Religion and politics Books

Book SynopsisThis book sheds new light on the emergence and fluctuation of Iran’s connections with non-state entities in the Middle East. Iran’s involvement with political-militant non-states has been at the heart of international and regional security policy for more than three decades. The author analyzes Iran’s non-state foreign policy by focusing on specific geopolitical and geocultural threats and opportunities that pushed Tehran to build strategic ties with the Iraqi Kurds and the Lebanese Shia. This project will appeal to multiple audiences interested in geopolitics of the Middle East, Iran's foreign policy, and international relations. Table of Contents1. Introduction—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy.- 2. Driving ForcesInception—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy in Pre-1958.- 3. Creation—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy 1958-63.- 4. Ascension—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy in 1963-68.- 5. Limbo—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy in 1968-73.- 6. Downfall—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy in 1973-75.- 7. Downfall—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy in 1973-75.- 8. Resurrection—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy in 1977-79.- 9. Conclusion—Iran’s Non-State Foreign Policy and the Shah’s Legacy.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on two key aspects of hate crime in the UK since 1945: those motivated by racial and religious prejudices. It examines factors that have underpinned the emergence and occurrence of racial and religious hate crime and the approaches and policies that have been pursued by the state, especially the criminal justice system, to combat this problem. Crucially, it also provides insight into the challenges that are faced in the contemporary period (especially in the wake of the 2016 EU referendum) in combatting hate crime. Additionally the book briefly considers the importance of the rhetoric of the Trump campaign and the administration's early policies to the contemporary manifestations of racial and religious hate crime.Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1 Racism and hate crime Chapter 2 Immigration control and racially motivated hatred 1900 - to the early 1960s Chapter 3 Racially motivated discrimination, extremist rhetoric and immigration control 1960 - to the early 1980s Chapter 4 Policing, social disorder and responding to racially motivated offending in the 1980s and 1990s Chapter 5 Legislating against racially aggravated offending: from the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to the Macpherson Report Chapter 6 Islamophobia and the social cohesion agenda Chapter 7 Contemporary political extremism Chapter 8 The Response to Hate Crime: From 2010 – Brexit Chapter 9 Conclusion: Hate crime - Brexit and beyond. Index

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Book SynopsisThis book seeks to understand white conservative Christians’ support for Donald Trump, using their own words. Drawing on the triangular relationship between the 45th president, and his voters, and religious organizations, this work investigates the creation of the tale of Trump as the protector and enhancer of Christian values. The first part of the book discusses in detail the white conservative Christian constituency in the United States, and the development of feelings of displacement and resentment fostered by intergroup threat and nationalism. The central part focuses on the actor known as the “Religious Right,” through the rhetoric of one of their most representative organizations in the twenty-first century. The final part focuses on the character of Donald Trump and his peculiar relationship with religious discourse. The book demonstrates that while such discourse is expected of Trump as a Republican candidate, his approach to it is characterized by detachment and sloganized exploitation of Christian symbols. Ultimately, the book highlights the cultural tools that are crucial in the reproduction of structures of inequality and the ways they have been used by conservative politicians and groups to accumulate power.Table of ContentsChapter 1: The Outsider and the White HouseChapter 2: “What happened?”Chapter 3: Whiteness, Christianity, and PoliticsChapter 4: A Threatened StatusChapter 5: Fighting for the Soul of the NationChapter 6: A Rhetorical WeaponChapter 7: Trump Won. Deal with ItChapter 8: Dispatches from the SwampChapter 9: “He’s just a real dude”Chapter 10: How Could Trump Happen?

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Book SynopsisNorthern Ireland presents a fundamental challenge for the sociology of religion – how do religious beliefs, attitudes and identities relate to practices, violence and conflict? In other words, what does religion do?These interrogations are at the core of this book. It is the first critical and comprehensive review of the ways in which the social sciences have interpreted religion’s significance in Northern Ireland. In particular, it examines the shortcomings of existing interpretations and, in turn, suggests alternative lines of thinking for more robust and compelling analyses of the role(s) religion might play in Northern Irish culture and politics.Through, and beyond, the case of Northern Ireland, the second objective of this book is to outline a critical agenda for the social study of religion, which has theoretical and methodological underpinnings. Finally, this work engages with epistemological issues which never have been addressed as such in the Northern Irish context: how do conflict settings affect the research undertaken on religion, when religion is an object of political and violent contentions? By analysing the scope for objective and critical thinking in such research context, this critical essay intends to contribute to a sociology of the sociology of religion.Table of ContentsIntroduction_ Chapter 1.- Context_ Chapter 2.- Religion, the Great Un-equaliser_ Chapter 3.- Back to the Social_ Chapter 4.- Epistemology in the context of social conflict_ Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisHow does the powerful effect that religion has on public and personal life relate to the various spheres of our culture? Is the relationship between power and religion always negative or can religion also affect individuals and societies positively? This volume of the EuARe Lectures, edited by Herman Selderhuis, collects the texts of the lectures delivered at the Third Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion (2020) on the topic “The Power of Religion / Religion and Power”. Scott Appleby explores the connection, in the religious imagination, among glorifying the divine, sanctifying the mundane and exercising political and cultural power. Cyril Hovorun addresses the issue of the politicization of religion, focusing in particular on Eastern Christian cases. Susanne Schröter offers an insight into the current debate on Islam in Germany. Finally, Kristina Stoeckl analyses the complex relationship among Europe’s new religious conflicts, Russian orthodoxy, American Christian conservatives and the emergence of a European populist right-wing.

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Book Synopsis Are religions like everything else in the world subject of permanent change – in their practices and their doctrines – or are they the perhaps only stable element for people in a world of permanent change? Within the wide field of this discourse alternative, the five authors – Rowan Williams, Judith Wolfe, Guy G. Stroumsa, Vassilis Saroglou and Azza Karam – of the book are discussing various constellations, in which the relation of religion and change with its diverse aspects is illuminated.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a nuanced and muti-layered approach towards comprehending the possibilities of democratization or likelihood of authoritarian resilience in the Muslim world. The volume highlights the complex diversity within Islamist movements and parties— characterised by internal tensions, struggles and contestations. The very existence of this diversity within and among Islamist movements, and their general willingness to partake in mainstream politics, signals an important transformation in the Muslim world over recent decades. It demonstrates that the Muslim world has gravitated from the simplistic focus on the compatibility or incompatibility of Islam and democracy. Islamist movements and parties embody the multiple manifestations and trajectories within political Islam. The granular case-studies and theological analyses in this volume draw attention to the policy refinements, socio-political reforms and ideological transformations engendered by Muslim intellectuals and Islamist movements and ideologues. The diverse political landscape in the Muslim world is inextricably linked to the socio-political and theological shifts within Islamism—in particular, the yearning for greater social, economic and political justice, a yearning that lies at the core of an inclusive wasatiyyah Islam.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Theological Contestations and Political Coalition-BuildingJohn L. Esposito, Lily Zubaidah Rahim and Naser Ghobadzadeh2. Islam and Democracy: Perspectives from Reformist and Traditional Islam Mohsen Kadivar3. Democratization of Islamic Political TheologyNaser Ghobadzadeh4. Tunisia’s Ennahda: Islamists Turning the Learning Curve of Democracy and Civic HabituationLarbi Sadiki5.From Moderation to De-Moderation: Democratic Backsliding of the AKP in TurkeyMenderes Çınar6. Negotiating Popular Mandate and the Sovereignty of God in IranShahram Akbarzadeh and James Barry7. Careful What You Wish For: Salafi Islamisation and Authoritarian Governance in MalaysiaLily Zubaidah Rahim8. The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, Democratisation and the Dilemmas of Internal Organisational Reform: Seeking Unity, Finding Division?Paul M. Esber9. The Dilemmas of Dual Resistance: Hamas and Political Learning in GazaMartin Kear10. ConclusionJohn L. Esposito, Lily Zubaidah Rahim and Naser Ghobadzadeh

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Book SynopsisCatherine Despeux’s book Taoism and Self Knowledge is a study of the Internal Alchemical text "Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection." It begins with an analysis of pictographic and symbolic representation of the body in early Taoism after which the author examines different extant versions of the "Chart" as it was transmitted among Quanzhen groups in the Qing dynasty. The book is comprised of four main parts: the principal parts of the body and their nomenclature in Internal Alchemy, the spirits in the human body, and the alchemical processes and procedures used in thunder rituals and self-cultivation. This is a revised, expanded edition of the original French edition Taoïsme et connaissance de soi. La carte de la culture de la perfection (Xiuzhen tu) Paris, 2012.Trade Review"Stuckrad’s book is a useful reference guide for twentieth-century notions of the soul and related themes such as nature, animism, consciousness, energy, and vitalism." – Dominic Zoehrer, University of Vienna, in Religious Studies Review 45.4 (December 2019). "The volume at hand—a good translation of an expanded version of the French title published in 2012—directly opens the gate to an impressive image of the religion that thoroughly explains its fundamental and timeless impact on Chinese life and thought. The book is a thorough, reliable, and all considered, well-readable presentation of an eighteenth-century text and its history." – Barbara Hendrischke, University of Sydney, in Religious Studies Review 45.4 (2019).Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction 1 Chinese Inner Alchemy and Body Maps  1 From Anatomy to the Taoist Construction of the Body: Diagrams of Yanluozi (Tenth Century)  2 The Synthesis of the Yanluozi Diagrams in the Commentary on the Classic of the Difficulties (Nanjing 難經) (Late Thirteenth Century)  3 The Body as a Mountain (Early Thirteenth Century)  4 The Chart of the Inner Landscape (Neijing tu 內景圖) in the White Cloud Temple (1886) 2 Different Versions of the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection (Xiuzhen Tu)  1 The Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection (Xiuzhen tu) in Guangzhou (1812)  2 The Booklet Manuscript of the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection (Xiuzhen tu) in a Private Collection (19th Century)  3 Diffusion of the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection according to the Colophons of the Booklet and of Two Copies found by Zheng Hong  4 The Engraving at the White Cloud Temple by Meng Zhicai in 1873  5 Copies of the Plate of Tianjin (1882, 1910, 1920)  6 The Complete Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection (Xiuzhen Quantu 修真全图) from Mount Wudang (1888 or 1924)  7 The Chart for Achieving Cinnabar by the Ninefold Revolution (Dancheng jiuzhuan tu 丹成九轉圖) of Moli 莫厘 (1918) 65  8 The Complete Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection (Xiuzhen Quantu 修真全圖) of Chengdu (1922)  9 The Copy of the Hall for the Lengthy Cultivation (Xiuyuan Tang 修远堂) (1936)  10 The Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection, Engraved in 1984 at Beijing’s White Cloud Temple  11 The Register and Chart on the Cultivation of the True Origin (Xiuchi Zhenyuan Tulu 修持真元圖籙) of the Tiger and Dragon Altar (Longhu Tang 龍虎堂) 3 A Description of the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection  1 Pictographic Elements and Inscriptions  2 Pictographic Differences with Other Body Charts in the Taoist Canon  3 The Main Texts  4 List and Localisation of the terms on the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection 4 The Main Alchemical Loci Inscribed in the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection  1 The Microcosmic Body Becomes an Athanor  2 The Main Body Orifices and Places of Transmutations  3 The Cinnabar Fields  4 The Three Passes on the Back  5 Other Important Loci  6 The Eight Marvelous Vessels (Qijing bamai 奇經八脈) 5 The Body, World of Deities According to the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection  1 The Hells  2 The Paradises  3 The Celestial Palaces  4 The Hun 魂 Souls and the Po 魄 Souls in Inner Alchemy  5 The Inner Gods in the Yellow Court Tradition  6 The Inner Gods of the Yellow Court Tradition Integrated to the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection  7 The Deities Related to the Numinous Treasure and the Thunder Rites 6 Alchemical Methods According to the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection  1 The Three Stages of the Process  2 The Union of Opposites  3 The Fire Phasing 7 Thunder Processes Illustrated by the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection  1 Schools Related to the Thunder Rites  2 The Northern Dipper and the Setting in Motion of the Inner Heaven  3 Processes Associated with the Thunder  4 Elements of the Chart for the Cultivation of Perfection Linked to the Correct Method of the Heart of Heaven Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisConspiracy theories are a ubiquitous feature of our times. The Handbook of Conspiracy Theories and Contemporary Religion is the first reference work to offer a comprehensive, transnational overview of this phenomenon along with in-depth discussions of how conspiracy theories relate to religion(s). Bringing together experts from a wide range of disciplines, from psychology and philosophy to political science and the history of religions, the book sets the standard for the interdisciplinary study of religion and conspiracy theories.Trade Review"No one before has undertaken the tremendously important and timely task of compiling a volume, dealing with the relationship between conspiracy theories and religion (...) The book not only examines the intersection of religion and conspiracy theories, but also provides a survey about the global phenomenon of conspiracy theories by discussing examples in different times and cultural environments." - Dominic Bornand, Andrews University Seminary Studies 56, 2018. " As I read the chapters in this volume, I thought about how I might use this material in a course on conspiracy theories and religions. (...) I highly recommend this book for college or university libraries." - W. Michael Ashcraft, Truman State University, Reading Religion, September 15, 2020.Table of ContentsForeword  Michael Barkun List of Authors Introducing the Field: Conspiracy Theory in, about, and as Religion  David G. Robertson, Egil Asprem and Asbjørn Dyrendal Part 1: Explanations 1 Conspiracy Theories and the Study of Religion\s: What we are Talking about, and Why it is Important  Asbjørn Dyrendal, Egil Asprem and David G. Robertson 2 Rational Enchantments: Conspiracy Theory between Secular Scepticism and Spiritual Salvation  Stef Aupers and Jaron Harambam 3 Is a Belief in Providence the Same as a Belief in Conspiracy?  Brian L. Keeley 4 Are Conspiracy Theories a Surrogate for God?  Michael Wood and Karen Douglas 5 A Web of Conspiracy? Internet and Conspiracy Theory  Joseph E. Uscinski, Darin DeWitt and Matthew D. Atkinson Part 2: Correspondences 6 The Satanism Scare in Apartheid South Africa  Nicky Falkof 7 “Trust Me, You Can’t Trust Them”: Stigmatised Knowledge in Cults and Conspiracies  Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist and Suzanne Newcombe 8 Popular Music, Conspiracy Culture, and the Sacred  Christopher Partridge 9 Close Companions? Esotericism and Conspiracy Theories  Egil Asprem and Asbjørn Dyrendal 10 The Counter-Elite: Strategies of Authority in Millennial Conspiracism  David G. Robertson Part 3: Locations 11 Buddhism Endangered by Hidden Enemies: Conspiracy Narratives in Sri Lankan Buddhist Present and Past  Sven Bretfeld 12 Buddhist Islamophobia: Actors, Tropes, Contexts  Iselin Frydenlund 13 Islamism and the Instrumentalisation of Conspiracism  Willow J. Berridge 14 Anti-Jewish and Anti-Zionist Conspiracism in the Arab World: Historical and Political Roots  Barbara De Poli 15 A Fantastic People and Its Enemies: An Analysis of an Emerging Albanian Mythology  Cecilie Endresen 16 Was Aristotle an Anti-Semitic Alien? Conspiracy Theory, Ufology, and the Colonisation of the Past in Contemporary Greece  Tao T. Makeeff 17 The Role of Conspiracy Theory in the Aum Shinrikyo Incident  Tsuji Ryutaro 18 Framing of a Conspiracy Theory: The Efendi Series  Turkay Nefes 19 The Third Rome Against the Third Temple: Apocalypticism and Conspiracism in Post-Soviet Russia  Michael Hagemeister 20 Alexander Dugin: Between Eschatology, Esotericism, and Conspiracy Theory  Victor Shnirelman 21 Conspiracy Theories and Neo-Nazism in the Cultic Milieu  Paul Jackson 22 Evil Cult or Persecuted Minority? Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Falun Gong and the Government of the People’s Republic of China  Helen Farley 23 The Messiah is a Salesman, Yet Consumerism is a Con(spiracy): The Church of the SubGenius, Work, and the Pursuit of Slack as a Spiritual Ideal  Carole M. Cusack Afterword: Further Reflections, Future Directions  Egil Asprem, David G. Robertson and Asbjørn Dyrendal Index

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