 Chapter 1: Satpanthi Ismaili Songs to Hazrat Ali and the Imams by Ali S. Asani 48 Chapter 2: The Soul's Quest in Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Hindavi Romance by Aditya Behl 63 Chapter 3: Pilgrimage to the Shrines in Ajmer by Catherine B. Asher 77 Chapter 4: Women's Grinding and Spinning Songs of Devotion in the Late Medieval Deccan by Richard Eaton 87 Chapter 5: Qawwali Songs of Praise by Syed Akbar Hyder and Carla Petievich 93 Chapter 6: Na't: Media Contexts and Transnational Dimensions of a Devotional Practice by Patrick Eisenlohr 101 Chapter 7: Shi'i Mourning in Muhurram: Nauha Laments for Children Killed at Karbala by Syed Akbar Hyder and Carla Petievich 113 Chapter 8: Islam and the Devotional Image in Pakistan by Jamal J. Elias 120 Holy and Exemplary Lives Introduction by Barbara D. Metcalf 135 Chapter 9: Ibn Battuta Meets Shah Jalal al-Din Tabrizi in Bengal by Barbara D. Metcalf 138 Chapter 10: Narratives of the Life of Haider Shaykh in Punjab by Anna Bigelow 144 Chapter 11: The Daily Life of a Saint, Ahmad Sirhindi, by Badr al-Din Sirhindi by Carl Ernst 158 Chapter 12: Sufi Ritual Practice among the Barkatiyya Sayyids of U.P.: Nuri Miyan's Life and'Urs, Late Nineteenth-Early Twentieth Centuries by Usha Sanyal 166 Chapter 13: Transgressions of a Holy Fool: A Majzub in Colonial India by Nile Green 173 The Transmission of Learning Introduction by Barbara D. Metcalf 187 Chapter 14: Saving Tamil Muslims from the Torments of Hell: Vannapparimalappulavar's Book of One Thousand Questions by Ronit Ricci 190 Chapter 15: The Taqwiyyat al-Iman (Support of the Faith) by Shah Isma'il Shahid by Barbara D. Metcalf 201 Chapter 16: The Brilliance of Hearts: Hajji Imdadullah Teaches Meditation and Ritual by Scott Kugle 212 Chapter 17: Studying Hadith in a Madrasa in the Early Twentieth Century by Muhammad Qasim Zaman 225 Chapter 18: Jihad in the Way of God: A Tablighi Jama'at Account of a Mission in India by Barbara D. Metcalf 240 Chapter 19: A College Girl Gives a Qur'an Lesson in Bangladesh by Maimuna Huq 250 Guidance, Sharia, and Law Introduction by Barbara D. Metcalf 265 Chapter 20: Ibn Battuta as a Qadi in the Maldives by Barbara D. Metcalf 271 Chapter 21: Guiding the Ruler and Prince by Muzaffar Alam 279 Chapter 22: A Colonial Court Defines a Muslim by Alan M. Guenther 293 Chapter 23: Maulana Thanawi's Fatwa on the Limits of Parental Rights over Children by Fareeha Khan 305 Chapter 24: Shari'at Governance in Colonial and Postcolonial India by Ebrahim Moosa 317 Chapter 25: Two Sufis on Molding the New Muslim Woman: Khwaja Hasan Nizami (1878-1955) and Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) by Marcia Hermansen 326 Chapter 26: Fatwa Advice on Proper Muslim Names by Muhammad Khalid Masud 339 Chapter 27: A Rallying Cry for Muslim Personal Law: The Shah Bano Case and Its Aftermath by Sylvia Vatuk 352 Belonging Introduction by Barbara D. Metcalf 371 Chapter 28: Forest Clearing and the Growth of Islam in Bengal by Richard Eaton 375 Chapter 29: Challenging the Mughal Emperor: The Islamic Millennium according to'Abd al-Qadir Badayuni by Ahmed Azfar Moin 390 Chapter 30: Custom and Conversion in Malabar: Zayn al-Din al-Malibari's Gift of the Mujahidin: Some Accounts of the Portuguese by Engseng Ho 403 Chapter 31: Muslim League Appeals to the Voters of Punjab for Support of Pakistan by David Gilmartin 409 Chapter 32: Advocating a Secular Pakistan: The Munir Report of 1954 by Asad Ahmed 424 Chapter 33: Maulana Yusuf Ludhianvi on the Limits of Legitimate Religious Differences by Naveeda Khan 438 Chapter 34: The Indian Jama'at-i Islami Reconsiders Secular Democracy by Irfan Ahmad 447 Glossary 457 Index 461
£37.80
Princeton University Press Judaism in Practice From the Middle Ages through
Book SynopsisProvides a view of medieval and early modern Jewish ritual and religious practice. Including such diverse texts as ritual manuals, legal codes, mystical books, autobiographical writings, folk literature, and liturgical poetry, this book testifies to the enormous variety of practices that characterized Judaism between 600 and 1800 CE.Trade Review"Lawrence Fine ... has assembled an impressive array of writings that explore the variegated ways in which Jews have practiced their religion... By giving us a variety of texts and materials that go beyond the boundaries of conventional sources, Fine has opened up ways of thinking about the Jewish experience that are likely to challenge readers' expectations. In doing so, he and his contributors raise essential questions about the nature of Judaism as a religion and a culture, shake readers out of complacency and leave us to wonder at the marvelous scope of the Jewish people's history."--Barry W. Holtz, The ForwardTable of ContentsPrinceton Readings in Religions vii Note on Transliteration and Acknowledgments ix Contributors xv Introduction by Lawrence Fine 1 Rituals of Daily and Festival Practice 1. Communal Prayer and Liturgical Poetry by Raymond P. Scheindlin 39 2. Italian Jewish Women at Prayer by Howard Tzvi Adelman 52 3. Measuring Graves and Laying Wicks by Chava Weissler 61 4. Adorning the "Bride" on the Eve of the Feast of Weeks by Daniel C. Matt 74 5. New Year's Day for Fruit of the Tree by Miles Krassen 81 Rituals of the Life Cycle 6. The Role of Women at Rituals of Their Infant Children by Lawrence A. Hoffman 99 7. Honey Cakes and Torah: A Jewish Boy Learns His Letters by Ivan G. Marcus 115 8. Women and Ritual Immersion in Medieval Ashkenaz: The Sexual Politics of Piety by Judith R. Baskin 131 9. Life-Cycle Rituals of Spanish Crypto Jewish Women by Renee Levine Melammed 143 10. Ritualizing Death and Dying: The Ethical Will of Naphtali Ha-Kohen Katz by Avriel Bar-Levav 155 Torah, Learning, and Ethics 11. Moses Maimonides' Laws of the Study of Torah by Lawrence Kaplan 171 12. An Egyptian Woman Seeks to Rescue Her Husband from a Sufi Monastery by S. D. Goitein 186 13. A Monastic-like Setting for the Study of Torah by Ephraim Kanarfogel 191 14. Religious Practice among Italian Jewish Women by Howard Tzvi Adelman 203 15. A Mystical Fellowship in Jerusalem by Lawrence Fine 210 16. The Love of Learning among Polish Jews by Gershon David Hundert 215 Religious Sectarianism and Communities on the Margins 17. Jewish Sectarianism in the Near East: A Muslim's Account by Steven M. Wasserstrom 229 18. Travel in the Land of Israel by Lawrence Fine 237 19. Karaite Ritual by Daniel Frank 24E 20. Living Judaism in Confucian Culture: Being Jewish and Being Chinese by Jonathan N. Lipman 265 Art and Aesthetics 21. Defending, Enjoying, and Regulating the Visual by Kalman P. Bland 281 22. Illustrating History and Illluminating Identity in the Art of the Passover Haggadah by Marc Michael Epstein 298 23. The Arts of Calligraphy and Composition, and the Love of Books Lawrence Fine 318 24. Jewish Preaching in Fifteenth-Century Spain by Marc Saperstein 325 Magic and Mysticism 25. The Book of the Great Name by Michael D. Swartz 341 26. Visionary Experiences among Spanish Crypto Jewish Women by Renee Levine Melammed 348 27. Mystical Eating and Food Practices in the Zohar by Joel Hecker 353 28. Devotional Rites in a Sufi Mode by Paul B. Fenton 364 29. Pietistic Customs from Safed by Lawrence Fine 375 30. Jewish Exorcism: Early Modem Traditions and Transformations by J. H. Chajes 386 31. Rabbi Menahem Nahum of Chernobyl: Personal Practices of a Hasdic Master by Arthur Green 399 Remarkable Lives 32. The Life of Moses ben Maimon by Joel L. Kraemer 413 33. Dolce of Worms: The Lives and Deaths of an Exemplary Medieval Jewish Woman and Her Daughters by Judith R. Baskin 429 34. The Earliest Hebrew First-Crusade Narrative by Robert Chazan 438 35. Leon Modena's Autobiography by Mark R. Cohen 453 36. The Early Messianic Career of Shabbatai Zvi by Matt Goldish 470 37. The Life of Glikl of Hameln by Paula E. Hyman 483 38. Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov by Dan Ben-Amos 498 39. The Scholarly Life of the Gaon of Vilna by Allan Nadler 513 Appendix. The Jewish Holidays 521 Index 523
£42.50
Princeton University Press Religions of Japan in Practice
Book SynopsisPresents documents that illuminate the mosaic of Japanese religions in practice. This book is a compendium of relationships between great minds and ordinary people, abstruse theories and mundane acts, natural and supernatural powers, altruism and self-interest, disappointment and hope, quiescence and war.Trade Review"An enormous undertaking ... its value to those in the field of comparative religions is undeniable."--Library Journal "One of the finest anthologies available of primary documents illustrating the diversity and liveliness of Japanese religions."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)Table of ContentsPrinceton Readings in ReligionsNote on Transliteration, Names, and AbbreviationsContents by ChronologyContents by TraditionContributorsIntroduction3Ethical PracticesSocial Values1Selected Anecdotes to Illustrate Ten Maxims252Kaibara Ekken's Precepts on the Family383The Shingaku of Nakazawa Doni53Clerical Precepts4Eisai's Promotion of Zen for the Protection of the Country635Shingon's Jiun Sonja and His "Vinaya of the True Dharma" Movement716A Refutation of Clerical Marriage78Lay Precepts7Eison and the Shingon Vinaya Sect898Kokan Shiren's Zen Precept Procedures98Ritual PracticesGods9Records of the Customs and Land of Izumo11310Miraculous Tales of the Hasedera Kannon11711Japanese Puppetry: From Ritual Performance to Stage Entertainment12412The Shinto Wedding Ceremony: A Modern Norito135Spirits13Tama Belief and Practice in Ancient Japan14114Japan's First Shingon Ceremony15315Shingon Services for the Dead15916Genshin's Deathbed Nembutsu Ritual in Pure Land Buddhism16617Women and Japanese Buddhism: Tales of Birth in the Pure Land17618Epic and Religious Propaganda from the Ippen School of Pure Land Buddhism18519Buddhism and Abortion: "The Way to Memorialize One's Mizuko"193Rituals of Realization20The Contemplation of Suchness19921The Purification Formula of the Nakatomi21022Dogen's Lancet of Seated Meditation22023Chido's Dreams of Buddhism23524A Japanese Shugendo Apocryphal Text246Faith25On Attaining the Settled Mind: The Condition of the Nembutsu Practitioner25726Plain Words on the Pure Land Way26827Shinran's Faith as Immediate Fulfillment in Pure Land Buddhism280Institutional PracticesCourt and Emperor28The Confucian Monarchy of Nara Japan29329The Founding of the Monastery Gangoji and a List of Its Treasures29930Hagiography and History: The Image of Prince Shotoku31631Nationalistic Shinto: A Child's Guide to Yasukuni Shrine334Sectarian Founders, Wizards, and Heroes32En the Ascetic34333The Founding of Mount Koya and Kukai's Eternal Meditation35434Legends, Miracles, and Faith in Kobo Daishi and the Shikoku Pilgrimage36035A Personal Account of the Life of the Venerable Genku37036Priest Nisshin's Ordeals38437Makuya: Prayer, Receiving the Holy Spirit, and Bible Study398Orthopraxis and Orthodoxy38Muju Ichien's Shinto-Buddhist Syncretism41539Contested Orthodoxies in Five Mountains Zen Buddhism42340Motoori Norinaga on the Two Shrines at Ise43541Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion: An Essay by Kuroda Toshio45142Sasaki Shoten: Toward a Postmodern Shinshu Theology46843Contemporary Zen Buddhist Tracts for the Laity: Grassroots Buddhism in Japan487Special Places44Keizan's Dream History50145Tokeiji: Kamakura's "Divorce Temple" in Edo Popular Verse523AppChinese Romanization Conversion Tables551Index559
£46.75
Princeton University Press The Burnt Book Reading the Talmud
Book SynopsisLooks at what it means for new generations to read and interpret ancient religious texts. This book offers a postmodern reading of the "Talmud", one of the first of its kind. It discusses spirituality and religious practice with such concepts as deconstruction, intertextuality, undecidability, multiple voicing, and eroticism in the "Talmud".Trade Review"This remarkable book ... is rich in suggestive ideas, including the proposal that thought has its highest ethical function when it refuses wisdom in favor of 'asking a question that it cannot answer.'"--Peter C. Brown, Canadian Philosophical Reviews "The gifts Ouaknin offers are many. His use of Kabbalistic thought simultaneously offers profound insight into the nature of the book and illuminates the concepts used... He offers multiple, useful paths forward in the study of the book, narrative, reading practices, community formation, religious thought, and the Talmud itself."--Journal of Communication Praise for the French edition: "Marc-Alain Ouaknin's book is a veritable gift for the heart and mind! ... [It] contains a radical criticism of the 'masters' who '[think] they control their language and the language of others.'"--Robert Maggiori, LiberationTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments BOOK ONE: TALMUDIC LANDMARKS I. Revelation and Transmission II. Transcription III. The Talmudic Masters: The Schools IV. The Post-Talmudic Period V. Jurisprudence Derived from the Talmud VI. Interpretation VII. Dialogues BOOK TWO: OPENINGS First Opening: What Is a Book? or, The Story of an Effacing Translation Remarks on the Translation: Legible and Illegible Commentary I. The Two Nunim II. The Story of the Nunim III. Dots, Coronets, and Letters IV. The Structure of the Text V. An Atopian Text VI. The Book: The Verse's Beyond VII. An Open Work VIII. The Talmid Hakham and the Wise Man: Hokhmah and Wisdom IX. The Book and the "Manual" X. Time and Interpretation XI. Violence and Interpretation Second Opening: Visible and Invisible; or, Eroticism and Transcendence Translation Layout of the Commentary FIRST PART (A) I. Architecture II. Visible and Invisible: The Contradiction III. Different Modes of Perception of Revelation IV. The Parokhet: The Text, the "Trace" V. New Faces VI. Confronted with the Text VII. The "There" and the Name SECOND PART (B) I. The Structure of the Text II. An Erotic Image III. Eroticism and Transcendence IV. Eroticism and Prophecy THIRD PART (C) I. Invisible Faces II. The Double Gaze III. Seeing and Death IV. The Body beyond the Body BOOK THREE: THE "BURNT BOOK" Glossary of Hebrew Words Used in This Work Bibliography Index
£42.50
Princeton University Press Medieval Christianity in Practice
Book SynopsisProvides readers with a sweeping look at the religious practices of the European Middle Ages. This volume assembles sources reflecting different genres, regions, and styles, including prayer books, chronicles, diaries, liturgical books, sermons, hagiography, and handbooks for the laity and clergy.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2010 "Editor Rubin and contributors offer a richly textured presentation of the practice of medieval Christianity from about 600 to 1500 CE. Each of the 42 sections comprises excerpts from medieval texts, selected, translated, and commented upon by specialists in the field."--Choice "[T]his volume lends itself to use in undergraduate courses that deal with medieval religious practice, including western civilization and medieval surveys, as well as religious studies courses. Graduate students also will gain insights into the range of sources that can be deployed for the investigation of religious practice in medieval Europe."--David Stewart Bachrach, H-Net Reviews "[This book] may be especially useful in graduate seminars or as an aid to graduate training where the emphasis on manuscript sources may enrich the experience of students... [I]n consideration of the fine group of contributors, it deserves serious consideration."--James M. Powell, Catholic Historical Review "Whether the reader is a long-term student of the Middle Ages or a novice in the field, he or she will find this a unique and informative book, one which stimulates the mind and the imagination with the complexity and richness of medieval religious practice."--Sarah Adams, Christianity and Literature "This book is a valuable collection of small studies. It is well-prepared and well-edited, designed for use in courses or seminars. It is full of anecdotes, rituals, and insights that are interesting in themselves and that cumulatively give a sense of the variety and richness of medieval Christian life."--Michael G. Witczak, Worship "A very useful scholarly resource."--International Review of Biblical Studies "The volume provides an excellent introduction to the wide variety of Western medieval religious practice."--Margaret Cormack, Church History: Studies in Christianity and CultureTable of ContentsPrinceton Readings in Religions v Contributors xi Introduction by Miri Rubin 1 THE LIFE CYCLE: BAPTISM Chapter 1. Baptismal Practice in Germany by Peter Cramer 7 Chapter 2. Cathars and Baptism by Shulamith Shahar 14 The Life Cycle: Confirmation and Coming of Age Chapter 3. The Early Medieval Barbatoria by Yitzhak Hen 21 The Life Cycle: Instruction Chapter 4. Lollard Instruction by Rita Copeland 27 The Life Cycle: Marriage and Its Unmaking Chapter 5. Florentine Marriage in the Fifteenth Century by Christiane Klapisch-Zuber 35 Chapter 6. Annulment of Henry III's "Marriage" to Joan of Ponthieu Confirmed by Innocent IV on 20 May 1254 by David d'Avray 42 The Life Cycle: Death and Burial Chapter 7. Agius of Corvey's Account of the Death of Hathumoda, First Abbess of Gandersheim, in 874 by Frederick S. Paxton 53 Chapter 8. A Royal Funeral of 1498 by Alain Boureau 59 WORK AND TRAVEL Chapter 9. Charms to Ward off Sheep and Pig Murrain by William C. Jordan 67 Chapter 10. Fishermen and Mariners by Harold S. Fox 76 Chapter 11. Storms at Sea on a Voyage between Rhodes and Venice, November 1470 by Olivia Remie Constable 81 Chapter 12. Rules and Ritual on the Second Crusade Campaign to Lisbon, 1147 by Susanna A. Throop 86 CHURCHES, PARISHES, AND DAILY LIFE: CONSECRATION Chapter 13. The Consecration of Church Space by Dominique Iogna-Prat 95 CHURCHES, PARISHES, AND DAILY LIFE: PASTORAL CARE Chapter 14. Fourteenth-Century Instructions for Bedside Pastoral Care by Joseph Ziegler 103 Chapter 15. How to Behave in Church and How to Become a Priest by Daniel Bornstein 109 Chapter 16. A Sermon on the Virtues of the Contemplative Life by Katherine L. Jansen 117 Chapter 17. Preaching and Pastoral Care of a Devout Woman (deo devota) in Fifteenth-Century Basel by Hans-Jochen Schiewer 126 CHURCHES, PARISHES, AND DAILY LIFE: CONFESSION AND PENANCE Chapter 18. Doing Penance by Sarah Hamilton 135 Chapter 19. A Penitential Diet by Rob Meens 144 Chapter 20. A Layman's Penance by Joseph Goering 151 CHURCHES, PARISHES, AND DAILY LIFE: PRAYER Chapter 21. Prayers by Virginia Reinburg 159 Chapter 22. Two Healing Prayers by Eamon Duffy 164 CHURCHES, PARISHES, AND DAILY LIFE: DEVOTIONAL BEHAVIOR Chapter 23. Images in the World: Reading the Crucifixion by Sara Lipton 173 HEALING Chapter 24. The Old English Nine Herbs Charm by Debby Banham 189 Chapter 25. Amulets and Charms Peter Murray Jones 194 CHARITY Chapter 26. A Deaf-Mute's Story Sharon Farmer 203 Chapter 27. Bequests for the Poor Brigitte Resl 209 THE CULT OF SAINTS AND PILGRIMAGE Chapter 28. Translation of the Body of St. Junianus by Thomas Head 217 Chapter 29. Pilgrimage and Spiritual Healing in the Ninth Century by Julia M. H. Smith 222 IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION: IN THE WORLD Chapter 30. Interrogation of Waldensians by Peter Biller 231 Chapter 31. The Lives of the Beghards by Walter Simons 238 Chapter 32. The Renovation of the Chapel in the Beguinage of Lille by Penny Galloway 246 Chapter 33. The Practices of Devotio moderna by John Van Engen 256 IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION: PROPHECY, REVELATION, AND ECSTATIC STATES Chapter 34. The Possession of Blessed Jordan of Saxony by Aviad M. Kleinberg 265 Chapter 35. On the Stigmatization of Saint Margaret of Hungary by Gabor Klaniczay 274 Chapter 36. Eschatological Prophecy: "Woe to the World in One Hundred Years" by Robert E. Lerner 285 Chapter 37. Raymond de Sabanac, Preface to Constance de Rabastens, The Revelations by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski 290 IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION: AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Chapter 38. The Life of the Hermit Stephen of Obazine by Gyorgy Gereby and Piroska Nagy 299 Chapter 39. Creating an Anchorhold Alexandra Barratt 311 Chapter 40. The Ritual for the Ordination of Nuns by Nancy Bradley Warren 318 RITUALS OF POWER Chapter 41. An Anglo-Saxon Queen's Consecration by Janet L. Nelson 327 Chapter 42. Mass at the Election of the Mayor of London, 1406 by Caroline Barron 333 Index 339
£31.50
Princeton University Press The Methodists and Revolutionary America 17601
Book SynopsisPresents a narrative of the origins of American Methodism, one of the significant popular movements in American history. This work places methodism's rise in the ideological context of the American Revolution and the complex social setting of the greater Middle Atlantic where it was first introduced.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2001 Hans Rosenhaupt Memorial Book Award, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation "This is the best social history available of American Methodism's formative years... Andrews's insights ... are often brilliant... A pathbreaking work."--John Wigger, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography "Among the best treatments we have of the intertwined influence of class, political economy, and religious belief in the formative era of American evangelicalism. The Methodists and Revolutionary America is a formidable achievement."--Susan Juster, Journal of American History "Because Andrews challenges many conventional images of early Methodists and revivalists and because her conclusions are solidly grounded, this book should be required reading for historians of early American religion."--Choice "At very long last the Methodists of the early United States are receiving the serious historical attention they have always deserved... The Methodists and Revolutionary America is the latest and in some ways the best of ... recent efforts to take the measure of the movement that in the two generations after the War for Independence transformed the face of American religion... The product of nearly two decades of intensive research."--Mark A. Noll, Reviews in American History "This book offers the most accurate assessment to date of American Methodism's complex social origins ... A powerfully revisionist social history of American Methodism's alleged golden age, one that will challenge traditional proponents of declension for years to come."--Douglas A. Sweeney, Religious Studies Review A superb account of early American Methodism... What comes across most strongly from Andrew's prodigious research are the organizational talents of the Methodist leaders and the extraordinary devotion of the rank and file... Throughout her fine study she instead focuses on the astonishing varietym of figures and groups who found a home in Methodism. Her story is laced with illustrative biographical vignettes of individual travails and triumphs, as well as studded with a wealth of statistics that document the growth and demographic breakdown of the denomination."--Ruth H. Bloch, Books and Culture "A thorough treatment of Methodism in the revolutionary age. Historians of the cultural evolution of the early republic as well as students of Methodist development will benefit greatly from this volume."--William Sutton, Journal of the Early Republic "There is no question that Andrews has produced a brilliantly researched and important book... [It is] the most comprehensive and well-informed account ever written of American Methodism's first forty years."--David Hempton, Times Literary Supplement "Dee Andrews effectively demonstrates ... [that] the Methodists established an efficiently organized, bishop-dominated, governing structure... More amazingly, while maintaining their appeal to the white, middle-class male, they were able to reach out to involve women, the urban poor, and blacks, both free and slave, in impressive numbers."--Paul D. Haynie, The Historian "Methodists and Revolutionary America emphasizes that the earliest Methodists did not live in North America so much as they were a brooding presence within that society and culture, as--in very different ways they had been in the British Isles."--Robert Calhoon, The Journal of Religion "Methodists have been among the most important artisans of American culture, but as a people they have largely been invisible to historians... Andrews is consistently careful to tease out the contradictions that make it difficult to reduce the movement of a simple formula, such as class consciousness or gendered enlightenment... From the very beginning, the primary goal of this evangelizing church was not to change politics or social structure, but to reach people in every condition 'by popularizing the confessional religious life.' Through Dee Andrews ... that life becomes an essential part of every American history."--Donald G. Matthews, William and Mary Quarterly "Although the future of Methodist missionary success after about 1800 lay in the South and the West, its earliest American hearth lay in the coastal mid-Atlantic, in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore and their rural hinterlands. That is where Andrews trains her focus, as well as her considerable powers for writing well-crafted history based on careful and wide-ranging research. To date, there is no fuller or more evenhanded guide to the origins of American Methodism in the mid-Atlantic... Nor is there a more sensitive recovery of the distinctive quality of early Methodist piety and sensibility and the singular ritual processes by which these pilgrims made their progress from conviction to conversion."--Christine Leigh Heyrman, Church HistoryTable of ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix PREFACE xi INTRODUCTION How American Was Early American Methodism? 3 PART 1: ORIGINS 11 CHAPTER ONE Raising Religious Affections 13 The Anglican Societies, the Wesleys, and Georgia 13 The Invention of Wesleyan Methodism 19 Wesley versus Whitefield 24 Wesleyan Migration to British America 31 CHAPTER TWO The Wesleyan Connection 39 The Wesleyan Itinerants in America 40 The Coming of the War 47 American Methodists and the War Experience 55 Postwar Conditions, Separation, and the MEC 62 CHAPTER THREE The Making of a Methodist 73 The Revival Ritual 76 Religious Experience 84 The Methodist Society 92 PART II SOCIAL CHANGE 97 CHAPTER FOUR Evangelical Sisters 99 The Female Methodist Network 100 Methodism and Family Conflict 105 Women in the City Societies 112 Gender Public Authority, and the Household 118 CHAPTER FIVE The African Methodists 123 The First Emancipation and Methodist Antislavery 124 Black Methodists and Social Experience 132 Richard Allen, Black Preachers, and the Rise of African Methodism 139 Separation and African Methodist Identity 150 CHAPTER SIX Laboring Men, Artisans, and Entrepreneurs 155 Wesleyanism, Wealth, and Social Class 156 New York City: Workingman's Church 161 Philadelphia: Anatomy of a Methodist Schism 168 Baltimore: New Men 177 PART III: POLITICS 185 CHAPTER SEVEN Methodism Politicized 187 Politics Without: Church, State, and Partisanship 188 Politics Within: Francis Asbury, James O'Kelly, and the MEC 196 The Circuit Riders 207 CHAPTER EIGHT The Great Revival and Beyond 221 1800 and the Coming of the Great Revival 223 Muscularity, Domesticity, and Disunion 226 The Meaning of Methodism Americanized 237 CONCLUSION A Plain Gospel for a Plain People 240 APPENDIXES 245 A. Tables 247 B. Occupational Categories for Tables 11-14 255 C. Methodological Note 257 D. Methodist Statistics 259 ABBREVIATIONS 263 NOTES 265 INDEX 351
£40.50
Princeton University Press The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material
Book SynopsisFrom the first century, when Buddhism entered China, the foreign religion shaped Chinese philosophy, beliefs, and ritual. This study shows that Buddhism brought with it an array of objects as well as new ideas about what objects could do and how they should be treated. It examines the ambivalent relationship between Buddhism and material culture.Trade Review"I fully recommend this book... Kieschnick deserves high praise for a thoughtful and sustained presentation of a crucial element of the Chinese Buddhist tradition."--Alan Cole, Journal of Chinese Religions "John Kieschnick has produced a very good book on a topic that deserves attention... He has opened up new areas of inquiry that will no doubt stimulate further investigation. One has every reason to expect that the book will be widely read and appreciated for years to come."--James A. Benn, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies "This book ... makes a lasting contribution to our understanding of the diverse ways in which Buddhism and material culture interacted in China."--Koichi Shinohara, Journal of Asian Studies "The direct confrontation of the material expressions of [Buddhism] has finally materialized with the publication of John Kieschnick's The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture. In this sense, the new book indeed breaks new ground in the studies of Chinese Buddhism... Kieschnick has written an insightful, informative, and entertaining book... He should be congratulated by us all for his admirable scholarship."--Yuet Keung Lo, Asian Journal of Social Science
£46.75
Princeton University Press Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law
Book SynopsisThe description for this book, Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, will be forthcoming.
£999.99
Princeton University Press On Understanding Japanese Religion
Book Synopsis
£42.50
Princeton University Press Dance of Divine Love
Book SynopsisIntroduces the Rasa Lila, a dramatic love poem of exquisite poetry and profound theology to the Western world. This book explores the historical context and literary genre of the work and elucidates the aesthetic and emotional richness of the composition, highlighting poignant details of this drama of divine love.Trade Review"This is the most complete presentation of the Rasa Lila, focusing on the text and story itself and looking at it, as it requires, from each of its many viewpoints. The scholarship and teaching quality are first-rate... Schweig's approach is inclusive, consciously reaching out to all levels of reader/devotee/connoisseur and clearly wishing not to leave anyone behind... [E]veryone interested in Hinduism, literature, and religion should consider buying this book."--James D. Redington, S.J., Journal of Vaishnava Studies "A fascinating study and eloquent translation of the beloved story of the all-attractive god Krishna's nocturnal dalliances with the cowherder women of Vraja as described in the Bhagavata Purana... Schweig render[s] this Sanskrit classic into elegant English."--Joel Bordeaux, Altar Magazine This book is an event-for Vaishnavas and everyone else. Long awaited by insiders, it will be a grace to outsiders, too... [E]veryone interested in Hinduism, literature, and religion should consider buying this boo--especially those who incline to mystical love religion and its literature."--James D. Redington, Jr., Yoga and Vaishnavism "Scholars of Vaisnavism will be pleased by this volume and its singular focus."--Frederick M. Smith, Religious Studies ReviewTable of ContentsList of Figures and Tables ix Foreword by Norvin Hein xi Acknowledgments xvii Pronunciation xxi Abbreviations xxv Introduction: The Sacred Love Story 1 A Drama of Love 1 Sacred Love Stories 6 India's Song of Songs 8 Bh gavata as the Ultimate Scripture 11 Sacred Context of the Rasa Lila 16 Part I: Poems from the Bhagavata Purana Dance of Divine Love: Rasa Lila 23 Act One. Krishna Attracts the Gop s and Disappears 25 Act Two. The Gop s Search for Krishna 39 Act Three. The Song of the Gopis: Gopi Gita 51 Act Four. Krishna Reappears and Speaks of Love 58 Act Five. The Rasa Dance 65 Song of the Flute: Venu Gita 78 Song of the Black Bee: Bhramara Gita 86 Part II: Textual Illuminations Chapter 1: Background of the Text 97 Devotional Love as "Rasa" 97 Ancient Sources of Devotional Love 101 Devotional Love as the Path to God 105 Forms of the Deity Vishnu 108 Chapter 2: Aspects of the Story 111 Framing Passages of the Rasa Lila 111 Poetic and Dramatic Dimensions 114 Krishna: Lord of Love and Beauty 117 Vraja: Pastoral Paradise 125 Yogamaya :Potency for Intimacy 130 The Gopis: Beloveds of Krishna 137 The Special Gopi :Radha 147 Chapter 3: Messages of the Text 152 Devotional Yoga Transcends Death 152 Ethical Boundaries and Boundless Love 158 The Vision of Devotional Love 166 Symbolism in the Rasa Lila 172 Part III: Notes and Comments Introduction 187 Act One 189 Act Two 222 Act Three 237 Act Four 250 Act Five 263 Part IV: The Sanskrit Text Introduction 291 Act One 293 Act Two 304 Act Three 313 Act Four 318 Act Five 322 Appendix 1: Note on Translation 331 Appendix 2: Poetic Meters in Sanskrit Text 336 Accent and Syllable Length: Emphasis and Rhythm in Sanskrit Verse 337 Sanskrit Meters Used in R sa L l Te x t 337 Story Line and Poetic Meter Analysis 339 Verse Number Variations and Actual Verse Count 342 Appendix 3: Synoptic Analysis of the Rasa Lila 344 Glossary 347 Bibliography 355 Index 367
£51.00
Princeton University Press One True God Historical Consequences of
Book SynopsisWhy and how did Jews, Christians, and Muslims missionize, and when and why did their efforts falter? Why did both Christianity and Islam suddenly become less tolerant of Jews late in the eleventh century, prompting outbursts of mass murder? This book examines these questions.Trade Review"This intriguing work argues that few if any social forces are as important as monotheism... Stark says monotheism has extraordinary power to unite people and give them purpose."--Richard N. Ostling, Associated Press Newswires "Bracing, rollicking, startling, belligerent, informative, and guaranteed to provoke second and third thoughts about what readers thought they always knew about religion and the history of the world."--First Things "Stark's conception of civility as public moderation of particularism is intriguing, and his sociology of religion blends James Madison's analysis of factions and Adam Smith's faith in the market's invisible hand, which calls for a proliferation of 'sacred umbrellas' rather than a 'sacred canopy.'"--Booklist "A book that is a joy to read... a thought-provoking and heartening book."--Library Journal "Stark's discussion is lively, pointed and frequently illuminating. This is an informative, provocative and timely contribution to the study of religion."--Leo D. Lefebure, Christian CenturyTable of ContentsList of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. God's Nature: A Theory of Gods 9 2. God's Chosen: Monotheism and Mission 33 3. God's Wrath: Religious Conflict 115 4. God's Kingdom: Religious Persistence 175 5. God's Grace: Pluralism and Civility 219 Bibliography 261 Index 303
£31.50
Princeton University Press The Pillar and Ground of the Truth
Book SynopsisPavel Florensky, a Russian theologian, is recognized as one of Russia's greatest polymaths. Known as the Russian Leonardo da Vinci, he became a Russian Orthodox priest in 1911, while remaining involved with the cultural, artistic, and scientific developments. This book presents the English translation of his defense of Russian Orthodox theology.Trade Review"Recommended with enthusiasm... The reader's investment will be repaid many times over."--Patrick Henry Reardon, Books & Culture "Jakim has provided a thoughtful and accurate translation... Bringing a project like this to completion is a monumental achievement."--Steven Cassedy, Russian ReviewTable of ContentsTranslator's Preface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction to the TranslationThe Pillar and Ground of the TruthITo the Reader5IILetter One: Two Worlds10IIILetter Two: Doubt14IVLetter Three: Triunity39VLetter Four: The Light of the Truth53VILetter Five: The Comforter80VIILetter Six: Contradiction106VIIILetter Seven: Sin124IXLetter Eight: Gehenna151XLetter Nine: Creation190XILetter Ten: Sophia231XIILetter Eleven: Friendship284XIIILetter Twelve: Jealousy331XIVAfterword344Clarification and Proof of Certain Particulars Assumed in the Text to Be Already ProvedXVCertain Concepts from the Theory of Infinity351XVIA Problem of Lewis Carroll and the Question of Dogma355XVIIIrrationalities in Mathematics and Dogma359XVIIIThe Concept of Identity in Scholastic Philosophy365XIXThe Concept of Identity in Mathematical Logic368XXTime and Fate375XXIThe Heart and Its Significance in the Spiritual Life of Man According to Scripture378XXIIAn Icon of the Annunciation with Cosmic Symbolism381XXIIIOn the Methodology of the Historical Critique384XXIVThe Turquois Environment of Sophia and the Symbolism of Sky-Blue and Dark-Blue390XXVPascal's "Amulet"407XXVIOn the History of the Term "Antinomy"411XXVIIEstheticism and Religion413XXVIIIHomotypy in the Structure of the Human Body415XXIXRemarks on Trinity420XXXThe Basic Symbols and Elementary Formulas of Symbolic Logic (for reference)425Notes and Brief Comments427Notes429Clarification of Certain Symbols and Drawings589Index591
£61.75
Princeton University Press Islam and the Challenge of Democracy A Boston
Book SynopsisThe events of September 11 and the subsequent war on terrorism have provoked widespread discussion about the possibility of democracy in the Islamic world. This work aims to engage the reader in a discourse on the challenges of democracy in contemporary Islam.Trade Review"What El Fadl achieves in his short book is noteworthy primarily because he brings the concept of democracy home, literally, for the world's Muslims. By giving democracy a technical and legal basis in Islamic law, El Fadl provides it with a certificate of authentication that secular writers ... cannot."--Bezalel Stern, The Jerusalem Post "In a just world, Khaled Abou El Fadl would get as much publicity as Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Bin Laden and Zarqawi blow up buildings and slaughter fellow Muslims. Abou El Fadl blows up everything those two terrorists supposedly believe in."--Carlin Romano, Philadelphia InquirerTable of ContentsIslam and the Challenge of Democracy by KHALED ABOU EL FADL 3 Responses Change from Within by NADER A. HASHEMI 49 Democracy and Conflict by JEREMY WALDRON 55 The Best Hope by NOAH FELDMAN 59 The Primacy of Political Philosophy by M. A. MUQTEDAR KHAN 63 The Importance of Context by A. KEVIN REINHART 69 Is Liberalism Islam's Only Answer? by SABA MAHMOOD 74 Popular Support First by BERNARD HAYKEL 78 Too Far from Tradition by MOHAMMAD H. FADEL 81 Revealed Law and Democracy by DAVID NOVAK 87 Practice and Theory by JOHN L. ESPOSITO 93 Islam Is Not the Problem by WILLIAM B. QUANDT 101 Reply KHALED ABOU EL FADL 109 Contributors 129 Index 131
£999.99
Princeton University Press For the Glory of God
Book SynopsisArgues that, whether we like it or not, people acting for the glory of God have formed our modern culture. This book shows that the Christian conception of God resulted - almost inevitably and for the same reasons - in the Protestant Reformation, the rise of modern science, the European witch-hunts, and the Western abolition of slavery.Trade ReviewWinner of the History/Biography Award of Merit, Christianity Today Magazine Winner of the 2004 Distinguished Book Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion "[Stark] writes with a clarity and concision that make him a pleasure to read... A number of fondly held myths get demolished in this book."--David Klinghoffer, National Review "This is a sociology of religion that takes seriously what people believe. Stark knows that beliefs have consequences. They can even change the course of history."--David Neff, Christianity Today "[A] provocative volume--lucid and tightly reasoned."--Booklist "For the Glory of God ... is an important book. It is immensely learned, consistently contentious, and filled with brilliant, if sometimes eccentric, insights... [F]or those who are open to a very different interpretation of the development of Western Civilization ... For the Glory of God is strongly recommended."--First ThingsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Dimensions of the Supernatural 1 CHAPTER 1 God's Truth: Inevitable Sects and Reformations 15 CHAPTER 2 God's Handiwork: The Religious Origins of Science 121 CHAPTER 3 God's Enemies: Explaining the European Witch-Hunts 201 CHAPTER 4 God's Justice: The Sin of Slavery 291 Postscript: Gods, Rituals, and Social Science 367 Notes 377 Bibliography 419 Index 465
£31.50
Princeton University Press Islam
Book SynopsisIntroduces Islam to readers with Christian or Jewish backgrounds. This book starts with the central feature of Muslim faith and life: the Quran. It compares Jesus and Muhammad, describes Islamic commandments and rituals, details the structures of Sunni and Shi'ite communities, and lays out central Islamic beliefs on war, women, and mysticism.Trade Review"With this Guide, readers ... who have wanted an informed and balanced account of Muslim belief and practice need wait no longer."--C. Clifton Black, Theology Today "Clearly the reading public needs a book describing Islam that avoids trendy multiculturalism as well as Christian rejectionism. That is precisely what F.E. Peters provides in this lucid guide. Peters manifests all the virtues of clarity and fairness that come from a lifetime of study devoted to this complex and multifaceted religion... Here is that most paradoxical of books: one that can change lives (and headlines), not by trying to convert, but simply by trying to describe."--Edward T. Oakes, S.J., First ThingsTable of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*Introduction, pg. xi*1. Discovering Scripture in Scripture, pg. 1*2. The Past Remembered, pg. 30*3. "And Muhammad Is His Messenger", pg. 51*4. The Prince of Medina, pg. 68*Muhammad and Jesus: An Essay in Comparison, pg. 96*5. The Muslim Scripture: The Quran, pg. 99*6. The Umma, Allah's Commonwealth, pg. 127*7. God's Way: A Life and a Law for Muslims, pg. 156*8. Defining and Defending the Community of Believers, pg. 186*9. The Worshipful Acts, pg. 216*10. This World and the Next, pg. 245*Reflections after a Breakfast, pg. 273*Index, pg. 277
£31.50
Princeton University Press Authorizing Marriage Canon Tradition and
Book SynopsisExplores the issue of same-sex marriage through a range of biblical, historical, liturgical, and theological evidence. From David's love for Jonathan through the singleness of Jesus and Paul to the all-male heaven of John's Apocalypse, this title addresses pertinent passages in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.Trade Review"Learned and absorbing essays... Some of the best historical and theological writing I have read in a long time is contained within the covers of this book. If those on the right wing in our current conflicts fail to enter into serious and thoughtful conversation with these and other recent offerings, they will be convicting themselves of irrational partisanship and intellectual obscurantism."--William Countryman, Church Times "A series of provocative and surprising essays that take up the warrant for blessing same-sex unions from a variety of Judeo-Christian perspectives... Taken as a whole, the volume provides some unusual and provocative arguments from a variety of religious perspectives that supporters of same-sex marriage might take into account as they formulate their strategies for future public debates."--Rebecca Alpert, Sexuality Research & Social Policy "This collection makes a refreshing change from the familiar ping-pong battle between liberals and conservatives about the ownership of the Judae-Christian tradition on sex and marriage... This is an impressive collection of powerful imaginative projects. It may not 'solve' any problems. But it certainly opens windows of opportunity for fresh reflection among the stereotypes."--George Newlands, Scottish Journal of TheologyTable of ContentsLIST OF CONTRIBUTORS vii MARK D. JORDAN Introduction 1 SAUL M. OLYAN "Surpassing the Love of Women": Another Look at 2 Samuel 1:26 and the Relationship of David and Jonathan 7 DALE B. MARTIN Familiar Idolatry and the Christian Case against Marriage 17 MARY ANN TOLBERT Marriage and Friendship in the Christian New Testament: Ancient Resources for Contemporary Same-Sex Unions 41 DANIEL BOYARIN Why Is Rabbi Yohanan a Woman? or, A Queer Marriage Gone Bad: "Platonic Love" in the Talmud 52 LAURENCE PAUL HEMMING Can I Really Count on You? 68 STEVEN GREENBERG Contemplating a Jewish Ritual of Same-Sex Union: An Inquiry into the Meanings of Marriage 81 MARK D. JORDAN Arguing Liturgical Genealogies, or, The Ghosts of Weddings Past 102 KATHRYN TANNER Hooker and the New Puritans 121 SUSAN FRANK PARSONS Ad Imaginem Dei: Is There a Moral Here? 139 EUGENE F. ROGERS JR. Trinity, Marriage, and Homosexuality 151 NOTES 165 INDEX 197
£49.30
Princeton University Press The Monotheists Jews Christians and Muslims in
Book SynopsisThe world's three great monotheistic religions have spent most of their historical careers in conflict or competition with each other. This book is a comprehensive and approachable comparative introduction to these religions. It tells the story of the foundation and formation of the three monotheistic communities, of their historical presence.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2003 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Religion, Association of American Publishers One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2004 "[A] titanic undertaking... The Monotheists is not exceptional for [its] detachment alone, or for its erudition, or even for its originality. It is exceptional because Peters has created a new genre for it."--Jack Miles, Los Angeles Times "Historian Peters has long been an astute and objective chronicler of the history and beliefs of the three great monotheistic religions--Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this sprawling, majestic and elegant narrative, he offers the best study we presently have of the ways, words and wisdom of these religions [with] straightforward prose and evenhanded examination... Peters's magnificent book is the new place to turn for a first-rate historical introduction to these three religions."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "There is no more informative, accessible and comprehensive guide to the beliefs and practices of the three great monotheistic religions than these two volumes... Peters has a great story to tell, and he tells it very well. He writes with extraordinary clarity and evenhandedness... He treats thousands of complex and sensitive topics with meticulous learning without offending or proselytizing. Moreover, he manages to keep the three narratives--Judaism, Christianity and Islam--going at once, and allows readers both to appreciate the distinctive character of each and to see how their stories have very frequently intertwined."--Daniel J. Harrington, America "Peters has done it again. With these two volumes he has created an excellent and timely resource for understanding the similarities and differences between the three monotheistic traditions of the West."--ChoiceTable of ContentsPreface xv Introduction xix 1. THE COVENANT: FROM ISRAELITE TO JEW 1 A Prologue on Earth 1 The Quran's Account of Early Humanity 1 History Begins 2 Faith and Act 3 A Holy Land 4 Hagar and Ishmael 5 Ishmaelites and Arabs 6 Abraham in Mecca 8 Hebron 8 Isaac and the Covenant 9 Claims and Counterclaims 10 Jacob's Dream at Bethel 11 The Name(s) and Nature of God 12 The Builder Kings 14 The Temple as Haram 15 The Sanctity of Jerusalem 17 A Troubled Legacy 22 The Samaritan Schism 23 The Voice of the Prophets 23 A Harsh Theodicy and an Uncertain Future 24 Judaea and Ioudaioi 26 The Passage of Power and Prestige 27 Second Temple Sectarianism 29 Words and the Word of Wisdom 33 A Cure for Transcendence? 34 The Harvest of Hellenism 35 Jews in Diaspora 37 The Word of God 39 Personification and Hypostatization 40 Satan from Prince of Darkness to Desert Demon 41 Apocalypticism: Unveiling the End 42 A Message of Hope 43 Second Temple Messianism 44 The Son of Man 44 2. THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS 47 The Dossier on Jesus 47 The Historical Jesus and the Christ of History 48 The Gospels 49 Luke and History 50 Jesus: A Life 52 Born Again 53 The Ministry 53 The Last Days 55 The End and the Beginning 57 Jesus the Messiah 58 Jesus in the Quran 58 The Jewish and the Muslim Jesus 61 The Kingdom 63 After the Crucifixion 63 Saul/Paul 64 Paul's Jesus 65 The Resurrection 66 Christology 68 Ebionites and Docetists 68 The Apostle of the Gentiles 7 Paul and Judaism 72 Jewish Christianity 73 Judaizers 75 Paul: Jerusalem to Rome 76 The Great War and Its Aftermath 77 Earthly Messiahs 79 Later Jewish Messiahs 8 Sabbatai Zvi 81 3. MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF GOD 83 The Muhammad of History 84 When God Speaks 84 Hagiography and History 85 Mecca and Its Gods 85 The Meccan Haram 86 The Kaaba 88 Muhammad: A Life 89 The Message of Islam 9 Sacred History 91 The Bible and the Quran 92 The Opposition 93 The "Satanic Verses" 94 Muhammad's Night Journey and Ascension 95 Boycott 96 The Hegira 97 Medina 98 The Medina Accords 99 Muhammad and the Jews 100 The Religion of Abraham 102 The Master of Medina (624-628) 103 The Practice of Islam 105 Muhammad and the Jews (continued) 106 The Lord of Arabia (628-632) 107 Muhammad and the Jews (concluded) 108 The Wives and Children of the Prophet 109 The Opening of Mecca 111 Problems before and after Tabuk 113 The Last Years (631-632) 114 Muhammad and Jesus: Some Points of Comparison 116 The Career of Mecca 118 4. A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS 120 Identity Markers 121 In and Out 122 Kinship and Covenant 122 "Be You Holy As I Am Holy" 123 What Is a Jew? 124 Conversion and Clientage 125 Becoming a Christian 126 "Jew and Greek" 127 Religious Tolerance: The Romans on Jews and Christians 128 The World Turns Christian 130 Religious Tolerance: Christians on Pagans and Jews 131 The Need of Baptism, and of the Church 132 Augustine and the Donatists 133 Consensual and Coerced Conversion 135 The Jews of Western Christendom 137 The Talmud on Trial 139 Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Spain 140 The Christian War on Islam: Peter the Venerable and Ramon Lull 142 What of the Infidels? 145 Muslims, Christians ... and Other Christians in the Balkans 147 Naming the Others 150 The Making of a Muslim 151 An Arab, and Arabic, Islam 152 Islam and the Associators: The Hindu Case 154 5. ORTHODOXY AND HERESY 157 In Search of Jewish Orthodoxy 157 Exclusion and Banishment 158 The Separation of the Christians 160 Easter 162 Defining the Truth 163 Reaching for Orthodoxy: The Fundamental Principles of Jewish and Muslim Belief 165 Heresy in the Early Churches 167 Gnosticism 169 The Rule of Faith 171 Heresy, Witchcraft, and Reform 172 The Church of the Saints: The Cathars 175 The Albigensian Crusade 176 The Holy War against Heresy 177 The Secular Tribunal 178 Sleeping with the Enemy 179 The Spanish Inquisition 181 Who Possesses the Truth? 183 Papal Heresy 185 The Umma Divided: Sects and Sectarianism in Early Islam 186 Heresiography and Comparative Religion 187 Innovation and Heresy 188 Taking the Measure of Early Islamic Sectarians 189 Defining the Umma: The Sunni View of Islam 191 Sunnis and Shiites 192 The Zindiq Inquisition 194 The Enemy Within: Ibn Taymiyya 194 Fundamentalists as the Faithful Remnant 196 Catholic Judaism 197 Shades of Black: Orthodox Judaism 198 6. COMMUNITY AND AUTHORITY 202 A People Called Israel 202 A Kingdom Called Israel 203 After the Exile 204 Zionism 205 A New Political Order 206 Patriarch and Exilarch 207 The Geonim 208 Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews 209 The Christian Ekklesia 210 Bishops and Priests 211 Hierarchy and Structure 213 Councils of Bishops, Local and Ecumenical 215 The Laity 215 The Primacy of Rome 217 Western and Eastern Christianity and Christendom 219 The Competition for Souls 220 Pope, Patriarch, and the Bulgarian Church 221 The Parting of the Ways, East and West 223 A Misbegotten Crusade 224 Church Reunion 225 A Papal Crisis: Celestine and Boniface 226 The Popes without Rome: Avignon 228 The Great Western Schism 229 Pisa and Constance 230 Conciliarism 231 The Papacy under Attack: Marsiglio of Padua and William of Ockham 232 The Voice of the Council: Haec sancta and Frequens 233 The Emperor and the Pope 234 "Better the Turban of the Turk ..." 235 Moscow, the Third Rome 236 Reformation and Counter-Reformation 237 The Radical Reformation: The Anabaptists 238 The Confessional Churches 239 7. CHURCH AND STATE: POPES, PATRIARCHS, AND EMPERORS 240 The Jewish Experience: From State to Church 240 "Render to Caesar ..." 243 The Christians and the Empire 245 The Persecutions 245 Constantine 247 The Contest Begins: Ambrose and the Emperor 248 The City of God and the City of Man 249 "Two There Are ..." 251 How the Pope Became a Prince 252 The College of Cardinals and the Roman Curia 254 How the Prince Became a Priest 255 Rome Redivivus: The Holy Roman Empire 257 The Two Swords: Gregory VII and Henry IV 258 The Papacy versus Frederick II 259 The Reformation as Political Event 261 Luther and the Princes 263 Calvin's Two Kingdoms 264 Church and State in the Counter-Reformation 265 The Papal States 265 8. THE CHURCH AS THE STATE: THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY 268 The Umma 268 Holy War: The Islamic Case 269 War and Religion: The Jewish and Christian Cases 272 Dhimma and Dhimmis 273 Muslim Dhimmis in Christian Spain 275 Conversion by Levy: The Devshirme 276 The Millet System 277 The Caliphate 278 The Powers of the Caliph (and Others) 279 Tensions in the Community 280 Ali ibn Abi Talib (601-661) 281 The Succession 282 The Umayyads (r.661-750) 283 The Holy Family: Ahl al-Bayt 284 The Abbasids (r.750-1258) 285 From Alidism to Shiism 287 The Shiite Imamate 287 Sunnis and Shiites 289 The Hidden Imam 290 Political Ismailism: The Fatimids 291 Apocalyptic Ismailism--The Qarmatians 294 The Sultanate 295 The Ottomans and a Universal Caliphate 296 The End of the Caliphate 298 Iran as a Shiite State 299 The Shiite Ulama and the State 301 The Islamic Republic of Iran 302 An Early Modern Christian Theocracy: Reform Geneva 303 END THOUGHTS 307 Civics and Civility 308 Capital and Other Crimes 309 Making Jews 310 Making Christians 310 Making Muslims 311 A Crucial Difference 312 Index 313
£31.50
Princeton University Press The Monotheists Jews Christians and Muslims in
Book SynopsisThe world's three great monotheistic religions have spent most of their historical careers in conflict or competition with each other. This book is a comprehensive and approachable comparative introduction to these religions. It tells the story of the foundation and formation of the three monotheistic communities, of their historical presence.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2003 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Religion, Association of American Publishers One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2004 "[A] titanic undertaking... The Monotheists is not exceptional for [its] detachment alone, or for its erudition, or even for its originality. It is exceptional because Peters has created a new genre for it."--Jack Miles, Los Angeles Times "Historian Peters has long been an astute and objective chronicler of the history and beliefs of the three great monotheistic religions--Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this sprawling, majestic and elegant narrative, he offers the best study we presently have of the ways, words and wisdom of these religions [with] straightforward prose and evenhanded examination... Peters's magnificent book is the new place to turn for a first-rate historical introduction to these three religions."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "There is no more informative, accessible and comprehensive guide to the beliefs and practices of the three great monotheistic religions than these two volumes... Peters has a great story to tell, and he tells it very well. He writes with extraordinary clarity and evenhandedness... He treats thousands of complex and sensitive topics with meticulous learning without offending or proselytizing. Moreover, he manages to keep the three narratives--Judaism, Christianity and Islam--going at once, and allows readers both to appreciate the distinctive character of each and to see how their stories have very frequently intertwined."--Daniel J. Harrington, America "Peters has done it again. With these two volumes he has created an excellent and timely resource for understanding the similarities and differences between the three monotheistic traditions of the West."--ChoiceTable of ContentsPreface xvii Introduction xxi 1. THE SCRIPTURES: BIBLE, NEW TESTAMENT, AND QURAN Three Sacred Books 2 People of the Book 3 The Bible 4 Sacred Tongues 5 On Translations 7 Scriptural Criticism 8 Who Wrote the Bible? 10 Explaining Revelation 11 High Prophetology 14 Heavenly Books 15 The New Testament: Notion, Text, and Canon 16 The Biblical Canon 18 The Inspiration of Scripture 20 Contingency and the Constraints of History 21 Humanist Critics of Scripture 23 The Old Testament and the New 24 The Arrangement of the Quran 25 The Composition of the Quran 27 The Editing of the Quran 29 The Collection of the Quran 30 Qere and Ketib 32 Interpolation and Abrogation 33 Closure 34 2. UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD The Seal and the Silence 35 Biblical Exegesis 36 Midrash 37 An Unfolding Tradition 38 Philo Rereads Scripture 40 Evangelical Exegesis 41 The Senses of Scripture 42 Marcion Reads the Scripture 43 Why Don't We Understand?44 Fathers and Other Authorities 45 The Glossa Ordinaria, Christian and Jewish 46 The Quran Reads the Bible 46 Quranic Ambiguities 48 The "Occasions of Revelation" 49 Tabari Enthroned 50 Plain and Allegorical Exegesis in Islam 51 The Muslims Struggle with Revelation and Reason 52 Shiite Tafsir 54 Learning from the Muslims 55 Two Medieval Jewish Commentators: Ibn Ezra and Rashi 56 The Great Debates 57 The Reform of Christian Exegesis 60 Control of the Book 61 A Closer, and Different, Look at Scripture 62 Exegesis and Hermeneutics 63 3. SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION The Great Tradition 65 Rabbinic Judaism 66 "How Many Torahs Do You Have?" 68 Making the Mishnah 69 Mishnah and Gemara 70 Validating the Rabbis 71 Attacking the Tradition: Sadducees and Karaites 71 Jewish Reform 73 The Beginnings of a Christian Tradition 74 The Deposit of Faith 74 Apostolic Tradition and Apostolic Succession 75 Sola Scriptura 76 The Tradition Debate 78 The War of the Historians 79 The Sunna of the Prophet 80 Hadith Criticism 82 The Canonical Collections 83 Quran and Sunna 84 The Shiite Hadith 85 4. GOD'S LAW AND ITS OBSERVANCE Purity and Defilement 87 Biblical Law 88 The Lesson of Qumran 89 The Tradition from the Fathers 90 The Mishnah and the Two Talmuds 91 Two Jewish Codes: Mishneh Torah and Shulkhan Aruk 92 The Purpose of the Law 94 The Administration of Jewish Law 94 The Rabbis 95 The Instruments of God's Justice 96 Jesus and the Law 96 Christians and the Law 97 A Law for Christians 98 The Sources of Christian Law 99 The Codification of Church Law 101 The Beginnings of Western Canon Law 101 Gratian 102 Catechesis and Catechism 103 An Islamic Catechism: The Pillars of Islam 105 Sharia, the Muslim Way 106 From Prophetic Tradition to Law 108 The Administration of Justice in Islam 109 The Qadi 110 The Qadi's Justice 111 Responsa and Fatwas: The Mufti 112 The Qadi and the Mufti 113 The Schools 114 Shiite Law 115 Ijtihad 116 The Closing of the Gate 117 The Hierarchization of the Ulama 118 Ijtihad Unchained 120 Customary Law and Governance in Islam 121 Qanun: The Sultan's Law 122 Jewish Rabbis and Islamic Ulama 123 5. GOD'S COMMANDMENTS AND HUMAN MORALITY Values and Value Systems 127 Whence Evil?129 The Diabolic, the Demonic 130 The Jinn, Shaytan, and Iblis 132 Sin and Atonement in Israel 133 Acquittal 134 Jesus' Moral Teaching 135 Pauline Morality 136 Original Sin 137 Manichaeism 138 Augustine as Moralist 139 Augustine and Pelagius 140 Penance and the Sacramental System 141 Purgatory and Indulgences 143 Who Will Be Saved? 145 The Absolute Will of God 146 The Disputed Question of Nature and Grace 147 Justification 148 Doubly Saved and Doubly Damned 149 The Council of Trent on Justification 150 The Magisterium Restored 151 A Conference on "Aids" 152 The Crisis in Catholic Morality 153 Jansenism 155 From Pascal to Alfonso di Ligouri 157 Muhammad as Moral Exemplar 158 Islamic Morality 160 Free Will and Predestination in Islam 162 A Rationalist Solution 163 Acquiring Responsibility 164 Consensus on Matters Moral 165 6. DIVINE WORSHIP Shekinah/Sakina 168 Sacrifice 169 The Jesus Sacrifice 170 The Jewish Priesthood 171 The Synagogue 172 The Eucharist 174 Liturgies Eastern and Western 175 Eucharistic Issues: Who, When, and How? 177 The Reform Liturgy 178 Christmas 178 Muslim Prayer 179 Friday Prayer and the Mosque 180 The Hajj 180 Intercalation Prohibited 183 The Enshrinement of Jerusalem 184 Christian Pilgrimage 185 The Western Wall 187 Popular Devotions in Christianity 188 The Cult of Mary 189 From Piety to Dogma: An Immaculate Conception and Prophetic Impeccability 190 The Veneration of the Saints 192 Canonization 193 Eucharistic Devotions 194 Popular Devotions in Islam 195 The Friends of God 197 Three Dramatic Narratives: Passover, Passion, and the Death of Husayn 198 Idols and Images 200 Emperor Portrayal, Christian Style 202 Christian Images 203 Christian Iconoclasm 204 Stripping the Altars: Images and the Reform 206 Islam and the Graven Image 207 The Word as Decoration 208 7. THINKING ABOUT GOD Mythos and Logos 211 The Theology of Philo of Alexandria 213 Athens and Jerusalem 215 Theology and Creeds: Nicaea to Chalcedon 217 The Muslims Encounter Aristotle 219 Falsafa 220 Talking about God: The Muslim Beginnings 222 Learning to Speak Dialectically 223 An Islamic Inquisition 225 Kalam Matured 226 Muslim Creeds 228 Reason and Revelation in Islam 230 God Supreme: Islamic Occasionalism 232 Ibn Rushd 233 The Voice of Conservative Islamic Orthodoxy 235 Jewish Kalam 236 A Guide for the Perplexed 237 Falsafa and Kalam 238 Received Wisdom 238 Sacred Theology, Western Style 240 Thomas Aquinas 241 Scholasticism 242 Latin Averroism 244 The Two Faces of Truth 244 The Reformation and Christian Systematic Theology 246 The Wisdom of Illumination 247 The School of Isfahan 249 8. FROM DESERT SAINTS TO MUSLIM SUFIS The Way of the World 251 The Issue of Jewish Asceticism 252 The Desert a City 254 Obedience of the Spirit 255 The Saints in the City 256 The Rule of St. Basil 257 Benedict and the Benedictines 258 Benedictine Experiments: Carthusians and Cistercians 260 Canons Regular and Other 261 The Mendicant Friars: Franciscans and Dominicans 262 Is Perfection Possible? The Franciscan Controversy 265 Military Orders, Christian and Muslim 267 The Rise and Fall of the Society of Jesus 270 The Holy Mountain 273 The Personal Life of Muhammad 274 This World and the Next 275 The Beginnings of Muslim Asceticism 276 Sufi Convents: Khanqah, Ribat, Zawiya 278 The Sufi Orders 279 Sufis in the Service of Islam: Chishtis and Bektashis 282 The Chinese Rites 284 Christian and Muslim Religious Orders 285 Suppression 286 Jewish Brotherhoods in Galilee 287 Saints without Rules: The Hasidim 288 The Apostolic Succession in Eastern Europe 290 The Habad 291 9. LEAPING FROM THE DARK INTO THE LIGHT: MYSTICISM Face to Face with God 293 The Beginnings 294 The Adepts of Qumran 295 The Celestial Chariot 295 "Four Who Attempted to Enter Paradise" 296 God's Love, God's Body 297 The Palaces 297 The Book of Creation 298 From Christian Asceticism to Mysticism 299 Approaching the Unknowable 301 The Jesus Prayer 302 Hesychasm 303 God's Energies and God's Essence 305 Spirituality, Eastern and Western 306 The Spiritual Exercises 306 Muhammad Cleansed, and Rapt 308 Did Muhammad See God? 309 The Sufi as Mystic 310 The Growth of Sufi Theory 311 Sufism and Gnosticism 313 Sufis and Shiites 314 Al-Hallaj 315 The Sufi Way 317 Practical Sufism 318 Spiritual Hierarchies 320 The Apotheosis of Ali: The Alawis 320 The Fathers of Islamic Theosophy: Ibn Sina and Suhrawardi 321 Defender of the Faith 324 Making Sufism Safe for Islam 326 Spiritual Resurrection 327 On the Edge: Ibn Arabi 327 The Seal of the Saints 329 The Teaching and Its Opponents 330 The Beginnings of Kabbalah 333 The Zohar 334 The World of the Sefiroth 335 Isaac Luria 336 Kabbalah for Everyone: Hasidism 337 10. THE LAST THINGS End Time Scenarios 339 After Death, What? 341 Death and Judgment 342 The Particular Judgment 343 The Resurrection of the Body 343 The Seed, the Statue, and the Conjunction of Materia and Forma 345 In the Meantime ... 346 The Cosmology of the Other World 347 Mapping Paradise and Hell 349 A Heavenly Journey 350 Living High: The Angels 351 Angels in Arabia 353 The Vision of God 354 With a Little Help from the Creator 355 Paradise Lost: Maimonides (and Others) on the World to Come 356 Salvation 358 Religious Zionism: Hurrying the End 359 Political Zionism and Eretz Israel 360 The Birth Pangs of the Messiah 362 Realized and Futurist Eschatology in Christianity 363 A Christian Apocalypse 364 Millennialism/Chilianism 365 The Reign of the Spirit: Joachim de Fiore 366 Abraham the Intercessor 368 The Muslim Dead 369 The Quranic Eschaton 371 Intercession in Islam 371 A Savior Returns 372 The Mahdi 375 END THOUGHTS People of the Book, and of the Covenant 377 Odium Theologicum 377 The Religion of Abraham 378 Who Is the Heir? 379 The True Israel 380 A Fractious Family 381 The Rivals' Charms 383 Faith and History 384 Index 387
£31.50
Princeton University Press The Terror of History
Book SynopsisReflects on Western humanity's efforts to escape from history and its terrors - from the existential condition and natural disasters to the succession of wars and other man-made catastrophes. In chapters that range across Western history and culture, this book takes up religion, the material world, and the world of art and knowledge in turn.Trade Review"The tone of this book is more ruminative than pedagogic. Ruiz sprinkles his text with personal anecdotes and observations but never advocates one approach over the other. This is not, he stresses, a self-help manual. Although religious in his youth, Ruiz is now a genially tolerant, dark-humored atheist... The comfort--even delight--of this book is that it doesn't scold or trivialize people's often pathetic attempts to escape their own mortality. It simply wishes them to be aware of possibilities. 'In truth, I am as clueless about the world in my advanced years as I was early in life,' Ruiz confesses. He is a seeker, too."--Edward Morris, ForeWord Reviews "This is an attempt by the erudite Ruiz (history, Spanish & Portuguese, UCLA; Spain's Centuries of Crisis: 1300-1474) to use his knowledge and experience to make sense of our messy lives and our desires to bury a future we cannot control... In separate chapters, he discusses three forms of escape from history: religion, materialism, and estheticism. But the book isn't meant to be history as much as an intensely personal meditation on how we deal with our worries about the world, stuffing inside ourselves our fear of impending extinction. Ruiz uses his own experiences to illustrate points, even including a piece of fiction he wrote when young. More personal than Annaliste history, with which it's best compared ... serious readers will find it worthwhile for its author's attempt to embrace elusive questions about our personal lives."--Library Journal "You can't judge a book by its cover, as the old saw goes, but every so often the cover art may stun you into long contemplation. Or horror, in the case of Teofilo R. Ruiz's The Terror of History: On the Uncertainties of Life in Western Civilization (Princeton University Press), which greets the prospective reader by way of Goya's 'Saturn Devouring His Son.' Drawing on the great Dutch medievalist Johan Huizinga's work, Ruiz organizes his musings around three grand strategies for finding happiness, or at least mitigating total dread: 'through belief (in a whole variety of orthodox and heterodox forms), [through] the life of the senses, and/or through culture and the pursuit of the beautiful.' Under each of these headings, he arrays quotations from and reflections on a kaleidoscopic array of ancient and modern authors and phenomena: Sophocles, Proust, utopian communes, witch-burning crazes, The Decameron, an insurrection in Brazil in the 1890s, the Marquis de Sade, and The Epic of Gilgamesh, to give a representative sampling. Plus there are memoiristic bits. He mentions teaching 'a class on world history from the Big Bang to around 400 C.E.' The book seems more ambitious still... [A] short book displaying enormous erudition."--Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed "Ruiz is, first and foremost, a man of letters. His references to literature, film and art, from homer to Goya to Tolkien, will be refreshing to those who crave something more than archival material and footnotes from their history books... There is much to admire about this book. It is the product of a lifetime of hard work and serious thought about life's fundamental questions. Above all, Ruiz does not shy away from the consequences of atheism, a position he has held for four decades since losing the Catholic faith."--America Magazine "The Terror of History is an absorbing book that will not let the reader skip pages. It challenges the intellect while launching arguments in the mind over content."--R. Balashankar, Organiser "The Terror of History is an enjoyable book, though disturbing at the same time. As said, it is not an academic book; it covers largely personal reflections and considerations. I would recommend it to any curious reader keen to investigate some of the most dark and challenging moments in the history of humankind and see if and how we coped with them."--Luca Guariento, Kelvingrove Review "Combining astonishing historical breadth with a personal and accessible narrative style, The Terror of History is a moving testimony to the incredibly diverse ways humans have sought to cope with their frightening history."--World Book IndustryTable of ContentsPreface ix Chapter I: The Terror of History 1 Chapter II: Religion and the World to Come 35 Chapter III: The World of Matter and the Senses 83 Chapter IV: The Lure of Beauty and Knowledge 129 Conclusion 167 Index 173
£18.00
Princeton University Press The Modern Spirit of Asia The Spiritual and the
Book SynopsisChallenges the notion that modernity in China and India are derivative imitations of the West, arguing that these societies have transformed their ancient traditions in distinctive ways.Trade ReviewFinalist for the 2014 Award for Excellence in Religion in Analytical-Descriptive Studies, American Academy of Religion One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014 "A fascinating read."--Nick Leech, National "The authority of this study is based on a combination of field research in each of the two nations (China and India), along with an impressive command of the literature and tools of cultural anthropology, comparative sociology, and conceptual analysis. The author is a well-respected, contemporary European social scientist, and this study is likely to stimulate intense scholarly discussion for years ahead."--Choice "[A] particularly outstanding work."--Guo Ting, Oxford Comparative Critical Review "One of the many merits of Peter van der Veer's The Modern Spirit of Asia is that he acknowledges the unprecedented nature of 'the project of modernity with all its revolutionary ideas of nation, equality, citizenship, democracy, and rights,' yet shows how it has taken strikingly different shapes in the Chinese and Indian cultural spheres."--Benjamin Schewel, Hedgehog Review "This is an important book, which will be useful for helping scholars of Chinese religion think more deeply about the question of modernity."--Erik Hammerstrom, Review of Religion and Chinese Society "This book will be a fundamental point of reference for any ethnography of secularism and for anyone interested in the study of religion, secularism, modernity, and politics in Asia and in the global world."--Chiara Letizia, American AnthropologistTable of ContentsPreface ix Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Spirituality in Modern Society 35 Chapter 3 The Making of Oriental Religion 63 Chapter 4 Conversion to Indian and Chinese Modernities 90 Chapter 5 Secularism's Magic 115 Chapter 6 "Smash Temples, Build Schools": Comparing Secularism in India and China 140 Chapter 7 The Spiritual Body 168 Chapter 8 Muslims in India and China 193 Chapter 9 Conclusion 214 Notes 231 Bibliography 253 Index 271
£25.20
Princeton University Press Hindu Nationalism
Book SynopsisPresents the thought of the founding fathers and key intellectual leaders of Hindu nationalism from the time of the British Raj. This book reveals how the "Hindutuva" movement approaches key issues of Indian politics. It covers such important topics as secularism, religious conversion, relations with Muslims, education, and Hindu identity.Trade Review"No similar collection of primary materials exists, but now no other is necessary."--Brian K. Pennington, Religious Studies Review "Jaffrelot has given us a valuable reference tool. It is possibly one for those who already have some sense of what the significance of Hindu nationalism has been rather than for the absolute beginner. Its strength lies in the clarity of the trajectory it depicts."--Shabum Tejani, Culture and ReligionTable of ContentsAcknowledgements xi Copyright Statement xiii PART 1: INTRODUCTION: THE INVENTION OF AN ETHNIC NATIONALISM 1 Introduction: The Invention of an Ethnic Nationalism 3 An Ideological Reaction to the Other: From Reform to Revivalism in the Nineteenth Century 6 The Political Turn: The Hindu Sabhas Movement 10 The Hindu Sangathan Movement: Hindu Nationalism Crystallizes 12 The Maharashtrian Crucible of Hindu Nationalism 14 The Sangh Parivar Takes Shape 17 Hindu Nationalism and Political Strategy 19 PART 2: THE MAKING AND RESHAPING OF HINDU NATIONALIST IDEOLOGY 27 Chapter 1: Swami Dayananda Saraswati 29 Two Extracts from The Light of Truth (Satyarth Prakash) 31 Chapter 2: R.B. Lal Chand 38 Extract from Self-Abnegation in Politics 40 Chapter 3: Har Bilas Sarda 50 Two Chapters from Hindu Superiority: An Attempt to Determine the Position of the Hindu Race in the Scale of Nations 51 SOCIAL SYSTEM 51 FOREIGN RELATIONS 56 Chapter 4: Madan Mohan Malaviya and Lala Lajpat Rai 61 Presidential Addresses at Two Hindu Mahasabha Annual Meetings 64 MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA: PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS, AS REPORTED (1923) 64 LALA LAJPAT RAI'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS, AS REPORTED (1925) 69 Chapter 5: Swami Shraddhananda 77 Extract from Hindu Sangathan: Saviour of the Dying Race 79 Chapter 6: Vinayak Damodar Savarkar 85 Extract from Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? 87 Chapter 7: M.S. Golwalkar 97 Extracts from We or Our Nationhood Defined 98 Extracts from Bunch of Thoughts 117 Chapter 8: Deendayal Upadhyaya 139 Two Extracts from Integral Humanism 141 Chapter 9: Balraj Madhok 158 Extracts from Indianization? What, Why and How 159 PART 3: HINDU NATIONALIST ISSUES 173 Chapter 10: The RSS and Politics 175 Extract from K.R. Malkani, The RSS Story 179 Extract from Sri Balasaheb Deoras Answers Questions 188 L.K. Advani's Concluding Statement at the National Executive Meeting of the BJP, 18 September 2005 189 Chapter 11: Jammu & Kashmir 193 Extract of a Speech by Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, in the Lok Sabha, on 7 August 1952 195 Preface to BJP on Kashmir 207 Chapter 12: The National Language 218 Extracts from Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Party Documents Vol. 5: Resolutions on Education, etc. and Party Affairs 220 Chapter 13: Conversion and the Arithmetic of Religious Communities 233 Lala Lajpat Rai on Dalits and Conversions 235 Extract from Raj Eshwar, Paravartan (Back to Hinduism): Why and How 244 Chapter 14: Reservation and Social Justice 255 Extract from RSS Resolves: Full Text of Resolutions from 1950 to 1983 258 Extracts from 'BJP Election Manifesto', 1991 Lok Sabha Elections 259 Extract from 'BJP Election Manifesto', 1996 Lok Sabha Elections 261 Extract from 'BJP Election Manifesto', 1998 Lok Sabha Elections 263 Extract from 'NDA Election Manifesto', 1999 Lok Sabha Elections 267 Extract from 'NDA Election Manifesto', 2004 Lok Sabha Elections 268 Chapter 15: Education 269 Extracts from Murli Manohar Joshi, 'Reorienting Education' 271 Chapter 16: Ayodhya, the Babri Masjid, and the Ramjanmabhumi Dispute 279 Extract from an Interview of L.K. Advani 282 Extract from L.K. Advani, 'The Ayodhya Movement' 289 Chapter 17: Defence 299 Extract from Jaswant Singh, Defending India 302 Chapter 18: Secularism 313 Extract from Atal Behari Vajpayee, 'The Bane of Pseudo-Secularism' 315 Extract from Atal Behari Vajpayee, 'Secularism, the Indian Concept' 318 Chapter 19: The Economy 342 Extract from S. Gurumurthy, 'Swadeshi and Nationalism' 345 Extract from Arun Shourie, 'This is India's Moment, But It's Only a Moment, Can We Grasp It?' 354 Chapter 20: The Diaspora and Hindu Nationalism 361 Documents on the California Textbooks Controversy 364 Bibliography 370
£31.50
Princeton University Press Revelatory Events Three Case Studies of the
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] fascinating and masterfully interdisciplinary study. . . . With the nuance and erudition made possible by Taves's keen historical eye, firm grasp of the cognitive social sciences, and all of the primary resources now available to scholars of religion, Revelatory Events represents the best of the comparative method in twenty-first century scholarship. . . . This book is highly recommended!"---Adam Powell, Journal of Mormon History"Revelatory Events is a book that anyone studying new religious movements is going to have to deal with for the foreseeable future. . . . [Taves'] comparative work and sophisticated analysis gives us a model for how good scholarship should be done."---David Feltmate, Nova Religio"Bringing insights from psychological research on creativity, Taves proposes understanding the set of “guiding procedures” as the outcome of a creative process, whereby the emerging groups creatively accept the supra-human presence responsible for providing the initial message and shape their own social identity according to it."---Eduard Iricinschi, Journal of Religion in EuropeTable of ContentsIllustrations and Tables vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Abbreviations xvii Introduction 1 Part 1 Making Meaning 13 Case Study A Restored Church 17 1 Translation 23 2 Materialization 50 3 Beginnings 66 Case Study An Anonymous Fellowship 82 4 Stories 89 5 Fellowship 110 6 Seeking 129 Case Study A Course in Miracles 151 7 Emergence 157 8 Teaching(s) 180 9 Roles 195 Part 2 Creating Paths 223 10 Groups 225 11 Selves 240 12 Motives 270 Conclusion 290 Appendix Discussion of Methods 297 Appendix Charts 311 Bibliography 331 Author Index 347 Subject Index 351
£78.20
Princeton University Press The Voice the Word the Books The Sacred
Book SynopsisJews, Christians, and Muslims believe that their Scriptures preserve God's words to humanity, and that those words were spoken uniquely to them. This book gives insights into their origins, contents, canonization, and the important roles they have played in the lives of their communities. It explores how they evolved from oral to written texts.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2007 Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Theology and Religious Studies, Association of American Publishers "This is undoubtedly one of the best single volumes on the history of sacred text in the Abrahamic faiths."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Many readers will appreciate this probing interfaith investigation for the insight it offers into sacred books that both link and divide the world of faith."--Booklist "In today's culture of interfaith outreach, this book, agreeably approachable, offers insights into the parallel and intersecting paths the sacred books of the three great Abrahamic religions followed."--Suzi Brozman, Atlanta Jewish Times "Highly readable...The Voice, the Word, the Books, with its lavish illustrations and adequate index, will prove very valuable for those teaching an introduction to the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, or the Koran."--Patrick J. Ryan, The American "Readers who have some knowledge of biblical history and scholarship will already be familiar with much of the territory Peters surveys. But here that familiar territory borders on a detailed discussion of the Qur'an, and the frontier between these two traditions makes for an illuminating and often surprising adventure of ideas...The depth of the author's scholarship is...evident on every page."--Lawrence S. Cunningham, Commonweal "The open critique, dialogue and reworking of a tradition, which has been essential to the relevance of Judaism and Christianity to the modern world, awaits its day in Islam. In Peters' work you will find clues as to how big that task will be."--Rachael Kohn, Australian Review of Public Affairs "F. E. Peters offers here a remarkably well-informed, thoughtfully conceived, and elegantly written comparative... The scholarship is, in my opinion, an example of the comparative study of religion at its finest. The author's argument is grounded in first-hand, extensive knowledge of each tradition he handles, nourished by wide and incisive readings of secondary scholarly studies, and shaped overall by a clearly envisioned comparative... In my opinion, Peters has not only delivered fully on this promise to mark the histories of the Abrahamic scriptural traditions as a passage from spoken word to text and back to spoken utterance, but also presented the field of religious studies with a model for comparative studies beyond the Abrahamic traditions as well."--Martin S. Jaffee, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "In these days it is especially a pleasure to encounter a gentle, intelligent work, written for the educated general public, that promotes understanding, even empathy, for the other. Peters ... offers new information and insights for practitioners of these faiths as well as for the inquiring and the curious."--Robert W. Lebling, Saudi Aramco World "Peters has made an important contribution to the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam."--Barry Dov Walfish, Journal of ReligionTable of ContentsIntroduction. The Voice from Sinai 1 Chapter 1: Sacred Words, Sacred Book 5 "Thus Spake Yahweh": What Is the Bible? 7 "Then the Lord Said": What Is the New Testament? 17 "Recite! in the Name of God": What Is the Quran? 28 Chapter 2: Book Shaping: The Making of a Canon 38 From Biblia to Book: The Making of the Bible 41 The Making of a "New" Testament 51 The "Old" and the "New" in the Covenant 61 The Collection of the Quran 67 Chapter 3: Reciters, Rhapsodes, and Scribes: How the Bible Reached Us 80 The Matter of Authorship 81 The Higher Criticism of the Bible 83 Composing and Performing 85 The Scribes 87 From Recitation to Writing 88 Authors behind the Authors 90 Enter J, E, and Company 92 The Writing Begins 94 Jeremiah 95 Who "Wrote" the Books? 96 Writing in Scripture 98 The Levites 100 The Masoretes 101 Chapter 4: The Reporters: The Good News and How We Got It 105 Jesus: The Setting 105 The Gospels 106 Extracting Q 107 Dating the Gospels 108 John 109 The Gospels as Documents 109 From Aramaic to Greek 110 New Approaches 111 Community Authorship 113 Paul and the Rest 114 The Apocryphal Gospels 115 Thomas and His Twin 117 Chapter 5: The Poet in Performance: The Composition of the Quran 120 The Revelations 120 Biography and the Quran 122 Approaching the Quran 126 The Cultural Environment 127 Writing and the Quran 128 Writing in Arabia 130 Oral Poetry and the Quran 132 Muhammad, Poet and Performer 133 The Bible in the Quran 135 The Mantic Seer 137 The Oral Performance 139 A Change in Style 140 The Writing Down of the Quran 141 Other Possibilities 143 Uthman or Later? 147 In Sum 150 Chapter 6: The Book in Mortal Hands 152 The Word Made Flesh: Books and Bookmaking in the Ancient World 152 Scrolls and Books 153 Searching the Scriptures 155 From Notebooks to Books 157 The Christians Adopt the Codex 159 Toward a Standard Edition? 160 The Shape of the Page: Chapter and Verse 164 Dividing the Text 164 Marking the Text 167 Suras and Ayas 169 The Sacramental Text 172 Sefer Torah: Torahs and Their Arks 174 Washing Their Hands of the Christians 180 A Matter of Etiquette: The Book in Our Hands 182 Chapter 7: In Other Words 189 The Loss of God's Tongue 190 Targums and Methurgemans 192 Scripture for the Hellenized: The Septuagint 195 Origen: Multitasking the Bible 198 From Old Latin to the Vulgate 200 Hebraica Veritas and the Latin West 203 The Polyglot 208 Enter the Humanists 210 Translating the Untranslatable Quran 214 Chapter 8: Picturing the Word 219 The Rabbis and the Second Commandment 219 Adorning and Illustrating the Hebrew Bible 223 Christian Images 228 Icons and Iconoclasm 229 The Bible with Pictures 233 Printing with Pictures 238 The Reformation and Images 240 The Word Unpictured: Islam and Images 242 Drawing in the Book 243 Chapter 9: Giving Voice to the Word 247 Talking Back to God 248 Reading through the Torah 249 The Scripture in Church 251 Praying the Quran 256 The Scripture as Libretto 258 The Cantorial Scripture 259 The Divine Office 260 The Art of Qira 263 Epilogue. Three Books, Side by Side 271 Glossary 277 List of Illustrations 281 Index 283
£25.20
Princeton University Press America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity
Book SynopsisLooks at how we have adapted to diversity and the ways rank-and-file Americans, clergy, and other community leaders are responding. This book contends that responses to religious diversity are fundamentally deeper than polite discussions about civil liberties and tolerance would suggest.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2007 Mirra Komarovsky Best Book Award, Eastern Sociological Society Finalist for the 2006 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in Analytical-Descriptive Studies, American Academy of Religion Finalist for the 2006 Book Award in Christianity and Culture, Christianity Today "As Robert Wuthnow amply documents, the United States is (on the whole) an open and welcoming country, ready to extend the full benefits of citizenship to strangers who could expect second-class status in much of the rest of the world."--Gary Rosen, New York Times Book Review "With ... America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity, Wuthnow zeros in on one of the most significant issues facing the country today."--Heather Grennan Gary,Publishers Weekly "All of Robert Wuthnow's formidable skills as the nation's leading 'public sociologist' are prominently displayed in this disciplined, accessible study."--Mark A. Noll, Christianity Today "This is a supple, nuanced and thoughtful book, among Wuthnow's best."--John A. Coleman, America "The great virtue of America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity lies in its careful depiction of the state of American Christianity today. Wuthnow's narrative is endlessly subtle and informative."--Clifford Orwin, The American Interest "Wuthnow has conducted careful research, including thousands of interviews, to find out how ordinary American Christians deal in their day-to-day lives with this new religious diversity: how they think about non-Christians; what sort of encounters they have with them, from workplace chatter to interfaith services and even intermarriage; and how they and their pastors deal with such theologically troubling issues as whether non-Christians can be saved or whether Christians should make active efforts to convert them."--Charlotte Allen,Washington Post "Wuthnow is one of the best and most prolific sociologists of religion on the contemporary scene. His work often sets the agenda not only for other scholars, but also for religious leaders and practitioners concerned with making their faith relevant to social issues... In the end [of America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity], Wuthnow calls for a strategy of 'reflective pluralism.' Reflective pluralism will overcome the reluctance to acknowledge significant differences between religions."--Fred Kniss, Christian Century "Another commendable study from prolific sociologist Robert Wuthnow, this comprehensive assessment of US religious self-understanding demonstrates how religious diversity is challenging the privileged notion of the US as a 'Christian' nation... Since Americans believe in the right of groups to worship freely but are not motivated to learn about or interact with diverse believers, Wuthnow advocates a proactive 'reflective pluralism' for creating a more hospitable national ethos."--Choice "His book marks a major contribution to the study of American religion, both for its lucid arguments, its broad canvassing of the relevant literature, and its research methodology."--Patrick J. Hayes, Catholic Library World "A wide-ranging and insightful study into how Americans are responding to dramatic increases in religious and cultural diversity."--Mark E. Button, Perspectives on Politics "Wuthnow's book is a clear exposition of the state of belief and practice with regards to views on religious diversity in America, and an impassioned call for increasing religious tolerance."--Albert Wu, Religious Studies ReviewTable of ContentsList of Tables ix Preface xi Introduction Confronting Diversity 1 Chapter 1: A Special People in a Diverse World 8 First Encounters 10 Toward a New Nation 14 From Missions to Comparative Religion 19 The Tripartite Settlement 30 Beyond Christian America? 34 Chapter 2: The New Diversity 37 American Hindus 38 American Buddhists 47 American Muslims 56 Living among Christians 63 Pluralism or Coexistence? 73 Chapter 3: The Signi .cance of Religious Diversity 75 A Threat to Democracy? 78 Fairness and Decency 84 Challenges to American Values 88 Religion as Moral Order 95 Chapter 4: Embracing Diversity: Shopping in the Spiritual Marketplace 106 Trev Granger's Story 108 Becoming a Spiritual Shopper 110 The Shopping Mentality 119 Toward a New Consciousness? 126 Chapter 5: "Many Mansions": Accepting Diversity 130 Sandra Michaelson: Beauty in Every Religion 133 Coming to Terms with Diversity 135 How to Be an Inclusive Christian 143 Envisioning an Inclusive Society 153 Chapter 6: "One Way" : Resisting Diversity 159 Trisha Mobley: "It Is Written" 160 The Road to Resistance 163 Maintaining an Exclusivist Worldview 173 The Social Implications of Christian Exclusivism 183 Chapter 7: The Public's Beliefs and Practices 188 Beliefs about Religious Truth 190 Views of America 198 The Impact of Non-Western Religions 201 Social and Cultural Factors 208 Interreligious Contact and Attitudes 212 Interreligious Programs 220 Conclusions 228 Chapter 8: How Congregations Manage Diversity 230 What Churches Are Doing 233 The Role of Theology 237 Strategies of Avoidance 244 Strategies of Engagement 247 The Imprint of Pluralism 253 Beyond Insularity? 255 Chapter 9: Negotiating Religiously Mixed Marriages 259 Falling in Love 260 Negotiating with Religious Authorities 264 The Parsing of Practices 270 Disaggregating Religious Identities 276 The Normalization of Diversity 278 From Religion to Culture 281 Chapter 10: How Pluralistic Should We Be? 286 Reflective Pluralism 287 The Case for Cooperation 292 An Effort to Promote Understanding 295 Multiple Models 299 Why Interreligious Efforts Fail 301 How Interreligious Efforts Succeed 303 What Else Needs to Be Done 305 Extrapolating to Other Kinds of Diversity 306 The Challenges Ahead 308 Notes 315 Selected Bibliography 351 Index 371
£38.25
Princeton University Press Christian Political Ethics
Book SynopsisBrings together leading Christian scholars of diverse theological and ethical perspectives - Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anabaptist - to address fundamental questions of state and civil society, international law and relations, the role of the nation, and issues of violence and its containment.Trade Review"A first-rate collection of essays."--D. A. Brown, CHOICE "Obviously Christianity is a rich and diverse tradition, and this book helps to shed light on the moral and political ideals that animate Christian activists on the political left. I would strongly recommend it for anybody who wants to learn more on the topic."--Daniel A. Bell, Politics and ReligionTable of ContentsPreface by John A. Coleman, S.J. ix PART I: STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY Chapter One: Christianity and Civil Society by Michael Banner 3 Chapter Two: A Limited State and a Vibrant Society: Christianity and Civil Society by John A. Coleman, S.J. 22 Chapter Three: Christianity, Civil Society, and the State: A Protestant Response by Max L. Stackhouse 54 PART II: BOUNDARIES AND JUSTICE Chapter Four: Christian Attitudes toward Boundaries: Metaphysical and Geographical by Richard B. Miller 67 Chapter Five: The Value of Limited Loyalty: Christianity, the Nation, and Territorial Boundaries by Nigel Biggar 92 PART III: PLURALISM Chapter Six: Conscientious Individualism: A Christian Perspective on Ethical Pluralism by David Little 113 Chapter Seven: Pluralism as a Matter of Principle by James W. Skillen 141 PART IV: INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY Chapter Eight: Christianity and the Prospects for a New Global Order by Max L. Stackhouse 155 Chapter Nine: Globalization and Catholic Social Thought: Mutual Challenges by John A. Coleman, S.J. 170 PART V: WAR AND PEACE Chapter Ten: The Ethics of War and Peace in the Catholic Natural Law Tradition by John Finnis 191 Chapter Eleven: Just War Thinking in Catholic Natural Law by Joseph Boyle 217 Chapter Twelve: Christian Nonviolence: An Interpretation by Theodore J. Koontz 232 Chapter Thirteen: Conflicting Interpretations of Christian Pacifism by Michael G. Cartwright 261 Contributors 279 Index 281
£31.50
Princeton University Press Evil Incarnate Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and
Book SynopsisIn the 1980s, America was gripped by widespread panics about Satanic cults. This book provides historical awareness that stories of Satanic atrocities are both inventions of the mind and perennial phenomena, not authentic criminal events.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2007 Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion, Analytical-Descriptive Studies category, American Academy of Religion "Mr. Frankfurter ... shows just how similar stories about evil have been... [E]vil recurs in predictably familiar form... Mr. Frankfurter outlines these repeated elements with illuminating clarity and wide-ranging learning... Using the term evil, he argues, prevents us from understanding context and cause; it places something beyond the human and that's when trouble starts... But when the word is applied to an act, we know just precisely what it means: There is no human excuse."--Edward Rothstein, The New York Times "In a thought-provoking ... study ... Frankfurter draws on religion, sociology and anthropology to uncover the reasons that societies publicly raise cries of demonic conspiracies to explain various social evils... Frankfurter convincingly demonstrates that demonic conspiracies and satanic ritual abuse bare simply myths of evil conspiracies that provide societies an excuse for bullying those who are already considered suspect. He observes trenchantly that those seeking to purge demonic conspiracies have done more violence than the devotees of those so-called evil groups... [H]is judicious insights about the nature of evil in our world provide thoughtful glimpses at the ways societies demonize the Other."--Publishers Weekly "[A] fascinating, even gripping, study... [It] merits widespread attention and careful study."--Dale B. Martin, Church History "[A] brilliant, if terrifying, study."--Dennis P. Quinn, Religious Studies Review "Frankfurter explores the social phenomenon of belief in evil conspiracy throughout Western history from the second century C.E. to the very recent past... Evil Incarnate quite successfully does what it claims to do, namely explore a social phenomenon, the way in which a certain kind of myth has functioned in different historical circumstances to produce social cohesion and to provide a medium for thinking about danger, inversion and otherness... Evil Incarnate also provides scholars with a wide range of interesting avenues for further study."--Heidi Marx-Wolf, Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Interpreting and explaining stories and activities, Frankfurter takes us far away and long ago. He also takes the reader through a lot of different ground with regard to the subjects of analysis, and thus he produces and uses many theoretical perspectives... It does, however, make for fascinating reading... In addition to his chapter on 'rites of evil,' I was particularly taken with his ritual analysis of the performance of evil."--Asbjorn Dyrendal, Numen "This meticulously researched and clearly argued book questions the reality of evil and will be welcomed by those, including myself, who join David Frankfurter in casting doubt upon the meaning of this dangerous and destructive idea."--Phillip Cole, Journal of Religion "Frankfurter has written an excellent account of how panics about Satanism have periodically erupted in Europe, North America, and postcolonial Africa. He pulls no punches in concluding that 'no evidence has ever been found to verify the atrocities as historical events.' The terrible irony that emerges from Frankfurter's work is that 'the real atrocities of history seem to take place not in the perverse ceremonies of some evil cult but rather in the course of purging such cults from the world."--Richard J. McNally, PhycCRITIQUES "Frankfurter's book, Evil Incarnate, is a scholarly, interdisciplinary work grounded in meticulous research... What is riveting, here, is the way the myth of evil incarnate takes on new shapes with the arrival of new cultural collisions. What is exciting is his non-reductive causal approach, and the fluid, multi-layered perspectives from which he engages his topic."--Sue Grand, Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society "This is indeed a thought-provoking study and is strongly recommended for students of religion, culture and society. The discourses of evil are real in all our lives and understanding the dynamics that propagate them and turn them into unspeakable violence can liberate people and assist humanity in the journey towards peace and integration."--Dr. Rodney Moss, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae "This book raises many questions and provides some answers in attempting to elucidate the process of demonisation."--Michaela Valente, Journal of the Ecclesiastical HistoryTable of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Sorting Out Resemblances 4 Circumstances for Imagining Evil 6 Evil in the Perspective of This Book 9 Chapter 2: An Architecture for Chaos: The Nature and Function of Demonology 13 Thinking with Demons 13 Demonology, Lists, and Temples 15 Beyond the Temple: Demonology among Scribes and Ritual Experts 19 Conclusions 26 Chapter 3: Experts in the Identification of Evil 31 Prophets, Exorcists, and the Popular Reception of Demonology 33 Witch-Finders: Charisma in the Discernment of Evil 37 The Possessed as Discerners of Evil 48 Contemporary Forms of Expertise in the Discernment of Evil: Secular and Religious 53 Conclusions: Expertise and the Depiction of Satanic Conspiracy 69 Chapter 4: Rites of Evil: Constructions of Maleficent Religion and Ritual 73 Ritual as a Point of Otherness 76 Ritual and the Monstrous Realm 85 Ritual as a Point of Danger 101 The Implications of Evil Rites 119 Chapter 5: Imputations of Perversion 129 The Imaginative Resources of the Monstrous 129 Constructing the Monstrous 136 Conclusions 158 Chapter 6: The Performance of Evil 168 Performance and Demonic Realms 169 Direct Mimetic Performance 179 Indirect Mimetic Performance 188 Direct Mimetic Parody 198 Conclusions 203 Chapter 7: Mobilizing against Evil 208 Contemplating Evil, Chasing Evil 208 Matters of Fact and Fantasy 212 Notes 225 Select Bibliography 259 Index 281
£28.80
Princeton University Press The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right
Book SynopsisArgues that religious conservatives have in fact dramatically increased and improved democratic participation and that they are far more civil and reasonable than is commonly believed. This title shows that the vast majority of Christian Right leaders encourage their followers to embrace deliberative norms in the public square.Trade Review"It could be argued that The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right actually comprises three books. One is about the Christian right. One is about the anti-abortion movement. One is about democratic theory... Provocative."--Peter Steinfels, New York Times "Shields brings to light a wealth of new data on the Christian Right in a way that helps us better think about the historical rise of the movement, as well as its similarities to and differences from the far better scrutinized social movements of the Left. His organization of this data around the norms of deliberative and participatory democracy helps us deepen our understanding of one of the most active areas of civic engagement in the United States over the last several decades. These contributions make The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right of use to students, scholars, and journalists alike."--Ziad Munson, Perspectives on Politics "It is always refreshing to encounter contrarian viewpoints, especially about topics that rarely receive more than superficial treatment in the media or academe... The book's middle chapters, on the relationship between the Christian Right and 'deliberative democracy,' are well worth the volume's cost. Much of Shields' analysis rests on a perceived tension between partisan mobilization and public deliberation."--John G. Turner, Books & Culture "A remarkable new book ... The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right is by no means a pro-life tract. It is an excruciatingly careful study, studded with the expected graphs and statistical data--but not to the point of spoiling its readability--in the service of probing the curious permutations in contemporary political alignments."--Richard John Neuhaus, First Things "Jon A. Shields makes a substantial contribution to the literature on the Christian right... Shields should be praised for his efforts, since all too often, scholarly work in religion and politics is devoid of theory and is instead simply a superficial description of the political behavior of various religious groups... Shields's book, despite some limitations, represents a major step forward in the scholarship in the Christian right. It is well written and has an engaging narrative that weaves throughout the entire book. Most importantly, the book should serve as a jumping-off point for scholars and media members to better understand the Christian right movement."--Matthew K. DeSantis, Political Science Quarterly "The book's sophisticated argument makes it essential reading for scholars of American religion, politics, and social movements, but it is accessible enough to interest nonspecialists as well... Whether or not readers agree with all of Shields's interpretations, his challenging claims about faith and politics provide a highly relevant perspective on our uncivil times."--Joseph Kip Kosek, Journal of Church and State "This work is thought-provoking and impressive... This is a strong piece of scholarship. Not everyone will agree with Shields's conclusions, but anyone interested in the American polity will be well served by carefully considering this work."--Mark D. Brewer, Review of Politics "Among other virtues, The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right is both careful and clear enough to interest scholars and provocative and relevant enough to engage students with little background. This is both a courageous work, and, in many ways, a classic. It deserves to start a great many arguments, and there is little doubt that it will."--Andrew Sabl, Society "Shields reminds us that the rational-choice, interest-based model of politics dominating most political science departments treats a morally passionate politics as a distortion, even a menace... Using participant-observer interviews and techniques, visiting college campuses and other sites of political action, conducting surveys and consulting other forms of empirical data ... he finds that Christian leaders are, in fact, committed to rational argument and democratic deliberation."--Jean Bethke Elshtain, Claremont Review of Books "For all those interested in the mingling religion and politics, Shields' book has much to teach about the American political scene and the uses of deliberative democracy by religious groups committed to precepts whose ultimate source is their God."--Nancy L. Honicker, Journal of American Studies of TurkeyTable of ContentsList of Tables and Figures ix Acknowledgments xi INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: Democratic Education in the Christian Right 19 CHAPTER TWO: Christian Radicalism 46 CHAPTER THREE: The Varieties of Pro-Life Activism 68 CHAPTER FOUR: Deliberation and Abortion Politics 100 CHAPTER FIVE: Reviving Participatory Democracy 115 CHAPTER SIX: Participation, Deliberation, and Values Voters 147 Notes 161 Index 189
£37.80
Princeton University Press Islamism and Democracy in India The
Book SynopsisJamaat-e-Islami Hind is the most influential Islamist organization in India. This book offers an in-depth examination of India's Jamaat-e-Islami and SIMI, exploring political Islam's complex relationship with democracy and providing a rare window into the Islamist trajectory in a Muslim-minority context.Trade ReviewShortlisted for the 2011 ICAS Book Prize for Best Study in the Field of Social Sciences, International Convention of Asian Scholars "Islamist politics, argues Ahmad, are shaped by the dynamics of modern politics and cannot be explained simply by analyzing sacred religions texts. In this well-documented study, Ahmad supports this thesis by providing a historical account of the transformation of the Jamaat-e-Islami in India, one of the most important Islamist movements in the Muslim world, from its founding in 1941 to the present... [T]his well-crafted study will be of great interest to scholars, students of Islam, and policymakers."--Choice "The book is rich in detail, interviews, and scholarly overviews of both historical and contemporary events that have shaped the Jamaate-Islami... Ahmad has enriched Islamism and Democracy in India with an incredible amount of scholarship in his analysis of the incontrovertible distinction between Jamaat-e-Islami's moderation and SIMI's radicalization."--Edward M. Proctor, Digest of Middle East Studies "While a constellation of volumes exist on the nature of Islamism and the contemporary world, Irfan Ahmad's examination is a successful addition by way of its intellectual precision, innovative analysis, and diplomatic disposition."--Scott Nicholas Romaniuk, Central European Journal of International & Security Studies "Ahmad's book is an impressive analytical achievement, a convincing argument for differentiation, and a well-written and accessible read."--Raphael Susewind, Contemporary South AsiaTable of ContentsList of Illustrations and Tables ix Preface and Acknowledgments xi Notes to the Reader xvii Abbreviations xix Introduction 1 Part I. Fieldwork and Historical Context Chapter 1: Doing Fieldwork in Times of War 31 Chapter 2: Contextualizing the Formation and Ideology of Islamism 49 Part II. Zigzags to Allah's Kingdom Chapter 3: Educating the Children 83 Chapter 4: Mobilizing the Young 111 Chapter 5: Defining Islam: Conflict and Democratization 137 Part III. Opposition and Negotiation Chapter 6: Invoking Jihad 163 Chapter 7: Negotiating the Idol: Secularism, Democracy, and Allah's Kingdom 188 Conclusion 217 Appendixes 241 Notes 245 Glossary of Urdu-Hindi Terms 263 Bibliography 265 Index 295
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Princeton University Press Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe
Book SynopsisExamines how gender identities were reconfigured in a Bulgarian Muslim community following the demise of Communism and an influx of international aid from the Islamic world. This work explores how gender relations among the Pomaks had to be renegotiated after the collapse of both Communism and the region's state-subsidized lead and zinc mines.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2011 William A. Douglass Prize in Europeanist Anthropology, Society for the Anthropology of Europe/American Anthropological Association Winner of the 2011 Davis Center Book Prize in Political and Social Studies, Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Winner of the 2011 John D. Bell Memorial Book Prize, Bulgarian Studies Association Winner of the 2010 Heldt Prize for Best Book in Slavic/Eastern European/Eurasian Women's studies, Association for Women in Slavic Studies "Islamic studies scholars who increasingly focus on a wide range of Muslim societies in both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority countries will find this volume informative. The author presents her work in an accessible fashion, and the volume will appeal to people with diverse interests."--Choice "Ghodsee accomplishes a great deal with Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe... [T]his work may be a useful teaching tool for classes focusing on political transitions and may help steer young students and international bureaucrats away from crude stereotypes about Muslims in the Balkans."--Isa Blumi, H-Net Reviews "Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe offers an insightful analysis of the social and economic factors that propelled the spread of new forms of religious allegiances and gender roles among Pomaks in Bulgaria. It is an excellent contribution to the study of Islam in postcommunist society."--Ina Merdjanova, Religion, State & Society "Ghodsee does an excellent job at unpacking the complexities of Muslim life in Madan and beyond. Her thought-provoking book gives life to a world in which the dust of the past is still settling on the complex world of post-1989."--Mary Neuburger, Slavic ReviewTable of ContentsIllustrations ix A Note on Transliteration xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: The Changing Face of Islam in Bulgaria 1 Chapter One: Names to Be Buried With 34 Chapter Two: Men and Mines 56 Chapter Three: The Have-nots and the Have-nots 86 Chapter Four: Divide and Be Conquered 109 Chapter Five: Islamic Aid 130 Chapter Six: The Miniskirt and the Veil 159 Conclusion: Minarets after Marx 184 Appendix 205 Notes 207 Selected Bibliography 235 Index 243
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