Religion and politics Books
Cornell University Press Evolving Nationalism
Book SynopsisEvolving Nationalism examines how the idea of Israel as a nation-state has developed within Zionist and Israeli discourse over the past eight decades. Nadav G. Shelef focuses on the changing ways in which the main nationalist movements answered three distinct questions in their private and public ideological articulations between 1925 and 2005: Where is the Land of Israel? Who ought to be Israeli? What should the Zionist national mission be? Framed within broader debates about how and why changes in foundational definitions of the nation occur, Shelef''s analysis centers on the mechanisms of ideological change and then subjects them to empirical scrutiny. He thus moves beyond the common but problematic assumptions that such transformations must be either a rare, rational adaptation to traumatic shock or a relatively constant product of manipulation by power-hungry elites. He finds that nationalist movements, including radical and religious fundamentalist ones, can and Trade ReviewAs presented by Shelef, who writes in an admirably lucid style that manages to be both sophisticated and coherent, this is undoubtedly a compelling thesis.... He is to be highly commended for having opened up a new avenue of enquiry in a field that, because it has been so extensively ploughed by others, a less courageous scholar might have given a very wide berth. * The Journal of Israeli History *Table of ContentsPreface Nationalism, Change, and EvolutionPart I. Where Is the Land of Israel? 1. Labor Zionist Mapping of the Homeland 2. Religious Zionist Mapping of the Homeland 3. Revisionist Zionist Mapping of the HomelandPart II. Destiny and Identity 4. Transformations of the Collective Mission 5. Arabs and Diaspora Jews in Israeli National Identity 6. Ongoing Transformations of Israeli NationalismNationalism and the Question of ChangeNotes Bibliography Index
£21.59
Cornell University Press War on Sacred Grounds
Book SynopsisSacred sites offer believers the possibility of communing with the divine and achieving deeper insight into their faith. Yet their spiritual and cultural importance can lead to competition as religious groups seek to exclude rivals from practicing potentially sacrilegious rituals in the hallowed space and wish to assert their own claims. Holy places thus create the potential for military, theological, or political clashes, not only between competing religious groups but also between religious groups and secular actors.In War on Sacred Grounds, Ron E. Hassner investigates the causes and properties of conflicts over sites that are both venerated and contested; he also proposes potential means for managing these disputes. Hassner illustrates a complex and poorly understood political dilemma with accounts of the failures to reach settlement at Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif, leading to the clashes of 2000, and the competing claims of Hindus and Muslims at Ayodhya, which resulted inTrade ReviewAn important and engaging work. Hassner approaches the topic of sacred turf with refreshing new insights and perspectives.... He explores from a political science perspective why sacred places are contested and then examines why the 'indivisibility' of sacred sites makes them more problematic to solve than common territorial disputes.... The primary focus of the book then turns to the theory and practice of successful sharing of scared space as a result of direct involvement and input of religious leaders—something Hassner sees as missing from most negotiations—who in turn must work with their religious constituencies and with the political elite in reconfiguring sacred space.... We can only hope that political leaders in control of sacred spaces will read Hassner's book and that more religious leaders will then be included in peace negotiations so that they can creatively shape and reshape 'the meaning, value, and parameters of sacred space. -- Chad F. Emmett * Middle East Journal *Ron Hassner's War on Sacred Grounds is a tour de force. It is, quite simply, the best book on religion and war I have read. It is not merely meticulously researched, theoretically interesting, and methodologically sophisticated, it is also extremely well written.... Hassner develops a framework for studying religious sites based on a site's 'vulnerability' and its 'centrality.' This enables him to estimate the importance of sites in the eyes of worshippers and evaluate the likelihood of conflict erupting over it. He draws on insights from both political science and the sociology of religion... in a careful and sober manner, and in a way that does neither discipline injustice. -- Havard Mokleiv Nygard * Journal of Peace Research *Sacred sites, as Hassner shows, have particular characteristics that may differentiate them from other strategic locations in times of conflict.... War on Sacred Grounds is an illuminating work that takes religious beliefs seriously while placing them within the context of strategic political action. It provides comparative politics with theoretical insights on a highly salient issue, supported by a rich and nuanced treatment of historical examples. -- Natan B. Sachs * Comparative Political Studies *Table of ContentsPrologue: "A Terrifying and Fascinating Mystery" 1. On Sacred GroundsPART ONE: UNDERSTANDING CONFLICTS OVER SACRED SPACES 2. What Is Sacred Space? 3. The Indivisibility Problem 4. Conflict over Sacred Places 5. Mismanaging Conflicts over Sacred PlacesPART TWO: MANAGING CONFLICTS OVER SACRED SPACES 6. The Foundations and Limits of Religious Authority 7. Successful Conflict Management: Jerusalem, 1967 8. Successful Conflict Management: Mecca, 1979 9. Lessons from Conflicts over Sacred SpacesAcknowledgements Notes Index
£16.14
Johns Hopkins University Press Religion and Politics in the Contemporary United
Book SynopsisIncludes essays from a issue of "American Quarterly" that explores the complex and sometimes contradictory ways that religion matters in contemporary public life. This work offers a conversation between scholars in American studies and religious studies. It explores numerous modes through which religious faith has mobilized political action.Trade ReviewGriffith and McAlister offer a superb historiographical overview of trends in both religious studies and American studies-their discussion of religious studies within the academy is especially insightful. -- Andrew Preston Journal of American StudiesTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction: Is the Public Square Still Naked?Part I: Engaging State PowerChapter 1. "Favoritism Cannot Be Tolerated": Challenging Protestantism in America's Public Schools and Promoting the Neutral StateChapter 2. Selling American Diversity and Muslim American Identity through Nonprofit Advertising Post-9/11Chapter 3. "The ERA Is a Moral Issue": The Mormon Church, LDS Women, and the Defeat of the Equal Rights AmendmentChapter 4. Hot Damned America: Evangelicalism and the Climate Change Policy DebateChapter 5. Catholics, Democrats, and the GOP in Contemporary AmericaPart II: Politics of the GlobalChapter 6. Islamism and Its African American Muslim Critics: Black Muslims in the Era of the Arab Cold WarChapter 7. "As Americans Against Genocide": The Crisis in Darfur and Interreligious Political ActivismChapter 8. From Exodus to Exile: Black Pentecostals, Migrating Pilgrims, and Imagined InternationalismChapter 9. Who Speaks for Indian Americans? Religion, Ethnicity, and Political FormationPart III: Leaders and Activists Chapter 10. Benjamin Mays, Global Ecumenism, and Local Religious SegregationChapter 11. Impossible Assimilations, American Liberalism, and Jewish Difference: Revisiting Jewish SecularismChapter 12. An Exception to Exceptionalism: A Reflection on Reinhold Niebuhr's Vision of "Prophetic" Christianity and the Problem of Religion and U.S. Foreign PolicyChapter 13. Cesar Chavez in American Religious Politics: Mapping the New Global Spiritual LineChapter 14. Ties That Bind and Divisions That Persist: Evangelical Faith and the Political SpectrumPart IV: Media and PerformanceChapter 15. "Signaling Through the Flames": Hell House Performance and Structures of Religious FeelingChapter 16. Critical Faith: Japanese Americans and the Birth of a New Civil ReligionChapter 17. Back to the Future: Religion, Politics, and the MediaChapter 18. Testimonial Politics: The Christian Right's Faith-Based Approach to Marriage and ImprisonmentChapter 19. "It Will Change the World If Everybody Reads This Book": New Thought Religion in Oprah's Book ClubContributorsIndex
£25.17
Ohio University Press The Politics of Compassion and Transformation
Book SynopsisIn our time, we require a religion, ethics, and politics adequate to confront the global crises we face. In our scientific era of “progress,” we might expect to look with confidence to the “scientific” disciplines of political science, sociology, and economics to solve the problems of our civilization.Trade Review“[Simpson] argues forcefully and convincingly for ‘a new politics of compassion and transformation’…As a blend of religion and politics molded into a prescription for action, it is an intriguing work.” * Perspectives on Political Science *“This book deserves a wide readership. It is required reading for anyone who is concerned about translating spirituality into action in contemporary life. It is an extremely helpful resource for courses on urban affairs, spirituality, practical theology and social action by religious organizations.” * Chicago Theological Seminary *
£21.59
Stanford University Press Making Religion Making the State
Book SynopsisThis volume combines the perspective of religion as a constructed category of modernity with the analytic focus and empirical grounding of institutional social science to develop a new approach to the study of state and religion in modern and contemporary China.Trade Review"Ashiwa and Wank argue that their institutional analysis of the 'space' of religious practice allows for a much more dynamic and accurate understanding of the conditions of religious practice and communities. . . This allows the chapters in this volume not just to show where there are conflicts between religious communities and the state, but even more intriguingly where there are not. . . I suspect that implementing the dynamism of the institutional field model that Ashiwa and Wank advocate might be a useful first step in shaping a much more effective analysis of the religions of the minorities of China."—Thomas Bochert, Religious Studies Review"Taken as a whole, Making Religion, Making the State successfully grapples with the roles played by representatives of the state and members of religious movements in terms of shaping the formation of modern Chinese religious culture. The papers presented in this volume highlight the striking diversity of institutionalization processes during the modern era by presenting data on how these can vary according to historical, political, economic, and ethnic factors. The authors also deserve credit for their interdisciplinary approach to these issues, particularly in terms of completing detailed field studies based on extensive interviewing."—Paul R. Katz, Journal of Chinese Religions"This well-documented and adequately referenced book should be compulsory reading material for students of Chinese religion and politics or intellectuals interested in the sociology/anthropology of religion or researchers in the field of comparative religion."—E. Van Laerhoven, Acta Comparanda"This book is highly recommended to scholars of both religious affairs and local developments and policies. Furthermore, it provides plenty of avenues for research into local religious issues from a social science perspective."—Thomas Heberer, The China Journal"Making Religion, Making the State, seeks to explain the process of institutionalizing the modern concept of religion in the state and in the religion. It combine cutting-edge perspectives on religion with rich empirical data to offer a challenging new argument about the politics of religion in modern China."—Janet Carrol, Missiology"Making Religion, Making the State is an important contribution to the field of religious studies.... [It] is a great collective work that will be helpful to all scholars interested in the evolving relations between religion and the state."—Sebastien Billioud, China Perspectives"Everyone who works on Chinese religion will have to read this book."—Robert Weller, Boston University"This is an outstanding and much-needed contribution to the social-scientific study of religion in the modern PRC. The unifying theme is that religion occupies a certain 'space' in modern Chinese polity and society, and that that space is in constant negotiation among a multitude of actors: the central state, local state authorities, nationwide religious organizations, local religious organizations, individual religious institutions, and local society. This is an advance over previous scholarship, which tended to pit an essentialized 'religion' against an all-powerful 'state' in a two-way struggle in which the 'state' enjoyed the advantage." —Charles Jones, The Catholic University of America
£91.80
Stanford University Press Making Religion Making the State
Book SynopsisThis volume combines the perspective of religion as a constructed category of modernity with the analytic focus and empirical grounding of institutional social science to develop a new approach to the study of state and religion in modern and contemporary China.Trade Review"Ashiwa and Wank argue that their institutional analysis of the 'space' of religious practice allows for a much more dynamic and accurate understanding of the conditions of religious practice and communities. . . This allows the chapters in this volume not just to show where there are conflicts between religious communities and the state, but even more intriguingly where there are not. . . I suspect that implementing the dynamism of the institutional field model that Ashiwa and Wank advocate might be a useful first step in shaping a much more effective analysis of the religions of the minorities of China."—Thomas Bochert, Religious Studies Review"Taken as a whole, Making Religion, Making the State successfully grapples with the roles played by representatives of the state and members of religious movements in terms of shaping the formation of modern Chinese religious culture. The papers presented in this volume highlight the striking diversity of institutionalization processes during the modern era by presenting data on how these can vary according to historical, political, economic, and ethnic factors. The authors also deserve credit for their interdisciplinary approach to these issues, particularly in terms of completing detailed field studies based on extensive interviewing."—Paul R. Katz, Journal of Chinese Religions"This well-documented and adequately referenced book should be compulsory reading material for students of Chinese religion and politics or intellectuals interested in the sociology/anthropology of religion or researchers in the field of comparative religion."—E. Van Laerhoven, Acta Comparanda"This book is highly recommended to scholars of both religious affairs and local developments and policies. Furthermore, it provides plenty of avenues for research into local religious issues from a social science perspective."—Thomas Heberer, The China Journal"Making Religion, Making the State, seeks to explain the process of institutionalizing the modern concept of religion in the state and in the religion. It combine cutting-edge perspectives on religion with rich empirical data to offer a challenging new argument about the politics of religion in modern China."—Janet Carrol, Missiology"Making Religion, Making the State is an important contribution to the field of religious studies.... [It] is a great collective work that will be helpful to all scholars interested in the evolving relations between religion and the state."—Sebastien Billioud, China Perspectives"Everyone who works on Chinese religion will have to read this book."—Robert Weller, Boston University"This is an outstanding and much-needed contribution to the social-scientific study of religion in the modern PRC. The unifying theme is that religion occupies a certain 'space' in modern Chinese polity and society, and that that space is in constant negotiation among a multitude of actors: the central state, local state authorities, nationwide religious organizations, local religious organizations, individual religious institutions, and local society. This is an advance over previous scholarship, which tended to pit an essentialized 'religion' against an all-powerful 'state' in a two-way struggle in which the 'state' enjoyed the advantage." —Charles Jones, The Catholic University of America
£22.49
Stanford University Press The Problem with Grace
Book SynopsisThe Problem with Grace develops a post-secular, post-sectarian political theology and shows how a series of religious concepts (such as love, faith, liturgy, and revelation) can be constructively used today in both political theory and political practice.Trade Review"The Problem with Grace is a strange and wonderful book, anti-intellectual in the best sense. The defense of the ordinary here, indebted to the work of the late Gillian Rose, will threaten scholars in a wide variety of fields at the same time that the examples Lloyd invokes will energize them and enliven their classrooms. We live in an age in which the slow is at its maximal appeal: slow food, slow art, slow sex. Lloyd's work is the first I know that can be proudly described as slow thinking." -- Martin Kavka * Florida State University *"Many books are produced each year within the discipline of political theology; very few, if any, are like The Problem with Grace. . . . [It] is likely to exert a gravitational force on the direction of political theology, which will be better off for it." -- Rick Elgendy"The Problem with Grace is a noteworthy contribution to contemporary debates about political theology . . . It offers a valuable warning against the seductive idea that God, or religious discourse, or post-secular thinking can save us from the difficulties and frustrations of mundane political life." -- Peter Brickey LeQuire * Politics & Religion *"This is an important book, not only for its exquisite handling of complex figures, arguments, problems, and tensions, but because it displays so well what its thesis is all about: a political theology that disenchants the sphere of the ordinary. Lloyd wants a political theology that is always moving about in the jagged messiness of ordinary living, where values, norms, and practices are already understood and policed by religious languages and practices. This book will deepen post-modern/post-liberal discussions of religion and public life, public theology, and political theology." -- Victor Anderson
£18.89
Stanford University Press Violence Taking Place
Book SynopsisWhile the construction of architecture has a place in architectural discourse, its destruction, generally seen as incompatible with the very idea of culture, has been neglected in theoretical and historical discussion. Responding to this neglect, Herscher examines the case of the former Yugoslavia and in particular, Kosovo, where targeting architecture has been a prominent dimension of political violence. Rather than interpreting violence against architecture as a mere representation of deeper social, political, or ideological dynamics, Herscher reveals it to be a form of cultural production, irreducible to its contexts and formative of the identities and agencies that seemingly bear on it as causes. Focusing on the particular sites where violence is inflicted and where its subjects and objects are articulated, the book traces the intersection of violence and architecture from socialist modernization, through ethnic and nationalist conflict, to postwar reconstruction. Trade Review"Overall, the book Violence Taking Place: The Architecture of the Kosvo Conflict is a thoughtful and detailed study of the complex relationships between architecture and violence. It provides an insightful view of the specifics of the Kosvo conflict and the broader context needed in our attempts to understand the war in former Yugoslavia." -- Dijana Alic * International Journal of Islamic Architecture *"Andrew Herscher's precise and meticulously researched book, Violence Taking Place, argues that not only is architectural destruction a symbol of violence but also that architecture forms a necessary context for violence to take place . . . Violence Taking Place represents the first architectural history of political violence in relation to historical preservation, and in doing so suggests a new area of concern for critical heritage studies. This is an important book that deserves to be read widely by those working in the field of historic preservation." -- Rodney Harrison * Future Anterior *"An incredible description of the relations between architecture, politics and human rights. The text and narrative are painfully beautiful." -- Malkit Shoshan * Architect, The Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Abitare: International Design Magazine *"This book offers an extraordinary contribution to the existing interdisciplinary scholarship around the Yugoslav wars (and the nature of what is termed 'ethnic violence' more generally) on the one hand, and to work that explores the place of architecture in peace and conflict studies on the other. The author insists on architecture's role in making identities, marshaling a nuanced understanding of the Kosovo experience to explore broader, more theoretical themes in a way that is uniquely compelling." -- Sari Wastell, Goldsmiths * University of London *"In this painstakingly researched study of the destruction and reconstruction of Kosovo's culturescape, Andrew Herscher brilliantly defamiliarizes received wisdom concerning the relation between monuments and war in general. Keeping his eye on the specificity of this particular environment and on the general characteristics of contemporary conflict at once, Herscher interprellates between what is unique and what is, tragically, all-too-common in the 'urbicides' of the present geopolitical order. This is a work that will inform and challenge anyone with an interest in the dynamics of contemporary conflict and in the new transnational cultures of reconstruction." -- Daniel Bertrand Monk * Colgate University *
£70.55
Stanford University Press Violence Taking Place
Book SynopsisWhile the construction of architecture has a place in architectural discourse, its destruction, generally seen as incompatible with the very idea of culture, has been neglected in theoretical and historical discussion. Responding to this neglect, Herscher examines the case of the former Yugoslavia and in particular, Kosovo, where targeting architecture has been a prominent dimension of political violence. Rather than interpreting violence against architecture as a mere representation of deeper social, political, or ideological dynamics, Herscher reveals it to be a form of cultural production, irreducible to its contexts and formative of the identities and agencies that seemingly bear on it as causes. Focusing on the particular sites where violence is inflicted and where its subjects and objects are articulated, the book traces the intersection of violence and architecture from socialist modernization, through ethnic and nationalist conflict, to postwar reconstruction. Trade Review"Overall, the book Violence Taking Place: The Architecture of the Kosvo Conflict is a thoughtful and detailed study of the complex relationships between architecture and violence. It provides an insightful view of the specifics of the Kosvo conflict and the broader context needed in our attempts to understand the war in former Yugoslavia." -- Dijana Alic * International Journal of Islamic Architecture *"Andrew Herscher's precise and meticulously researched book, Violence Taking Place, argues that not only is architectural destruction a symbol of violence but also that architecture forms a necessary context for violence to take place . . . Violence Taking Place represents the first architectural history of political violence in relation to historical preservation, and in doing so suggests a new area of concern for critical heritage studies. This is an important book that deserves to be read widely by those working in the field of historic preservation." -- Rodney Harrison * Future Anterior *"An incredible description of the relations between architecture, politics and human rights. The text and narrative are painfully beautiful." -- Malkit Shoshan * Architect, The Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Abitare: International Design Magazine *"This book offers an extraordinary contribution to the existing interdisciplinary scholarship around the Yugoslav wars (and the nature of what is termed 'ethnic violence' more generally) on the one hand, and to work that explores the place of architecture in peace and conflict studies on the other. The author insists on architecture's role in making identities, marshaling a nuanced understanding of the Kosovo experience to explore broader, more theoretical themes in a way that is uniquely compelling." -- Sari Wastell, Goldsmiths * University of London *"In this painstakingly researched study of the destruction and reconstruction of Kosovo's culturescape, Andrew Herscher brilliantly defamiliarizes received wisdom concerning the relation between monuments and war in general. Keeping his eye on the specificity of this particular environment and on the general characteristics of contemporary conflict at once, Herscher interprellates between what is unique and what is, tragically, all-too-common in the 'urbicides' of the present geopolitical order. This is a work that will inform and challenge anyone with an interest in the dynamics of contemporary conflict and in the new transnational cultures of reconstruction." -- Daniel Bertrand Monk * Colgate University *
£18.99
Stanford University Press Mark of the Sacred
Book SynopsisJean-Pierre Dupuy, prophet of what he calls enlightened doomsaying, has long warned that modern society is on a path to self-destruction. In this book, he pleads for a subversion of this crisis from within, arguing that it is our lopsided view of religion and reason that has set us on this course. In denial of our sacred origins and hubristically convinced of the powers of human reason, we cease to know our own limits: our disenchanted world leaves us defenseless against a headlong rush into the abyss of global warming, nuclear holocaust, and the other catastrophes that loom on our horizon. Reviving the religious anthropology of Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, and Marcel Mauss and in dialogue with the work of René Girard, Dupuy shows that we must remember the world''s sacredness in order to keep human violence in check. A metaphysical and theological detective, he tracks the sacred in the very fields where human reason considers itself most free from everything it judges irrational: scieTrade Review"Dupuy approaches the philosophical question at the very heart of today's social and economic crisis: how is self-transcendence possible? How is it that, although we all know that market is just the result of the interaction of millions of individual acts, it appears to all of them as a foreign autonomous power? Through a close reading of Christian theology, Hegel, Heidegger, and Rene Girard, Dupuy provides a unique answer which shatters all our common wisdoms. The Mark of the Sacred is one of those rare books that cannot simply be measured by academic standards because they themselves set new standards–a book which, in an enlightened well-organized state, should be printed and freely distributed in all schools!"—Slavoj Žižek"This book explores the relation between violence and religion, but not to endorse the common opinion that we can escape the first by abandoning the second. On the contrary, Dupuy argues that there is a dimension of religion and of the sacred which is inescapable even in a secular age. He challenges us to question the complacency of our received wisdom and forces us to reexamine some of our most cherished self-images of modern liberal democratic societies."—Charles Taylor"I'd recommend that all Californians — as citizens of a global hub for apocalyptic and utopian thinking — read [this] most accessible book."—Joe Mathews, LA Daily News
£74.70
Stanford University Press Opus Dei
Book SynopsisIn this book, Agamben investigates the roots of the modern moral concept of duty in the theory and practice of Christian liturgy.Trade Review"Opus Dei: An Archaeology of Duty is a bold and engaging book, opening up much fertile ground for future work. I find it to be both insightful and admirable, and a masterly success."—Analysis & Metaphysics
£66.60
Stanford University Press Religion in Public
Book SynopsisThis book reconstructs John Locke's political theology to offer a revolutionary theory of the secular as public religion.Trade Review"It may seem impossible to say anything new about John Locke, but Elizabeth Pritchard has done just that. Combining careful readings of Locke's texts with creative applications of Lockean principles to contemporary disputes over culture, religion, and identity, her book will command a broad audience. The Locke, and the Lockeanism, that emerges here is more subtle, more nuanced, and frankly more interesting than the cardboard cut-out so often praised or denounced in contemporary discussions of liberalism. Political theorists, historians, and scholars of religion and culture should all find their views of Locke challenged and enriched in Pritchard's multifaceted reconsideration of this key figure and his legacy." -- Andrew R. Murphy * Rutgers University *
£84.15
Stanford University Press Religion in Public
Book SynopsisThis book reconstructs John Locke's political theology to offer a revolutionary theory of the secular as public religion.Trade Review"It may seem impossible to say anything new about John Locke, but Elizabeth Pritchard has done just that. Combining careful readings of Locke's texts with creative applications of Lockean principles to contemporary disputes over culture, religion, and identity, her book will command a broad audience. The Locke, and the Lockeanism, that emerges here is more subtle, more nuanced, and frankly more interesting than the cardboard cut-out so often praised or denounced in contemporary discussions of liberalism. Political theorists, historians, and scholars of religion and culture should all find their views of Locke challenged and enriched in Pritchard's multifaceted reconsideration of this key figure and his legacy." -- Andrew R. Murphy * Rutgers University *
£21.59
Stanford University Press Our NonChristian Nation
Book SynopsisIn recent years, members of minority religions and atheists have rightly taken advantage of Supreme Court decisions that open up government funding, institutions, and property to participate in public life alongside the Christian majority. Jay Wexler argues for the importance of this movement and travels around the country to meet some of the people on its front line.Trade Review"Timely, trenchant, and tremendously engaging, Our Non-Christian Nation is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the contemporary battles over religion's role in our national politics and culture." -- Phil Zuckerman * author of Living the Secular Life *"In this brilliantly erudite and hugely entertaining romp through recent religious and legal history, Jay Wexler shows why, as our country becomes more religiously diverse, non-Christians need to get their voices heard and Christians need to help repair the wall between church and state. A marvelous read." -- Michael Shermer * Skeptic magazine *"What would it mean to take seriously the idea of religious diversity in the public sphere? Jay Wexler tells the stories of Wiccans, Muslims, and other religious and non-religious groups outside the mainstream who show what existing constitutional doctrine means in practice. The picture he paints provokes us to think differently about what that doctrine should be." -- Mark Tushnet * Harvard Law School *"In this fine book, Jay Wexler urges humanists, atheists, Satanists, and members of minority religious traditions to take advantage of a fascinating new phenomenon: the opening of public space to a variety of beliefs and institutions. His compelling account of 'belief' in public life will be of interest to the deeply religious as well as those who cringe at the very thought of religion. I highly recommend it." -- Anthony B. Pinn * author of Humanism: Essays on Race, Religion and Cultural Production *"A zesty, opinionated assessment of how non-Christians should actually behave....With curiosity and openness, Wexler performs the action that he advocates: that is, making heard a 'cacophony' of voices in public life so that different viewpoints get brought to the fore." -- Dan Friedman * Los Angeles Review of Books *"A fascinating read, and a wonderfully hopeful one...For anyone who feels marginalized as a pagan, nonbeliever, or just not a Christian, it's a manifesto for effective and often hilarious resistance." -- Houston Chronicle"Wexler...has made a timely, at times funny, and compelling piece of reportage looking at a variety of religious groups, as well as a strong argument for the importance of a pluralistic society." -- The Boston Globe"[T]his book was written for the general public, which often struggles to understand the jurisprudence surrounding religious freedom. Even professors of religious studies often need help in this area....Wexler's writing makes this book ideal for getting undergraduates interested in these issues." -- Joseph Laycock * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *"[An] artfully presented, quite accessible, guide to major legal issues faced by minority faiths in America...recommended for all interested in such topics." -- James T. Richardson * Nova Religio *"Wexler's greatest strength is his ability to describe current case law in readily digestible terms, making his work an ideal resource for undergraduates interested in religion and American politics. . .[T]his work can serve as an ideal entry point into important classroom conversations regarding the place of religions, especially minorities, in American law, as well as how both public and legal discourses have shaped the role of religion in American life." -- Savannah Finver * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThis chapter presents the main themes, issues, and arguments of the book. After an opening vignette describing the efforts of the Satanic Temple to erect a veterans monument in a small Minnesota town, the chapter introduces the First Amendment, particularly the Establishment Clause and the concept of separation of church and state as set out by the Supreme Court. It traces demographic changes in the country's religious makeup that have rendered the nation far less Christian and more secular than at previous times in its history. After a discussion of the issue of defining religion, the chapter sets forth the book's primary argument—namely, that a religiously diverse public square is preferable to one dominated by Christianity. One: Mummies, Monuments, and Monotheism: Religious Displays as Government Speech chapter abstractThis chapter discusses the constitutional doctrine of government speech under the First Amendment as it relates to the erection of religious monuments on public property. It does so, first, by describing and evaluating cases concerning the constitutionality of various Ten Commandments monuments under the Establishment Clause, and particularly the case of Van Orden v. Perry, which upheld such a monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol. The chapter goes on to discuss the ultimately unsuccessful efforts of the small religious group known as the Summum, located in Salt Lake City, to have a Utah town erect a monument to its "Seven Aphorisms" in a park next to the community's Ten Commandments monument. The author's trip to visit the Summum and understand its mummification practices is described. Two: Pagans, Pentacles, and Pluralism: Religious Displays in the Public Forum chapter abstractThis chapter contrasts the government speech doctrine discussed in chapter 1 with the more minority-friendly First Amendment free speech doctrine known as the designated public forum. Under this doctrine, if the government designates a part of its property for private speech, including religious speech, it may not exclude speech on the basis of the viewpoint that is expressed by that speech. After explaining the doctrine, the chapter describes the successful efforts of Pagans and Wiccans, under the leadership of Wiccan priestess Selena Fox and through litigation brought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, to get the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow Pagans buried in national cemeteries to have pentacles displayed on their headstones. The chapter also describes the author's visit to Fox's Circle Sanctuary in Wisconsin to participate in a Veterans Day event. Three: Secularism, Statehouses, and School Boards: Prayers and Invocations before Government Bodies chapter abstractThis chapter investigates the historical practice of prayer-giving before legislatures and other government bodies, as well as the Supreme Court's treatment of the practice in, most recently, the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway. Under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the Court has held that legislative prayer and other religious invocations before government bodies are constitutional so long as the government has a policy of antidiscrimination—i.e., it will not discriminate on the basis of religion when inviting or allowing people to pray before meetings. The chapter investigates specifically the invocation given before the monthly town meeting of the Town of Greece (New York) by an Atheist who had previously sued the town unsuccessfully. The author's trip to witness this invocation is described. Four: The Satanic Temple: Taking It to a Whole 'Nother Level chapter abstractThis chapter takes an in-depth look at the key player in the phenomenon described in the book, namely the Satanic Temple. The chapter provides a brief history of Satanism, including a discussion of the Romantic Satanists, a literary movement in the eighteenth century that was the first to recover the symbol of Satan as a positive figure. The chapter also discusses the rise of the Church of Satan in the Bay Area in the 1960s, as well as the so-called Satanic Panic of the 1980s, in which people were wrongly accused of crimes committed in the name of Satan. The chapter then relates the history and doctrine of the Satanic Temple and describes its efforts to give legislative invocations and place monuments on public property (including its nine-foot-tall bronze monument to Baphomet). Five: Muslims, Money, and Middle Schools: Government Funding of Religion chapter abstractThis chapter investigates the issue of government funding of religion. After a brief foray into the Establishment Clause in this area, including a discussion of the important voucher school case Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the chapter describes how some minority religious groups such as the Unification Church and the Church of Scientology have received public funding for their programs. The chapter also relates how Christian legislators in several states have objected to the inclusion of Islamic schools in their proposed voucher programs and then investigates these Islamic schools through the author's trip to the Al-Iman School in North Carolina. Six: Atheists, the Antichrist, and After-School Clubs: Religious Activities in the Public Schools chapter abstractThis chapter concerns the activities of religious groups in the public schools, one of the most controversial issues in church-state law, given the importance of these schools to the formation of future citizens. At the outset, the chapter explains the First Amendment law governing this area, including cases about teaching alternatives to evolution in the biology curriculum. Next, the chapter examines a series of cases in which the Supreme Court has held that if public schools open their facilities to after-school clubs, they may not exclude religious clubs, such as Good News Clubs, from using those facilities. After laying out the law, the chapter then examines efforts by Atheists, the Satanic Temple, and others to distribute religious literature and to start their own after-school clubs in the public schools. Conclusion: Conclusion chapter abstractThe concluding chapter begins with a brief recap of the four key descriptive points that the book has advanced and then proceeds to argue that the movement to increase minority participation in American public life is one that should be celebrated and continued. Specifically, the chapter argues that a religiously cacophonous public square is preferable to an entirely Christian one because it is more consistent with American ideals of free expression and diversity of ideas as enshrined in the First Amendment, because it may promote a more educated citizenry with regard to religion, and because this improved education may result in greater social peace. The chapter also considers potential counter-arguments and pitfalls of encouraging an increased role for religion in the public square, including the possibility that anti-liberal or parody organizations will seek to participate in public life.
£18.99
LSU Press Evangelicals and Presidential Politics
Book SynopsisUsing as their starting point a 1976 Newsweek cover story on the emerging politicization of evangelical Christians, contributors to this collection engage the scholarly literature on evangelicalism from a variety of angles to offer new answers to persisting questions about the movement.
£31.46
University of Pennsylvania Press Beyond the Persecuting Society
Book SynopsisBeyond the Persecuting Society constructs a history of toleration from the Middle Ages through the seventeenth century.Trade Review"Beyond the Persecuting Society confronts the myth that there was no general conception or practice of religious toleration before the Enlightenment. . . . It is the great strength of this collection that the diversity and richness of the often tentative allowance for confessional pluralism can be documented at times when unity of faith was seen as no less necessary than unity of obedience." * Albion *
£25.19
University of Pennsylvania Press Seeing the Myth in Human Rights
Book SynopsisThe 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been called one of the most powerful documents in human history. Today, the mere accusation of violations of the rights outlined in this document cows political leaders and riles the international community. Yet as a nonbinding document with no mechanism for enforcement, it holds almost no legal authority. Indeed, since its adoption, the Declaration''s authority has been portrayed not as legal or political but as moral. Rather than providing a set of rules to follow or laws to obey, it represents a set of standards against which the world''s societies are measured. It has achieved a level of rhetorical power and influence unlike anything else in modern world politics, becoming the foundational myth of the human rights project.Seeing the Myth in Human Rights presents an interdisciplinary investigation into the role of mythmaking in the creation and propagation of the Universal Declaration. Pushing beyond conventional undTrade Review"Seeing the Myth of Human Rights offers good philosophical and historical understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; each chapter is both its own piece of scholarship and builds seamlessly upon others. Reinbold's work is thoughtful and sophisticated, and provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the myth of human rights." * Human Rights Review *"Jenna Reinbold explores the role of mythology in the assertion of human rights discourse and offers an original, profound, and provocative contribution to debates on foundationalism in human rights, on the politics of human rights, and on the relationship between the sacred and the secular in international politics." * Bronwyn Leebaw, University of California, Riverside *"Seeing the Myth in Human Rights is an important work that is sharp but open-minded. Jenna Reinbold links the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the notion of myth, not to debunk the human rights project but to illuminate the best-known legal, moral, and political document of the twentieth century." * Alexandre Lefebvre, University of Sydney *
£35.10
University of Pennsylvania Press The New Political Islam
Book SynopsisIslamist political parties and groups are on the rise throughout the Muslim world, constituting a new political Islam that is global in scope and yet local in action. Emmanuel Karagiannis explains how various Islamists have endorsed human rights, democracy, and justice to gain influence and mobilize supporters.Trade Review"Karagiannis' The New Political Islam is not only an informative reading. It addresses an issue of immediate interest in modern culture, namely an increasing tension between Western philosophy and Islam. Thus, even readers less interested in learning about Islamist groups around the world may be interested to discover how Islam changes and adjusts to the world of today. Furthermore, it is difficult to overestimate the influence of globalization on different countries. However, applying its principles to for the task of understanding the new Political Islam is innovative. In addition, understanding this religion is the best way to avoid the hostility of politicians depicting Islam as the enemy. The New Political Islam helps broaden the reader's horizons." * Political Theology. *"The New Political Islam examines the phenomenon of political Islam and its transformations using the lens of glocalization, a distinct strand of social theory focusing on the processes through which global ideas are adapted, applied, and transformed in local contexts . . . [T]his is a sophisticated, erudite, and illuminating book. It is a necessary read for anyone who wishes to explore the persistent relevance of political developments in the contemporary Islamic world." * Reading Religion *
£52.70
University of Pennsylvania Press Spiritual Socialists
Book SynopsisRefuting the common perception that the American left has a religion problem, Vaneesa Cook highlights an important but overlooked intellectual and political tradition that she calls spiritual socialism. Spiritual socialists emphasized the social side of socialism and believed the most basic expression of religious values-caring for the sick, tired, hungry, and exploited members of one's community-created a firm footing for society. Their unorthodox perspective on the spiritual and cultural meaning of socialist principles helped make leftist thought more palatable to Americans, who associated socialism with Soviet atheism and autocracy. In this way, spiritual socialism continually put pressure on liberals, conservatives, and Marxists to address the essential connection between morality and social justice. Cook tells her story through an eclectic group of activists whose lives and works span the twentieth century. Sherwood Eddy, A. J. Muste, Myles Horton, Dorothy Day, Henry Wallace, PaTrade Review"[I]n her thought-provoking new book . . . Cook finds in the past ample evidence that the intersection of Christianity and radicalism in the modern United States has been quite bustling . . . Cook has done . . . a tremendous service . . . in lifting up a spiritual-socialist tradition that has languished too long in obscurity." * Christianity Today *"Spiritual Socialists should fundamentally change the way we tell the story of the twentieth-century Left.. In [Cook's] careful retelling, the 1930s–1950s were generative years for radicalism in the United States....The book, which is an intellectual history of the major figures of the religious left, makes a number of important contributions. " * Journal of Church and State *"In this bold, incisive book, Vaneesa Cook makes an important contribution to the growing body of scholarship on the American ‘Religious Left.’ She argues that the most effective movements of the political left in the twentieth-century United States were thoroughly suffused with religious values… Cook’s study makes a compelling argument that religion has profoundly shaped American society, not merely guiding radical politics but being inextricably embedded in them." * American Religion *"Writing gracefully and powerfully, Vaneesa Cook draws on her understanding of history to speak to today's concerns without jargon or cant. Spiritual Socialists is a sweeping and refreshingly independent contribution to the study of the religious left in the modern United States." * Doug Rossinow, author of Visions of Progress: The Left-Liberal Tradition in America *"This is a courageous book. At a time when elected officials in the highest public offices refer to one another by offensive nicknames and attribute to each other the most self-seeking motives, and groups on the Left often attack each other in rigidly ideological invective, Vaneesa Cook seeks to recover 'the moral core of socialist belief.' She does so by examining the work of a group of figures, among them Dorothy Day, Sherwood Eddy, A. J. Muste, Myles Horton, Henry Wallace, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Pauli Murray. Her work exhibits diligence and empathy." * Staughton Lynd, author of Doing History from the Bottom Up: On E.P. Thompson, Howard Zinn, and Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below *
£40.50
University of Pennsylvania Press Before the Religious Right
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A]n excellent new work of scholarship...Zubovich shines light on a dim corner of recent American history: the integral role that liberal, ecumenical Protestant leaders played in American liberalism in the mid-20th century, along with the underappreciated ways they helped drive the polarization that broke apart the mainline, opened the way for the Religious Right, and shaped our present moment." * Christianity Today *"Before the Religious Right is sweeping in its breadth as historian Gene Zubovich examines the alliance between midcentury ecumenical Protestants and liberal politics in the United States. While dozens of books have examined conservative religion and politics in the United States, Zubovich's book argues for the importance of ecumenical religious institutions and activists in the rise of the consensus liberalism." * New Rambler Review *"[An] essential work...In this extensively detailed, impeccably researched, powerfully argued book, Gene Zubovich contends that a particular form of ecumenical Protestantism 'was at the heart of mid-century liberalism.'" * Reading Religion *"Epic is a word rarely used in the same sentence as 'ecumenical Protestantism,' but Gene Zubovich has written a truly epic account of how ecumenical Protestantism transformed American politics between the 1920s and 1970s." * The Christian Century *"[A]n intellectual, religious, and transnational history of American ecumenical Protestants in the middle of the twentieth century. Well written and clearly argued, the book explores the intersection of race, religion, and rights for what are often described as mainline Protestants." * H-Diplo *"[A]n exhaustive profile of how mainline Protestant theology influenced views on diverse issues including human rights, segregation, and economic policy in the period from the 1920s through the early 1960s..[T]he book is a thorough account of how mainline Protestant theology influenced US and world events during the mid-twentieth century. " * Perspectives on Politics *"Before the Religious Right is well written and accessible. It is bold in its argumentative scope yet thorough in its supporting evidence...It should become required reading for anyone interested in the connections between religion and US liberalism as well as religion and US conservatism. In fact, this book’s methodological insights should be useful for anyone thinking about how to connect the structure of religious communities with their historical impact." * American Religion *"[A] powerful reconsideration of the assumed relationship between American Protestant Christianity and twentieth-century politics...Before the Religious Right is a trenchant examination of an overlooked dimension of American religion and politics; it is amuch-needed reminder of the impact that twentieth-century liberal Protestants had on international political institutions, on the dismantling of legal segregation in America, and on the establishment of human rights discourse." * The Review of Politics *"Zubovich’s account of how ecumenical Protestants pushed the national political agenda to the left on economics, foreign policy, and civil rights is insightful, but his analysis of why ecumenical Protestants came to embrace these causes is perhaps even more pathbreaking...Although there have been several studies of the political activism of the National Council of Churches and the civil rights work of liberal white Protestant ministers in the mid-twentieth century, Before the Religious Right is by far the most comprehensive, detailed, authoritative study of American ecumenical Protestant politics that has yet been published. This is the definitive account not only of how ecumenical Protestant church leaders shaped American liberalism but also how they came to embrace these causes." * Church History *"[A]n impressive addition to scholarship that contributes to understanding of the link between religion and politics and documents the relationship between liberal Protestant institutions and the creation of the liberal politicalorder in the United States. This historical narrative is critical to understanding the history of the New Deal, the creation of the United Nations, desegregation, and the Great Society...One hopes that Before the Religious Right will find an audience not just with scholars but with anyone who wants to understand how religious groups have shaped American political life. " * Journal of Law and Religion *"In his ambitious, absorbing, much-anticipated book, Gene Zubovich shows how midcentury liberal Protestants in the United States used changes in the international system and domestic race relations to forge a new human-rights discourse for a global age. Zubovich’s writing is elegant, his extensive research is deeply impressive, his focus is broad but cohesive, and his historiographical contributions are significant. Before the Religious Right is an important book that will be essential reading for anyone interested in American religion, politics, or foreign relations." * Andrew Preston, author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy *"In this beautifully nuanced and carefully researched account, Gene Zubovich puts religious history at the center of the history of human rights. He does so in ways that acknowledge the ambiguity and complexity of human rights politics, while restoring the centrality of Protestant liberals to a transnational history of activism that linked challenges to white supremacy (at home and abroad), debates over economic justice, and critiques of U.S. foreign policy. This is not only one of the best histories of Protestant liberalism we have, it also thoroughly revises historians’ accounts of the role of the United States in the world from the 1920s to the 1960s. An outstanding work of scholarship." * Melani McAlister, author of The Kingdom of God Has No Borders: A Global History of American Evangelicals *
£49.30
Rutgers University Press Forever Suspect Racialized Surveillance of
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Well researched and to provide a rich account of the experiences of two communities of Muslim Americans after September 11 without being too generalizing or overreaching." — American Journal of Sociology "Saher Selod makes a major contribution to conversations around anti-Muslim sentiment by focusing on the way gender impacts not only how Muslims are profiled and policed, but also how Muslims’ response to surveillance is gendered. She provides a clear, well-organized, and nuanced account of Arab and South Asian Muslims’ unstable relationship with power, privilege, and citizenship in the United States post-9/11. Selod’s work forces scholars and activists to move past a one-size-fits-all approach to dismantling anti-Muslim racism, instead recognizing the importance of intersectionality."— American Religion "Selod skillfully blends decades of survey data with recent ethnographic research, drawing on personal interviews she conducted with family members and interview subjects in the metropolitan areas of Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. Selod carefully lays out the political and economic context of the US 'war on terror' and provides useful historical perspective on the status and experience of Arab and South Asian immigrants within the US, prior to and after September 2001. Selod does a particularly astute job of illuminating the rhetorical processes by which Muslim men and women have been constructed as threatening and/or threatened bodies."— TDR "Chronicle of Higher Education weekly book list," by Nina C. Ayoub— Chronicle of Higher Education "This is the book we’ve been waiting for. Scholars of Muslim Americans have long needed a rigorous study of how Muslims get racialized during the War on Terror. Saher Selod has not only provided us with the answers we were seeking but importantly shows how this racialization is both profoundly gendered and deeply institutionalized into today’s surveillance state. A necessary book for our time."— Moustafa Bayoumi, author of This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror "There is a deep-seated stigmatization of Muslims in the U.S. today. Forever Suspect offers a portrait of this stigmatization and also offers a framework for understanding its character. Selod's work is a fine addition to the sociology of race and ethnicity, immigration, and the Muslim American experience."— Nazli Kibria, author of Muslims in Motion: Islam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi DiasporaTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Moving from South Asian and Arab Identity to a Muslim Identity 2 Flying While Muslim: State Surveillance of Muslim Americans in US Airports 3 Citizen Surveillance 4 Self-Discipline or Resistance?: Muslim American Men and Women’s Responses to their Hyper Surveillance 5 Shifting Racial Terrain for Muslim Americans: The Impact of Racialized Surveillance Conclusion: The Future for Muslims in America Appendix A Acknowledgments References Index
£27.90
MW - Rutgers University Press Forever Suspect Racialized Surveillance of
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Well researched and to provide a rich account of the experiences of two communities of Muslim Americans after September 11 without being too generalizing or overreaching." — American Journal of Sociology "Saher Selod makes a major contribution to conversations around anti-Muslim sentiment by focusing on the way gender impacts not only how Muslims are profiled and policed, but also how Muslims’ response to surveillance is gendered. She provides a clear, well-organized, and nuanced account of Arab and South Asian Muslims’ unstable relationship with power, privilege, and citizenship in the United States post-9/11. Selod’s work forces scholars and activists to move past a one-size-fits-all approach to dismantling anti-Muslim racism, instead recognizing the importance of intersectionality."— American Religion "Selod skillfully blends decades of survey data with recent ethnographic research, drawing on personal interviews she conducted with family members and interview subjects in the metropolitan areas of Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. Selod carefully lays out the political and economic context of the US 'war on terror' and provides useful historical perspective on the status and experience of Arab and South Asian immigrants within the US, prior to and after September 2001. Selod does a particularly astute job of illuminating the rhetorical processes by which Muslim men and women have been constructed as threatening and/or threatened bodies."— TDR "Chronicle of Higher Education weekly book list," by Nina C. Ayoub— Chronicle of Higher Education "This is the book we’ve been waiting for. Scholars of Muslim Americans have long needed a rigorous study of how Muslims get racialized during the War on Terror. Saher Selod has not only provided us with the answers we were seeking but importantly shows how this racialization is both profoundly gendered and deeply institutionalized into today’s surveillance state. A necessary book for our time."— Moustafa Bayoumi, author of This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror "There is a deep-seated stigmatization of Muslims in the U.S. today. Forever Suspect offers a portrait of this stigmatization and also offers a framework for understanding its character. Selod's work is a fine addition to the sociology of race and ethnicity, immigration, and the Muslim American experience."— Nazli Kibria, author of Muslims in Motion: Islam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi DiasporaTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Moving from South Asian and Arab Identity to a Muslim Identity 2 Flying While Muslim: State Surveillance of Muslim Americans in US Airports 3 Citizen Surveillance 4 Self-Discipline or Resistance?: Muslim American Men and Women’s Responses to their Hyper Surveillance 5 Shifting Racial Terrain for Muslim Americans: The Impact of Racialized Surveillance Conclusion: The Future for Muslims in America Appendix A Acknowledgments References Index
£105.40
New York University Press Prophetic Activism
Book SynopsisWhile the links between conservative Christians and politics have been drawn strongly in recent years, coming to embody what many think of as religious activism, the profoundly religious nature of community organizing and other more left-leaning justice work has been largely overlooked. Prophetic Activism is the first broad comparative examination of progressive religious activism in the United States. Set up as a counter-narrative to religious conservatism, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of the richness and diversity of contemporary religious activism.Helene Slessarev-Jamir offers five case studies of major progressive religious justice movements that have their roots in liberative interpretations of Scripture: congregational community organizing; worker justice; immigrant rights work; peace-making and reconciliation; and global anti-poverty and debt relief. Drawing on intensive interviews with activists at all levels of this workfrom pastors and congregationaTrade ReviewRooted in scripture and transcendent faith, and defying the staid expectations of analysts and pundits--this is why faithful activism will always be more interesting than a candidates' debate. -- Julie Polter * Sojourners Magazine *Prophetic Activism could be called & Groups That Make a Difference, like Sider and Unruh’s Churches That Make a Difference. It stands out because it analyzes change-groups with goals ranging from worker justice to immigrant rights, peacemaking, and global justice, identifying strategies that bring healing to a nation whose soul badly needs healing. Enormously instructive for people who know we need change for human rights in a big way, one victory at a time. This work shows that Evangelicals, too, have become increasingly active, with crucial biblical interpretation. -- Glen Stassen * Fuller Theological Seminary *Prophetic Activism provides an informative portrait of left-leaning religious activism. Those who want to better understand what that activism looks likeits major organizations, its strategies and tactics, its similarities to and differences from secular activism, and, most importantly, its potential and limitswill learn much by reading this book. -- Mark Chaves,author of Congregations in AmericaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Acronyms and Abbreviations 1 An Introduction to Prophetic Activism 2 Identifying the Qualities of Prophetic Activism 3 Organizing in Borderlands Communities 4 Religious Organizing for Worker Justice 5 Immigrant Rights Activism 6 Peacemaking 7 Global Justice Organizing 8 Conclusions Notes Index About the Author
£70.30
New York University Press Prophetic Activism
Book SynopsisWhile the links between conservative Christians and politics have been drawn strongly in recent years, coming to embody what many think of as religious activism, the profoundly religious nature of community organizing and other more left-leaning justice work has been largely overlooked. Prophetic Activism is the first broad comparative examination of progressive religious activism in the United States. Set up as a counter-narrative to religious conservatism, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of the richness and diversity of contemporary religious activism.Helene Slessarev-Jamir offers five case studies of major progressive religious justice movements that have their roots in liberative interpretations of Scripture: congregational community organizing; worker justice; immigrant rights work; peace-making and reconciliation; and global anti-poverty and debt relief. Drawing on intensive interviews with activists at all levels of this workfrom pastors and congregationaTrade ReviewRooted in scripture and transcendent faith, and defying the staid expectations of analysts and pundits--this is why faithful activism will always be more interesting than a candidates' debate. -- Julie Polter * Sojourners Magazine *Prophetic Activism could be called & Groups That Make a Difference, like Sider and Unruh’s Churches That Make a Difference. It stands out because it analyzes change-groups with goals ranging from worker justice to immigrant rights, peacemaking, and global justice, identifying strategies that bring healing to a nation whose soul badly needs healing. Enormously instructive for people who know we need change for human rights in a big way, one victory at a time. This work shows that Evangelicals, too, have become increasingly active, with crucial biblical interpretation. -- Glen Stassen * Fuller Theological Seminary *Prophetic Activism provides an informative portrait of left-leaning religious activism. Those who want to better understand what that activism looks likeits major organizations, its strategies and tactics, its similarities to and differences from secular activism, and, most importantly, its potential and limitswill learn much by reading this book. -- Mark Chaves,author of Congregations in AmericaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Acronyms and Abbreviations 1 An Introduction to Prophetic Activism 2 Identifying the Qualities of Prophetic Activism 3 Organizing in Borderlands Communities 4 Religious Organizing for Worker Justice 5 Immigrant Rights Activism 6 Peacemaking 7 Global Justice Organizing 8 Conclusions Notes Index About the Author
£23.74
New York University Press The Divided Mind of the Black Church
Book SynopsisTraces the historical significance of the rise and development of black theology as an important conversation partner for the black church.Trade ReviewThe book reads as an altar call to action that honors the liberationist roots of a global church community, regardless of race or gender. * Publishers Weekly *Resilient in its hope and perceptive in its analysis, this book makes a valuable contribution to imagining a liberation-focused ecclesiology. * Ecumenical Review *The Divided Mind of the Black Church is an informative work for historians, theologians, and humanities scholars interested in debating what the Black Church needs to be doing in the 21st century. * Journal of African American History *Raphael G. Warnock's The Divided Mind of the Black Church is not only a scholarly monograph but also an autobiographical work on the pietistic and prophetic traditions of the black church. * Black Theology *Warnock weaves together an impressive array of subjects to advance his argument on the & divided mind of the black church.His introduction, five chapters, and conclusion provide much in structure and content for the advancement of his burden, namely, the construction of a & self-critical liberationist community where & piety and protest may be held in balance. * Sociology of Religion *This well-written and meticulously researched treatment of black church piety and social engagement is a timely and pivotal assessment as we head into the next chapter of American religious life. * The Christian Century *As a person who is not Black, reading this book provided a learning experience for me. It has helped me better understand the dynamics of the Black church. I could also see this book serving as a way to spark discussion involving all ethnic groups as to how we can all, as fellow Christians, blend the goals of saving lost people and moving the culture toward equality for everyone. * Ministry *Embodied in this book is the sharpness of mind of one with an earned Ph.D. in theological studies and the human compassion of a pastor of one of the major churches in the United States. Rarely, if at all, do we get to relish such combined matters of the head and heart. Moreover, this groundbreaking work is rooted in deep spirituality and progressive commitment to the Bible. The ponderings in these pages echo the insightful eyes of the prophetic mystic, Howard Thurman and the scholarly activism of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Dwight N. Hopkins,editor of The Cambridge Companion to Black TheologyRaphael Warnock's The Divided Mind of the Black Church is a courageous and timely effort to reinvigorate the rich tradition of the Black Church by a full-fledged engagement with the best of its history and theology. Like the Sankofa bird, he looks to the past in order to move forward! -- Cornel West,Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological SeminaryEloquently lays waste to the false theological dilemma between advocates of individual salvation and social justice. Real religion is both personal and political; Warnock skillfully shows how that works by probing creative tensions in the black church between heavenly hunger and earthly engagement. He brilliantly enhances the distinguished intellectual achievement of the historic Ebenezer pulpit by showing how black and womanist theologies partner with the black church to bring God's mighty word to bear on our souls and society all at once. -- Michael Eric Dyson,University Professor of Sociology, Georgetown UniversityRaphael Warnock demonstrates in this book that he is a worthy occupant of the Ebenezer pulpit, following in the intellectual tradition of Martin King and his mentor, Dr. Benjamin Mays. It was faith that led us to activism. Whether one is looking to understand the foundation of civil rights, to understand the role of faith in our public life or seeking to understand a personal call to serve, this book will be enlightening. -- Andrew Young,former U.N. Ambassador, Mayor of Atlanta and Executive Vice President of SCLCRaphael Warnock is known as one of the most brilliant orators of his generation. This excellent new book reveals him to be a brilliant scholar as well. It is the first major work to critically explore the 'double-minded' relationship between the social practice of black churches and the radical implications of their historical witness against the social oppression of the black masses. Warnocks path-breaking periodization of the social activism of the black church is a major contribution to understanding the role of black churches in this nations often stumbling march toward a racially just society. . . . The Divided Mind of the Black Church is a must read for every black pastor, theologian, scholar, and anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the history and political culture of black churches and the expanding contours of black theological scholarship. -- Obery M. Hendricks, Jr.,author of The Universe Bends Toward JusticeRaphael Warnock, a son of Pentecostal preachers, a theological protégée of James Cone, and pulpit heir of Martin Luther King, Jr., is brilliantly conversant with the ivory tower of academia, yet works in the ebony trenches for justice and the liberation of the 'least of these.' In this literary gift he has insightfully traced the ecclesial and theological journey of the Black Church in America, diagnosing a 'double consciousness' that borders on bipolarity. He prophetically pronounces liberation from captivity to a borrowed oppressive theology that is illustrated by Black pastors who have a picture of Dr. King in the study, but are influenced by Rick Warren when they preach from the pulpit. This scholar-prophet-pastor, in this wonderful work, is presiding over a wedding ceremony, uniting in holy wedlock, piety and protest, the scholarship of liberation and womanist scholars and the ministry and pulpit of the Black Church, with the hope that this marriage will birth a 'new moment of a self critical liberating community.' This family of freedom and faith proposed by Dr. Warnock will usher in that day when 'justice rolls down like waters and righteousness as an ever flowing stream.' -- Frederick D. Haynes III,Senior Pastor, Friendship-West Baptist ChurchAs we celebrate the life of the most famous black pastor, Martin Luther King Jr., we should remember that the black church mission connects faith with justice and personal salvation with social transformation, and addresses personal piety and public policy for the well-being of the whole person and the whole community. It fights for the weak and sees the Gospel as 'good news for the poor.' -- Raphael G. Warnock,CNNRefusing to be content with the piety or protest divide between the Black Church and Black Theology, Warnock argues with scholarly rigor and pastoral fire for a vital partnership between the two. As a dedicated pastor and astute theologian, Warnock persuasively argues for a fifth movement in the Black Christian traditiona self-critical liberationist community that represents a public theology founded on the pietistic and liberationist dimensions of the Church. This is a must read for clergy, laity, and the academy. -- Emilie M. Townes,Dean and Professor of Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt University Divinity SchoolThe broadness and depth of Warnock's theological education and his distinguished pulpit give him the authority to ask the question: piety or protest? Warnock leads us through the history of the tensions and conversations among the black church, black theology and black pastors to boldly change this question into an exclamatory indicative: piety and protest. He admonishes all parties to move beyond the silos of their particular perspective to convene for the broader exchange of ideas, enabling us to fulfill our mission of helping to save the black community and the soul of our nation. -- James A. Forbes Jr.,Senior Pastor Emeritus, Riverside ChurchThis contribution to the enduring subject of piety and protest in black theological discourse is of special importance because it is written from the vantage point of one who stands in the gapa competent theologian with a pastoral vocationvalidating his craft in the trenches of social justice advocacy and community transformation. -- Cheryl J. Sanders,Howard University School of DivinityWarnock carefully traces the history and evolution of the independent black church in America, moving from the black church as a bastion against slavery all the way to the role Ebenezer Baptist and other black churches played in the Civil Rights Movement. He asserts that the black church's roots are in the battle for social liberation of black people, rooted in a progressive understanding of the life and message of Jesus Christ. -- Mark Reynolds * Popmatters *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Gospel of Liberation: Black Christian Resistance Prior to Black Theology 2. The Gospel's Meaning and the Black Church's Mission 3. Black Theologians on the Mission of the Black Church 4. Black Pastors on the Mission of the Black Church 5. Womanist Theologians on the Mission of the Black Church Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
£70.30
John Wiley & Sons Blood and Faith
Book Synopsis
£22.46
MP-SYR Syracuse University P Politics as Worship Righteous Activism and the
Book SynopsisExamines the Muslim Brotherhood’s internal debates on preaching, activism, and social reform from the 1980s to the 2000s. In doing so, Sumita Pahwa finds that the framing of political work as ethical conduct has been critical to the organisation’s functioning.Trade ReviewSubstantive and methodological. Pahwa makes good use of the Arabic secondary sources about the Muslim Brotherhood in addition to analyzing primary Arabic-language material." - Samer Shehata, Colin Mackey and Patricia Molina de Mackey Associate Professor of Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma
£60.35
Syracuse University Press Politics as Worship Righteous Activism and the
Book SynopsisExamines the Muslim Brotherhood’s internal debates on preaching, activism, and social reform from the 1980s to the 2000s. In doing so, Sumita Pahwa finds that the framing of political work as ethical conduct has been critical to the organisation’s functioning.Trade ReviewSubstantive and methodological. Pahwa makes good use of the Arabic secondary sources about the Muslim Brotherhood in addition to analyzing primary Arabic-language material." - Samer Shehata, Colin Mackey and Patricia Molina de Mackey Associate Professor of Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma
£30.56
The University of Alabama Press The Transformation of the Christian Right in the
Book SynopsisChronicles and analyzes the remarkable changes that occurred in the Christian Right from its emergence in the late 1970s through the 1980s.Trade ReviewFair and accurate. - Christian Booksellers Association Journal ""Highly readable, well-documented.... Moen chronicles the changes that took place in the Christian Right which began in the mid-1980s. Moen argues that an increasingly political environment led to changes in the tactics of the Christian Right.... Perhaps more importantly, the rhetoric associated with the movement shifted from a strong religious emphasis in the style of a jeremiad to a more liberal focus on individual rights and choices. An excellent work, [that] must be read by anyone interested in the nature of religious politics in the United States. Moen has provided a framework and a chronology which will be extremely useful."" - Review of Religious Research ""Moen's account will, undoubtedly remain one of the very best contributions to the study of the American Christian Right."" - American Politics Review
£23.36
Ohio University Press Romes Most Faithful Daughter The Catholic Church
Book SynopsisWhen an independent Poland reappeared on the map of Europe after World War I, it was widely regarded as the most Catholic country on the continent. Yet the relations of the Second Polish Republic with the Church proved far more difficult than expected.Trade Review“It is impossible to summarize the complex history that unfolds with gripping tension and wonderful detail in Professor Pease’s marvelous book…. Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter is a riveting read that combines an engaging style with academic rigor. It should travel easily beyond the confines of academe and grace the bookshelves of anyone interested in Poland, in the Vatican, in church-state relations, and the ambitions, friendships and rivalries of men and institutions.” * The Cosmopolitan Review *“This excellent book is highly recommended for those interested in the history of Poland, interwar Europe, the Catholic Church, and World War II. It also has important things to say about church-state relations, namely, that even in a country celebrated for its Catholicity, relations between church and state can be complex and troubled.” * Slavic Review *“I have no doubt that this monograph (Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter) is set to become the standard work on the topic.” * Canadian Slavonic Papers *A “subtle and sophisticated scholarly study…. Pease’s study is impressively grounded in archival and printed sources and reflects a mastery of the secondary literature. Very well written, it is an authoritative work that corrects conventional wisdom.” * Church History *“Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter is elegantly written, scrupulously researched, and persuasively argued. Above all, it manages to strike a rare balance while dealing with a topic that is replete with polemical landmines…. This book will offer revelations even for specialists in Polish history, but its audience should extend far beyond that subfield to encompass anyone interested in the history of Catholicism in modern Europe.” * The Catholic Historical Review *“Making clear what actually happened in and to Poland between the wars, Pease provides an insightful contribution to understanding the major issues faced by Europe. Each of the nine chapters is admirably clear, often eloquent, and well informed…. Summing Up: Highly recommended.” * Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries *“Neal Pease’s minutely researched Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter is not just first-class political history earning its place among the best of the type. It is a detailed recounting of the four-way dance between socialist leader Pilsudski, a Catholic nuncio (Msgr. Achille Ratti, later Pope Pius XI) who liked him and could overlook his peccadillos, a right-wing Polish hierarchy that detested Pilsudski and did not entirely trust Ratti to seek Poland’s best interests, and a Vatican papacy that needed its ‘most faithful daughter’ far more than most people realized…. (A) superbly researched and highly enlightening book.” * National Catholic Reporter *“Historians and academics will value the substantial amount of information on this fragile time in Poland.” * Polish American Journal *
£20.69
Ohio University Press Between the Brown and the Red
Book SynopsisBetween the Brown and the Red captures the multifaceted nature of church-state relations in communist Poland, relations that oscillated between mutual confrontation, accommodation, and dialogue. Ironically, under communism the bond between religion and nation in Poland grew stronger. This happened in spite of the fact that the government deployed nationalist themes in order to portray itself as more Polish than communist. Between the Brown and the Red also introduces one of the most fascinating figures in the history of twentieth-century Poland and the communist world.In this study of the complex relationships between nationalism, communism, authoritarianism, and religion in twentieth-century Poland, Mikolaj Kunicki shows the ways in which the country's communist rulers tried to adapt communism to local traditions, particularly ethnocentric nationalism and Catholicism. Focusing on the political career of Boleslaw Piasecki, a Polish nationalist politician who began his surprisiTrade Review“Employing excellent archival research and deft writing, Kunicki weaves the complex saga [of Boleslaw Piasecki’s career] into an analysis of the relationship between authoritarianism, nationalism, communism, and religion in Poland over the decades to the present postcommunist nation…. Summing Up: Highly recommended.” * Choice *“Mikołaj Stanisław Kunicki has written a magnificent political biography of Bolesław Piasecki…. This book will be required reading for any historian of modern Poland and should also appeal to anyone interested in nationalism, communism, the political Right in the twentieth century, the nature of totalitarianism in postwar Eastern Europe, and the persistence of prewar fascist strands in the communist East (hence the book’s title)…. This is an extremely well-researched, wellconceptualized, and original work.” * American Historical Review *“This is an original, thought provoking, often deliberately provocative book, based on a wealth of archival and published sources. It is, as well, a pleasure to read. Between the Brown and the Red takes its place as one of the best studies of the complex relationship of Catholicism and politics in recent Polish history.” * Cosmopolitan Review *“Kunicki provides a concise political history of Poland and its significant leaders. Piasecki, while not a major leader, contributed from the very beginnings of Poland’s turbulent times with a taste of freedom following World War I up to his death in 1979…. This biography, one of the few in English, will be a welcome addition to Polish American historians.” * Polish American Journal *
£23.39
Ohio University Press Preaching Prevention
Book SynopsisPreaching Prevention examines the controversial U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative to “abstain and be faithful” as a primary prevention strategy in Africa.Trade Review“A fascinating, fresh, original ethnography of born-again Christians in Kampala, Uganda.”“Boyd examines in particular the experiences of Ugandan born-again Christians promoting abstinence and faithfulness programs … PEPFAR spent $278 million [there] in 2014, which was equal to about three-fourths of what the Ugandan government spent on health overall that same year. In other words, Boyd is studying the critical player in public health provision in Uganda. Boyd’s book seems particularly relevant for the newly created LGBT Rapid Response Fund, as it includes a chapter about Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.” * Washington Post online *“[A] robust contribution to AIDS discourse in Africa.” * African Studies Quarterly *“This book, in general, is a very fine analysis of Ugandan attitudes to sexual practice, in the light of the AIDS prevention campaign. It is thorough and illuminating. … The book is superb as a sociological/anthropological account of born-again Christianity. … I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it for its penetrating analysis and insight.” * Journal of Church and State *“Boyd places Christian concerns about HIV/AIDS transmission and same-sex unions in Uganda in an ethnographic and historical perspective that will richly enhance discussions of rights and accountability.”
£25.19
Ohio University Press Pursuing Justice in Africa Competing Imaginaries
Book SynopsisPursuing Justice in Africa focuses on visions of justice across the African continent, featuring essays that engage with topics at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship across a wide range of disciplines including activism, land tenure, international legal institutions, and post-conflict reconciliation.Trade Review“The diverse essays, many by African scholars, make this an essential collection on a topic just beginning to animate African studies. Outstanding in their well-balanced combination of ethnography and theory, they thoroughly contextualize their topic. The contrast between the local and the international alone that this well-thought-out book illuminates is valuable.”“This important volume asks us to step back and reconsider current processes for seeking justice—for righting wrongs, holding criminals accountable for their crimes, and fostering harmony—and to ask what should always have been the first question: what are the meanings individuals and communities attach to ‘justice’? Or, indeed, is there anything like ‘justice’ in Africa that can equate to the many, differing definitions of justice in the West?”“This is an impactful, powerful, well-written book for scholars who are deconstructing the concept of justice within an African context. This book adds an emboldened voice to the current literature and affirms the position that more needs to be done to address the inequalities within vulnerable groups such as women and children in Africa.” * African Studies Review *
£56.10
Ohio University Press Boko Haram
Book SynopsisGoing beyond the headlines, including the group’s 2014 abduction of 276 girls in Chibok and the ensuing international outrage, Boko Haram provides readers new to the conflict with a clearly written and comprehensive history of how the group came to be, the Nigerian government’s failed efforts to end it, and its impact on ordinary citizens.Trade Review[This] nimble short history … stands out for a section on creative responses to the group in literature and television. It also explores how the conflict’s intractability has given rise to a thick culture of conspiracy theories, propelled by social media…. Kendhammer and McCain trace the conspiratorial mindset to a history of Nigerian government corruption. Nigeria, they show, deals with the same vexations of fake news as the rest of the globalized world, but via its own particular history. * The Times Literary Supplement *
£12.99
Ohio University Press Unruly Ideas A History of Kitawala in Congo
Book SynopsisIn this conceptual history, Nicole Eggers argues that practitioners of the Congolese religious movement Kitawala can be understood as intellectuals, innovators, and vital participants in the construction and use of power. Eggers also explores the relationship between healing and violence in their frequently gendered central African manifestations.Trade ReviewUnruly Ideas is an original, refreshing, one-of-a-kind study about power, invisible and holistic power. How Congolese Kitawalists displayed 'intellectual agency' and challenged European 'hoarders of power' by carving out their own political space and by availing themselves of religious and thaumaturgic possibilities is at the heart of Nicole Eggers’s fine-grained narrative. -- Ch. Didier Gondola, author of Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in KinshasaNicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research. -- David M. Gordon, author of Invisible Agents: Spirits in a Central African History“Nicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research.”“This is an original and one-of-a-kind study that historians, anthropologists, and political scientists will find quite rewarding.”
£56.10
Ohio University Press Unruly Ideas A History of Kitawala in Congo
Book SynopsisIn this conceptual history, Nicole Eggers argues that practitioners of the Congolese religious movement Kitawala can be understood as intellectuals, innovators, and vital participants in the construction and use of power. Eggers also explores the relationship between healing and violence in their frequently gendered central African manifestations.Trade ReviewUnruly Ideas is an original, refreshing, one-of-a-kind study about power, invisible and holistic power. How Congolese Kitawalists displayed 'intellectual agency' and challenged European 'hoarders of power' by carving out their own political space and by availing themselves of religious and thaumaturgic possibilities is at the heart of Nicole Eggers’s fine-grained narrative. -- Ch. Didier Gondola, author of Tropical Cowboys: Westerns, Violence, and Masculinity in KinshasaNicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research. -- David M. Gordon, author of Invisible Agents: Spirits in a Central African History“Nicole Eggers has written an engaging, original, and important account of the Kitawalist religious movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from the 1930s to recent times, packed with the results of years of archival and oral research.”“This is an original and one-of-a-kind study that historians, anthropologists, and political scientists will find quite rewarding.”
£25.19
Duke University Press Alone Before God
Book SynopsisPosits an underlying religious impetus for modernity in Mexico, claiming that the Catholic Church nursed a reform movement that ultimately affected many of the same changes as the Protestant Reformation.Trade Review“This arresting study couples substance and style to transform what could have been a dry treatise on internecine clerical debates about dogma and inner spirituality into an intriguing and lively examination of the character of Mexican modernity sure to complicate our understandings of nineteenth-century liberal thought.”—Allen Wells, Bowdoin College“Voekel's engaging history of the debates surrounding burials and cemetaries in late colonial Mexico provides a fresh perspective on the origins of nationalist sentiments in Latin America. Her creative reading of wills and other archival materals will inspire historians and anthropologists to think in new ways about the role of religion in early liberal thought.”—Deborah Poole, New School UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Baroque Backdrop 2. The Reformation in Mexico City 3. Freeing the Virtuous Individual 4. The Battle for Church Burials 5. Piety, Power, and Politics 6. The Ideology Articulated 7. The Rise of Medical Empiricism 8. The Heir Apparent Conclusion Postscript Appendix Archives Notes Primary Sources Secondary Sources
£80.10
Duke University Press Alone Before God The Religious Origins of
Book SynopsisPosits an underlying religious impetus for modernity in Mexico, claiming that the Catholic Church nursed a reform movement that ultimately affected many of the same changes as the Protestant Reformation.Trade Review“This arresting study couples substance and style to transform what could have been a dry treatise on internecine clerical debates about dogma and inner spirituality into an intriguing and lively examination of the character of Mexican modernity sure to complicate our understandings of nineteenth-century liberal thought.”—Allen Wells, Bowdoin College“Voekel's engaging history of the debates surrounding burials and cemetaries in late colonial Mexico provides a fresh perspective on the origins of nationalist sentiments in Latin America. Her creative reading of wills and other archival materals will inspire historians and anthropologists to think in new ways about the role of religion in early liberal thought.”—Deborah Poole, New School UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Baroque Backdrop 2. The Reformation in Mexico City 3. Freeing the Virtuous Individual 4. The Battle for Church Burials 5. Piety, Power, and Politics 6. The Ideology Articulated 7. The Rise of Medical Empiricism 8. The Heir Apparent Conclusion Postscript Appendix Archives Notes Primary Sources Secondary Sources
£25.19
Duke University Press Spiritual Mestizaje
Book SynopsisDemonstrates the centrality of Gloria Anzaldúas concept of spiritual mestizaje to the queer feminist Chicana theorists life and thought, and its utility as a framework for interpreting contemporary Chicana narratives.Trade Review“Spiritual Mestizaje offers brilliant readings of some of the most significant Chicana writers and artists of our era. It is indispensible to understanding anew the broad spiritual and social significance of U.S. ethnic cultures. In this book, Theresa Delgadillo lucidly demonstrates how the call for social justice made by contemporary Chicana writers also affirms the imperative for spiritual growth. By examining representations of spirituality in major Chicana literary and filmic texts, Delgadillo deftly considers how religious practices inform transformations of consciousness. She weaves together two central components of Chicana literature to prove that they work in tandem in the continuing quest for respect, equality, and enlightenment.”—Rafael Pérez-Torres, University of California, Los Angeles“Building on Gloria Anzaldúa’s groundbreaking theory-praxis of spiritual activism, Theresa Delgadillo offers a bold, innovative analysis of the contributions that a politics of spirit can make to critical resistance and individual-collective subject formation. Spiritual Mestizaje should be required reading for anyone interested in contemporary women-of-color theory, postcolonial thought, feminist/womanist studies, religious studies, and/or theology.”—AnaLouise Keating, editor of The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader“Theresa Delgadillo’s commitment to ‘the social practice of imagination’ carries Chicana/o studies to a new level of maturity through a skillful focus on spiritual mestizaje and social justice as they are inscribed in the work of eight Chicana writers. We travel in literary and spiritual realms where authors have explored with extraordinary inventiveness the ways that people and institutions have struggled to regulate sexualized female bodies. And thankfully, the religious vision of Gloria Anzaldúa now receives its fuller illumination and application in this borderlands of words, feelings, images, and diversities that map a new geography of critical work.”—Davíd Carrasco, Harvard Divinity School“Delgadillo's study makes a compelling case for the way that Chicana narratives imagine and enact alternative spiritualities, and how those spiritualities can offer new strategies for conceiving of individual and collective subject formation.” -- Stella Setka * Modern Fiction Studies *“In addition to making Alcalá’s fascinating novels more widely known, Delgadillo skillfully illustrates how the Anzaldúan paradigm, particularly as refurbished through her elaboration of spiritual mestizaje, remains powerfully relevant for contemporary Chicana feminist practices.” -- John Morán González * American Literature *”Delgadillo offers incisive readings of key contemporary Chicana writers and filmmakers, but more importantly she presents a framework for ‘the analysis of religion and spirituality in borderlands Chicana narrative.’ The first chapter is a critical tour de force, developing a theory of spiritual mestizaje, an epistemology in which social justice, spirituality, politics, and narrative form come into play with memory and oppositional history. The author deftly examines the disciplinary points of contact to situate her critical intervention in recent scholarship. . . . Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; general readers.” -- E. Rodriguez y Gibson * Choice *“Spiritual Mestizaje represents a rich and nuanced contribution to the field of Chicano studies as she meticulously uncovers hitherto unexplored facets of spirituality and popular expressions of religiosity as central to gendered processes of identity formation.” -- Nuala Finnegan * Journal of American Studies *“[A] timely and groundbreaking contribution to the study of religion." -- Karen Mary Davalos * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. A Theory of Spiritual Mestizaje 2. Bodies of Knowledge 3. Sacred Fronteras 4. Border Secrets: Gender, Judaism, and Indigenous Worldviews in the Americas 5. "Bad Religion" Notes Bibliography Index
£76.50
Fordham University Press Political Theologies
Book SynopsisWhat has happened to religion in its present manifestations? Containing contributions from distinguished scholars from disciplines, such as: philosophy, political theory, anthropology, classics, and religious studies, this book seeks to address this question.Trade Review"If the idea of political theology seemed anachronistic to many liberal thinkers in the twentieth century, in the twenty-first century-and especially since September 11-it has become urgent and unavoidable, essential for making sense of our current global situation. Hent de Vries and Lawrence Sullivan's Political Theologies constitutes the single most important collection of essays to date on a topic that is at once classic and contemporary, foundational and aporetic. These essays approach the multiple intersections of the political and the theological in the ancient, modern, and 'post-secular' worlds as both positive, mutually reinforcing, and necessary relationships, and violent, contradictory, and even impossible encounters. De Vries's Introduction masterfully surveys the varieties of the political-theological conjunction and presents a powerful analysis of its immanent excesses and paradoxical reversals, its terrifying histories and its transformative, even redemptive potentiality." -- -Kenneth Reinhard University of California, Los Angeles "Political Theologies is an outstanding collection of creative essays on the cutting edge of political theology. The essays bring new and original perspectives that change the terrain and make this volume an indispensable benchmark for future discussions. It is a 'must read' and an invaluable resource for both religious and theological studies. Anyone interested in political theology will be rewarded by its rich diversity. I highly recommend it." -- -Francis Schussler Fiorenza Stillman Professor, Harvard Divinity School " ... Smart and eclectic ..." -Journal of Church and State "This splendid volume will be essential reading for anyone who wants to explore the whole terrain of contemporary 'political theologies' through which this question is addressed." -Faith and Theology "This volume makes a vital contribution to an academy increasingly focused on questions emerging from the interstices of political theory, philosophy, and the study of religion, and to a broader world struggling to understand and adapt to the changes that have come with globalization and revitalized religion. Each essay is grounded in first-rate scholarship, but none of them plays it safe. Whether offering incisive theoretical reflections on political theology or proposing startling analyses of the French veiling controversy, these essays will change the way we think about religion in a post-secular world." -- -Tyler Roberts Grinnell College "A major lankmark in interdisciplinary studies of religion's function in the public sphere, Political Theologies in now the standard reference in this field that dates back to the second century B.C. but has returned with special urgency in the past decade." -Christianity and Literature "There is no more important topic today than the role of religion in public life. It is vital in both peace and war, debate and consensus, democracy and repression, nationalism and transnational humanitarian action. For anyone wishing to survey the range of theoretical perspectives on this theme, this collection by Hent de Vries and Lawrence Sullivan is indispensable. It offers the single best assemblage of sources for understanding not only political theologies, but issues of pluralism, secularism, and contending ideas of the human that they raise." -- -Craig Calhoun Social Science Research Council "The wholly unanticipated reemergence of religion into the realm of politics and public policy, which is happening all over the world, is puzzling and worrisome to some people. Many explanations for this surprising development have been advanced, none fully satisfactory. Now this volume brings together some of the keenest and best-informed analysis yet available, from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. It sets a new gold standard for future attempts to understand the growing role of religion in the twenty-first century." -- -Harvey Cox Hollis Professor of Divinity, Harvard University "This book...will become increasingly important for the future of pentecostal studies." -- -Amos Yong Pneuma
£85.50
Fordham University Press Writing of the Formless
Book SynopsisThis book proposes the “formless” as a way of thinking through the impasses of contemporary politics. The writing of the formless, as it can be traced in the work of Lezama Lima and the Cuban Revolution, is the point of departure in thinking through the relationship between politics and time.Trade Review"Deep and dazzling. The Writing of the Formless dismantles or powerfully threatens the very basis of much of what today wants to present itself as 'properly leftist' thought but also the equally paralyzing liberal-democratic administration of things: both ideologies are anchored in disavowed understandings of temporality. This is a groundbreaking, extraordinary book that will mark a before and after in Latinamericanism." -- -Alberto Moreiras Texas A&M University
£75.65
Fordham University Press Religion Revolution and the End of Time Jose
Book SynopsisThis book proposes the formless as a way of thinking through the impasses of contemporary politics. The writing of the formless, as it can be traced in the work of Lezama Lima and the Cuban Revolution, is the point of departure in thinking through the relationship between politics and time.Trade Review"Deep and dazzling. The Writing of the Formless dismantles or powerfully threatens the very basis of much of what today wants to present itself as 'properly leftist' thought but also the equally paralyzing liberal-democratic administration of things: both ideologies are anchored in disavowed understandings of temporality. This is a groundbreaking, extraordinary book that will mark a before and after in Latinamericanism." -- -Alberto Moreiras Texas A&M University
£21.59
Fordham University Press Religion Protest and Social Upheaval
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction Matthew T. Eggemeier, Peter Joseph Fritz, and Karen V. Guth | 1 Part I: Upheaval Under Capitalism 1. Capital’s “Secret Orders”: A Du Boisian Lens on the Alt- Right and White Supremacy Mark Lewis Taylor | 13 2. Protest at the Void: Theological Challenges to Capitalist Totality Devin Singh | 49 3. As the World Burns: Laudato Si’, the Climate Crisis, and the Limits of Papal Power Mary Doak | 69 Part II: Race, Aesthetics, and Religion 4. Whiteness and Civilization: Shame, Race, and the Rhetoric of Donald Trump Donovan O. Schaefer | 93 5. Rootedness on the Slippery Earth: Migration in a Time of Social Upheaval Nichole M. Flores | 112 6. Christian Responses to the “Revolutionary Aesthetic” of Black Lives Matter Jermaine M. McDonald | 124 Part III: Migration, Labor Movements, and Islam 7. Caught in the Crosshairs: Muslims and Migration Zayn Kassam | 143 8. Iftars, Prayer Rooms, and #DeleteUber: Postsecularity and the Promise/ Perils of Muslim Labor Organizing C. Melissa Snarr | 161 Part IV: Thresholds in Gender, Sexuality, and Christianity 9. Slogan, Women’s Protest, and Religion Kwok Pui-lan | 177 10. LGBTQ+ Politics and the Queer Thresholds of Heresy Ju Hui Judy Han | 195 Acknowledgments | 217 List of Contributors | 219 Index | 221
£60.75
University of Hawai'i Press Yasukuni Fundamentalism
Book SynopsisAlthough religious fundamentalism is often thought to be confined to monotheistic âreligions of the bookâ, this study examines the emergence of a fundamentalism rooted in the Shinto tradition and considers its role in shaping postwar Japanese nationalism and politics.
£22.36
University of Hawai'i Press The Revolution of Buddhist Modernism
Book SynopsisProvides an account of the upheaval that took place within the world of Japanese Jodo Shin (True Pure Land) Buddhism when scholar-priest Kiyozawa Manshi initiated modernist reforms. Kiyozawa and his disciples reenvisioned Pure Land teachings as a path to awakening in the present world rather than rebirth in a faraway Pure Land after death.
£51.00
University of Hawaii Press The Revolution of Buddhist Modernism
Book SynopsisBy combining intellectual history with institutional history, The Revolution of Buddhist Modernism reveals deep connections between Buddhist thought, Buddhist institutions, and national and global politics.Trade ReviewJeff Schroeder addresses the influence of Kiyozawa and his followers with sophistication and in rich detail. His book is a major contribution to our understanding of the modernization of one of the key religious traditions in Japan and of Buddhism in Japan generally." —Michael Conway, Ōtani University"With its interest in both ideas and institutions, this book brings a fresh approach to bear on the study of Buddhist modernism. As a history of ideas, it offers a lucid account of the development of important innovations within Seishinshugi thought, showing how they were enabled by transformations in the political and social sphere. As an institutional history, it illuminates the process through which an organization's erstwhile heretics were able to become its leading intellectual lights." —Melissa Anne-Marie Curley, The Ohio State University
£23.96
UNIV OF HAWAII PR Ethics of Belonging
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£51.00
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Religion and Finance
Book SynopsisThis well-written, well-constructed analysis of the financial thought of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with its insightful analysis of key financial instruments and economic practices, will be an invaluable book for anyone who is interested in, or studying, the three major Abrahamic religions and their financial practices and philosophies.Trade Review'This account of the teachings of the three Abrahamic religions on finance sheds fresh light on the distinctive approach of each. The comparative approach provides valuable insights on the reasons for the condemnation of usurious interest and the moral challenges of contemporary equity and debt-based finance. The study should be essential reading for ministers of religion wanting to deepen their understanding of financial matters, as well as theological and law students concerned with the interface between secular and religious law.' --Rodney Wilson, Emeritus Professor, Durham University, UKTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Defining the issues in religion and finance 2. The three Abrahamic religions 3. Attitudes of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to usury 4. Social policy in the Abrahamic religions 5. Economic framework of the Abrahamic religions 6. What the Abrahamic religions say about contemporary financial practices 7. Partnership based equity instruments 8. Sale based debt instruments 9. The future of interest-free financing 10. Conclusion References Index
£99.00
