Religion: general Books

Book SynopsisFrom a motorway service area to her ambivalent relationship with religion, Wendy Cope covers a wide range of experience in her new collection. Her mordant humour and formal ingenuity are in evidence, even as she remembers the wounds of a damaging childhood; and in poems about love and the inevitable problems of ageing she achieves an intriguing blend of sadness and joy. Two very different sets of commissioned poems round off a remarkable volume, whose opening poem sounds clearly the profound note of compassion which underlies the whole.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCovering the major topics currently studied in schools, seminaries and universities, this work addresses questions concerning the nature of religious faith, the attitudes of the various religions towards religious texts and the changes that have taken place in religion.Table of ContentsPart 1 The nature of religion: religion as myth; as meaning; as revelation. Part 2 The Bible's Theologians: Old Testament surprises; getting behind the Gospels; the Bible as revelation. Part 3 A changing Church: the encounter with paganism; the medieval achievement; reformation continuities. Part 4 The continuing task: reason and belief; conflict in method; theological argument.

Read more less

Book SynopsisReviews 3000 years of apocalyptic thought. Tracing the history of millenarianism from ancient times to the 17th century, this book investigates the modern and postmodern debates in which apocalyptic themes are recirculated, from Zoroaster to Derrida.Table of ContentsIntroduction: on making ends meet, Malcolm Bull. Part 1 How Tim acquired a consummation, Norman Cohn; "Upon whom the ends of the ages have come" - apocalytic and the interpretation of the New Testament, Christopher Rowland; the end of the world and the beginning of Christendom, Bernard McGinn; pattern and purpose in history in the later Medieval and Renaissance periods, Marjorie Reeves; 17th-century millennarianism, Richard Popkin. Part 2 Secular apocalypse - prophets and apocalyptics at the end of the 18th century, Elinor Shaffer; Saint-Simonian industrialism as the end of history, August Cieszkowski; on the teleology of universal history, Laurence Dickey; apocalypse, millennium and utopia today, Krishan Kumar; Part 3 The "apocalyptic tone" in philosophy - Kant, Derrida, Foucault, Christopher Norris; waiting for the end, Frank Kermode, beginning and ending - Adrono as lateness itself, Edward Said.

Read more less

Book SynopsisProvides a sourcebook for one of the influential theories of myth, the theory which connects myth to rituals. This title covers the theory from the origin in biblical and classical studies to its spread to the study of religions worldwide and to its extension to literature and the social sciences.Trade Review"Segal has tracked down those hard-to-locate gems from the classics of the study of religion, literature, folklore and ethnology, and has put them into historical and analytic perspective. There is nothing like it anywhere. A 'must' for the classroom." Ivan Strenski, University of California, Riverside "Twenty-nine selections plus an expert's introduction to a central theme in the modern history of religions. I look forward to teaching with it and urge its acquisition by classicists and historians of myth and religion." William M. Calder III, University of Illinois "This is a monumental collection of essays and abstracts of texts, all concerned with a most classical theme in symbolic studies - the debate on the relation (if any) between ritual and myth.....There is a repository of knowledge in The myth and ritual theory - ideas to be picked up, developed and led onto new paths connecting them with temporary studies of human symbolism in terms of imagery and discourse." Goran Aijmer, University of Gothenburg "'Meaty' could repeatedly characterize this valuable anthology. It is meaty because Robert Segal offers a wide range of texts in generous excerpts. It is meaty because Segal offers not only texts from the traditional theorists but also generous selections from both literary critics and classicists. It is meaty because Segal does not confine himself to an information-packed 'Introduction'; he also offers informed and informing introductions to each excerpt. ... On these bases alone, anyone with an interest in myth and ritual will surely thumb this book to tatters." C. Robert Phillips III, Lehigh University "This is an impressive and illuminating book - ambitiously conceived, methodically organized, and especially well designed for purposes of either historical understanding or theoretical comparison. Segal's talents as both excavator and critic combine opportunely to make The Myth and Ritual Theory a near indispensable text, not only as a sourcebook for students, but as a starting place for further inquiry into one of the most enduring, and engaging, interpretive debates of modern times." Journal of the American Academy of Religion "The Myth and Ritual Theory, edited by Robert Segal, is genuinely indispensable for teachers of myth who prefer to center their approach in traditional materials. For those who have grown weary of putting on library reserve hard to find or out of print works by classic scholars in the field of myth and ritual, this book is a god(s)send." Nova ReligioTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. Part I: Original Formulation of the Theory: . 1. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites: William Robertson Smith. Part II: The Development of Theory: . 2. The Golden Bough: James Frazer. 3. Themis: Jane Harrison. 4. The Myth and Ritual Pattern of the Ancient East: S. H. Hooke. Part III: Application of Theory to the Ancient World: . 5. Excursus on the Ritual Forms Preserved in Greek Tragedy: Gilbert Murray. 6. A Ritual Basis for Hesiod's Theogony. 7. New Year Festivals: Ivan Engnell. Part IV: Application of the Theory Worldwide:. 8. The Life-giving Myth: A. M. Hocart. 9. The Beginnings of Religion: E. O. James. 10. Myth in Primitive Psychology: Bronislaw Malinowski. 11. Myth and Reality: Mircea Eliade. Part V: Application of the Theory to Literature:. 12. The Hero of Tradition: Lord Raglan. 13. From Ritual to Romance: Jessie L. Weston. 14. The Archetypes of Literature: Northrop Frye. 15. The Ritual View of Myth and the Mythic: Stanley Edgar Hyman. 16. The Idea of a Theater: Francis Fergusson. 17. The Myth and Ritual Approach to Shakespearean Tragedy: Herbert Weisinger. 18. What is Myth?: René Girard. Part VI: Revisions of the Theory: . 19. Thespis: Theodor H. Gaster. 20. Myths and Rituals: A General Theory: Clyde Kluckhohn. 21. Homo Necans: Walter Burkert. 22. Structure and Dialectics: Claude Lévi-Strauss. Part VII: Evaluations of the Theory:. 23. The Dramas and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races: William Ridgeway. 24. Introduction to Apollodorus, The Library: James Frazer. 25. The Evidence of Divine Kings in Greece: H. J. Rose. 26. The Myth and Ritual Position Critically Examined: S. G. F. Brandon. 27. The Myth-Ritual Theory: William Bascom. 28. The Ritual Theory of Myth: Joseph Fontenrose. 29. Prospects: H. S. Versnel. Further Reading. Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis* Introduces students to the principal world faiths. * Includes classroom exercises, discussion questions, a glossary and annotated bibliography to aid teaching and learning. * Can be used in conjunction with Markhama s A World Religions Reader, Second Edition as a complete teaching package. .Table of ContentsList of Contributors ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii 1 Studying Religion: Issues in Definition and Method 1 2 Religion and Sociology 21 3 Religion and Psychology 44 4 Religion and Scripture: The Function of the Special Books of Religion 68 5 Religion, Ritual, and Culture 96 6 Religion and the Arts 117 7 Secular Humanism 139 8 Hinduism 163 9 Buddhism 190 10 Sikhism 215 11 Chiness Religion 240 12 Judaism 272 13 Shintoism 297 14 Christianity 309 15 Islam 337 Bibliography 372 Index 375

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is the masterpiece one would have expected it to be. For the expert it is a fresh and elegant treatise, brimming deliciously with new ideas and insights. For the beginner it is a brilliant gem of exposition, rendering a host of abstruse arguments crystal clear. For all it is a smooth and exciting journey to a vivid and comprehensive view of the alternative foundations of classical mathematics. -- Joseph S. Ullian * Philosophical Review *Perhaps the most concise and readable general survey of axiomatic set theory at present available…Suitable reading not only for mathematics students…but also for philosophers with an interest in the foundations of mathematics. An excellent index and system of numbering formulae make it also a useful reference book. -- A. A. Treherne * Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society *This revision of an important and lucid account of the various systems of axiomatic set theory preserves the basic format and essential ingredients of its highly regarded original…There have, however, been a number of important changes, generally in the interest of greater elegance and clarity…a generally improved version of an originally masterful and brilliant work. * Review of Metaphysics *This book is most remarkable for its way of presenting the subject matter. A definite system of set theory is offered, but at the same time alternative ways are indicated and partly explored at every turn…The book is also remarkable for its style. Pithy, with never an unnecessary word (but with every necessary one), at times witty, the book is written in a way that is a great relief from ordinary textbooks. Quine's books always have style, but I consider this as one of the most successful from this point of view. -- Jean van HeijenoortTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION PART ONE. THE ELEMENTS I. LOGIC Quantification and identity Virtual classes Virtual relations II. REAL CLASSES Reality, extensionality, and the individual The virtual amid the real Identity and substitution III. CLASSES OF CLASSES Unit classes Unions, intersections, descriptions Relations as classes of pairs Functions IV. NATURAL NUMBERS Numbers unconstrued Numbers construed Induction V. ITERATION AND ARITHMETIC Sequences and iterates The ancestral Sum, product, power PART TWO. HIGHER FORMS OF NUMBER VI. REAL NUMBERS Program. Numerical pairs Ratios and reals construed Existential needs. Operations and extensions VII. ORDER AND ORDINALS Transfinite induction Order Ordinal numbers Laws of ordinals The order of the ordinals VIII. TRANSFINITE RECURSION Transfinite recursion Laws of transfinite recursion Enumeration IX. CARDINAL NUMBERS Comparative size of classes The SchrOder-Bernstein theorem Infinite cardinal numbers X. THE AXIOM OF CHOICE Selections and selectors Further equivalents of the axiom The place of the axiom PART THREE. AXIOM SYSTEMS XI. RUSSELL'S THEORY OF TYPES The constructive part Classes and the axiom of reducibility The modern theory of types XII. GENERAL VARIABLES AND ZERMELO The theory of types with general variables Cumulative types and Zermelo Axioms of infinity and others XIII. STRATIFICATION AND ULTIMATE CLASSES "New foundations" Non-Cantorian classes. Induction again Ultimate classes added XIV. VON NEUMANN'S SYSTEM AND OTHERS The von Neumann-Bernays system Departures and comparisons Strength of systems SYNOPSIS OF FIVE AXIOM SYSTEMS LIST OF NUMBERED FORMULAS BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES INDEX

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the definitive account of the career of Anwar al-Awlaki, the most influential Western exponent of violent jihad. Drawing on extensive research among al-Awlaki’s followers, including interviews with convicted terrorists, Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens explains how the radical preacher established his network and why his message resonated.Trade ReviewMake no mistake, this is a very important book. The meticulously researched description of al-Awlaki’s ideology, his charisma, and his influence on a whole generation of Salafi jihadists should make this required reading for policymakers, practitioners, and academics alike. Anyone who is seriously interested in trying to understand what the future of global jihad might look like should pay very careful attention to the past, and I have seen no more coherent description nor compelling analysis than this. But beyond that, the very readability of this book should bring it to a wider audience. The narrative is incredibly powerful. -- Peter Clarke, former Head of Counter Terrorism at New Scotland Yard and UK National Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations, 2002–2008With forensic research and deep scholarship, Meleagrou-Hitchens traces the spiritual and political evolution of al-Qaeda’s most prominent recruiter of Westerners, the American preacher Anwar al-Awlaki. A major contribution to the study of religious violence. -- Scott Shane, author of Objective Troy and veteran New York Times national security reporterAnwar al-Awlaki was one of the foremost prophets of modern global terrorism…Incitement documents Awlaki’s journey through the ideological and political dynamics that have defined contemporary Islamism…The author reveals a figure shaped by both fundamental beliefs and shifting applications of them. -- Mardean Isaac * Times Literary Supplement *Jihadism is here; it’s not leaving anytime soon, and we need to understand it so we can better fight it…An outstanding book on the subject and has much to teach us on the nature of homegrown jihadism. -- David Patrikarakos * The Spectator *A fascinating analysis of the career of this most dangerously charismatic of fanatics…Meleagrou-Hitchens has provided an essential analysis of the career of one of jihad’s most successful devotees and enlightened us as to the broader nature of Islamic holy war…If you want to understand the nature of Islamic terrorism and its evolution, look no further…If we want to combat the ideology that leads to such violence, we must understand it. Incitement will be central to that understanding. -- Daniel James Sharp * Areo *A rigorous analysis of American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki’s influence on the global jihadist movement…[Meleagrou-Hitchens’s] lucid and deeply informed presentation reveals just how difficult it is to stamp out extremist ideologies once they’ve taken root. This sobering account makes a meaningful contribution to the study of terrorism. * Publishers Weekly *A fascinating insight into al-Awlaki’s personal ideological evolution and how he became so effective in communicating the Salafi-Jihadist message…You can’t help but see just why al-Awlaki was and remains so effective as a communicator and recruiter…Meleagrou-Hitchens is an excellent guide. -- Joshua Huminski * Diplomatic Courier *Illustrates the long tail of one ideological figure…Incitement shows how Awlaki…initiated a new departure in mass violence. -- Damien McElroy * The National *Incitement presents the most comprehensive and incisive analysis available of the American-born al-Qaeda ideologue and recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki. Meleagrou-Hitchens masterfully assesses al-Awlaki’s emergence as the ‘face of Western jihad’ during the War on Terror’s first decade and provides new insights regarding his messaging and recruitment methods, his impact, and his legacy. -- Bruce Hoffman, Georgetown University, author of Inside TerrorismA deep, insightful journey into one of the most extraordinary terrorist legacies ever witnessed. Incitement connects the dots between Western jihadism’s ‘Pied Piper’ and his far-flung devotees. Meleagrou-Hitchens’s brilliant analysis gives us an essential account that should be read by researchers and national security professionals alike. -- John Horgan, Distinguished University Professor, Psychology, Georgia State UniversityAnwar al-Awlaki continues to motivate, inspire, and activate young jihadists long after his death. Incitement illuminates the how and why of that process in a way that both academics and practitioners will find incredibly valuable. -- Nicholas J. Rasmussen, former Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, 2014–2017Incitement is an authoritative and deeply researched account of the impact of the most important jihadist ideologue in the English-speaking world, the US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki. -- Peter Bergen, author of United States of Jihad: Who Are America’s Terrorists and How Do We Stop Them?Meleagrou-Hitchens…has spent the better part of a decade poring over Awlaki’s ideological production, interviewing his former acquaintances, and sifting through the historical record…The result is not only the definitive work on Awlaki, but an impressive text that marries the readability of a trade press biography and the analytical rigor of an academic monograph. -- Thomas Hegghammer * War on the Rocks *An excellent book about one of the most significant—and often misunderstood—terrorist propagandists of the modern day…While terrorism is often thought of and studied as a collective phenomenon, this book shows the significant and enduring role the individual can have. It is a lesson that deserves to be well heeded. -- Stephen Nemeth * American Religion *

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow did Hindu reformers make the religion modern? Brian Hatcher argues that this is the wrong question to ask. Exploring two nineteenth-century Hindu movements, the Brahmo Samaj and the Swaminarayan Sampraday, he challenges the notion of religious reform.Trade ReviewRequired reading not only for scholars of Hindu studies and South Asian religions but also for any student or scholar engaged in reflection on the concepts of reform, publics, modernity, and coloniality. The book is also highly recommended for anyone invested in interrogating the persistent colonial legacy of the concepts and categories used in the study of religion…Hatcher shows us a different way of thinking not only about colonial India, but also about what it means to read and understand texts in their respective contexts. -- Bennett Comerford * Reading Religion *In opening up new ways to understand the history of pre-modern and modern India, Hatcher gives scholars in history, religious studies, and theology new material to rethink Hindu-Christian relationships…Delightful reading. -- Edward T. Ulrich * Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies *This ambitious book challenges some of our basic assumptions about the beginnings of modern Hinduism and our understandings of its present. Brian Hatcher bravely spans the Indian subcontinent, from Arabian Sea to Bay of Bengal, to compare two foundational religious movements of the early nineteenth century. Working outside the usual framework of ‘reform,’ Hatcher explores the fundamental problems and possibilities of religion in early colonial modernity. -- Richard H. Davis, author of The Bhagavad Gita: A BiographyBrian Hatcher makes us radically rethink the master tropes of the study of religion. The alternatives he proposes and his delineation of the ‘Empire of Reform’ are of immense value to any project that has not already escaped the strictures imposed by the discourses of coloniality, modernity, and globalization. -- Leela Prasad, author of Poetics of Conduct: Oral Narrative and Moral Being in a South Indian TownIn Hinduism Before Reform, Hatcher engages with two important early colonial religious movements in India to argue that what we think of as ‘Hinduism’ is intricately involved in an ‘empire of reform’ bequeathed to us by the British Raj, the Enlightenment, Protestant missionaries, and Indian reformers. The result is at once radically plural, culturally provocative, and intellectually persuasive. Readers are in very good and very sure hands on every page of this sophisticated mind-bender. -- Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of KnowledgeIn this major contribution to the discourse on religion and reform, Brian Hatcher spotlights two contemporaneous religious innovators in early colonial India: Rammohun Roy and Swaminarayan. The result is a splendid, nuanced reassessment of what we now call ‘modern Hinduism.’ -- Paul B. Courtright, author of Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow the billionaire owners of Hobby Lobby are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make America a Bible nation Like many evangelical Christians, the Green family of Oklahoma City believes that America was founded as a Christian nation, based on a biblical worldview. But the Greens are far from typical evangelicals in other ways. The bilTrade Review"Selected as a Publishers Weekly 2017 Best Book in Religion""Exhaustively reported and scrupulously fair, Bible Nation doubles as a portrait of conviction: The Greens may well be the most sincere and most-frequently misguided activists in America."---Sarah Jones, The New Republic"Moss and Baden deftly highlight the cognitive dissonance at the heart of the evangelicalism, how and why the faithful cherry-pick Scriptures that buttress their own beliefs while dismissing contradictions among the texts themselves. . . . [The authors] draw on extensive research and interviews with a revolving-door cast of so-called experts and hangers-on, leaving no proverbial stone unturned in their quest to determine the value and validity of the Green collection, the Bible Museum's underlying purpose. Bible Nation peels away the bark on one of the largest branches of the American family tree, using an academic story to tell a broader one: the evangelicals’ unshakable conviction in their own fantasies and the demonization of anything, or anyone, that dares to challenge them."---Hamilton Cain, Minneapolis Star Tribune"Candida Moss and Joel Baden's new book illustrates how, with a net worth of nearly $4 billion, the family behind Hobby Lobby is stepping outside the corporate sphere and showing how faith and prosperity can powerfully influence the American public."---Charlotte Salley, The American Scholar"Biblical scholars Moss (The Myth of Persecution) and Baden (The Historical David) become dogged investigative journalists as they seek to understand how the Green family, the billionaire owners of Hobby Lobby, have aspired to influence national politics. . . . While depicting the Greens as well-intentioned, Moss and Baden make an impassioned case for fighting against the family's efforts to limit access to their questionably sourced collection and to misrepresent their work as nonsectarian when it is entrenched in a deeply American evangelical worldview. . . . This is a timely read for those interested in the relationship between money, faith, and American politics." * Publishers Weekly *"Two biblical scholars combine to dig into the actions and words of the billionaire Green family, founders of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores. . . . Moss and Baden portray the Green family members and their key executives as sincere evangelicals and benevolent employers. Throughout the book, however, they also show the Greens as naïve or disingenuous. To be sure, the family's proselytizing is not neutral. Rather, they are promoting a historically inaccurate saga of the U.S. as an exclusionary Christian nation meant to marry church and state. . . . Impressive . . . Well-positioned to examine the impact of religion on secular life." * Kirkus *"Moss and Baden's meticulous research will stand up to the most rigorous scrutiny, as they manage to stay dispassionate without judgement. . . . A troubling look into how a personal belief system can infiltrate seemingly public institutions through corporate means." * Library Journal *"[Moss and Baden's] concerns have merit, and by choosing to explore this particular front of the culture wars, they effectively cast light on issues that are American to the core: the belief that God blesses the faithful with financial success, the assumption that success in business verifies people as experts in realms they know little about, the notion that America is essentially and indisputably a Christian nation (and the public square ought therefore to reflect that essence), the dismissal of expert opinion when that opinion runs counter to popular belief, and the refusal of many people to examine their faith with a critical eye. In sum, Bible Nation illustrates what many nonevangelicals find so disturbing about America in the age of Trump, though it also reminds its readers that these untoward elements of American life long predated the election of our billionaire president. Surely they will outlive him as well." * Christian Century *"Candida R. Moss and Joel S. Baden--two respected academics of religious studies--go out of their way to be objective in their reporting on the Green family's growing influence on matters concerning the Bible in our country today. . . . Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby is a brave book in these dishonest times."---Charles R. Larson, Counterpunch"Highly worth reading."---Tara Isabella Burton, Vox"One could argue that it’s the civic duty of skeptics to go take a look--but with a copy of Bible Nation firmly in hand."---Sarah Posner, Washington Post

Read more less

Book SynopsisExamines "the lives and thought of seven major prophetic figures in twentieth-century America whose social activism was motivated by a deeply felt compassion for those suffering injustice"--Amazon.com.Trade Review"One of CHOICE’s Outstanding Academic Titles for 2017""Raboteau asks--and leaves for the reader to answer—whether last century's prophets for social justice can provide models for future action. This scholarly yet accessible primer to the role of faith in the lives of American activists challenges contemporary notions of the role in religion in politics, and argues that empathy is a critical first step in addressing the suffering of others." * Publishers Weekly *"The subjects [of American Prophets] knew one another and participated, often shoulder-to-shoulder, in events like the great southern civil rights marches and the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations of the 1960s. As important, they wrote, spoke, and guided the movements. Let the study of them together start with these concise yet weighty appraisals."---Ray Olson, Booklist"Raboteau offers inspiring and challenging examples of embodied faith in the modern world." * Library Journal *"Compelling and provocative. . . . A momentous scholarly achievement as well as a moving testimony to the human spirit, American Prophets represents a major contribution to the history of religion in American politics. This book is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about social justice, or who wants to know what prophetic thought and action can mean in today's world."---Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, JewishMediaReview"Raboteau's admiration for these figures leaps off the pages and invites a hushed reverence. . . .American Prophetsinvites the reader closer to the kind of faith that insists on justice. At its best the book not only extends an invitation to see how figures of faith mobilized their communities, but reminds us that the prophetic spirit is still calling us to action."---Susan Haarman, Commonweal"Written in lucid prose, Raboteau's seven luminous biographical sketches . . . tell a radical story." * Choice *"A powerful book about what faith in action truly means. Its underpinning of first-rate scholarship combined with eloquent analysis will compel many different audiences."---Nancy L. Roberts, Catholic News Service"The book is recommended for students of American politics, religion and social movements. It could hardly have appeared at a better time."---Jeremy Rutledge, Post and Courier"Raboteau brings his vast expertise to bear in these seven pithy profiles, moving back and forth between particular case studies and broader themes in American religion with an ease and authority that often eludes the junior scholar. . . . Compelling."---Heath W. Carter, Sociology of Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisIslamic substantive law, otherwise called branches of the law (furÅ' al-fiqh), covers the textual provisions and jurisprudential rulings relating to specific transactions under Islamic law. It is to Islamic substantive law that the rules of Islamic legal theory are applied. The relationship between Islamic legal theory and Islamic substantive law is metaphorically described by Islamic jurists as a process of 'cultivation' (istithmÄr), whereby the qualified jurist (mujtahid), as the 'cultivator', uses relevant rules of legal theory to harvest the substantive law on specific issues in form of 'fruits' (thamarÄt) from the sources. The articles in this volume engage critically with selected substantive issues in Islamic law, including family law; law of inheritance; law of financial transactions; criminal law; judicial procedure; and international law (al-siyar). These areas of substantive law have been selected due to their contemporary relevance and application in different parts of thTable of ContentsContents: Introduction. Part I Islamic Family Law: Marriage in Islamic law: the modernist viewpoints, Majid Khadduri; Invalid and void marriages in Hanafi law, J.N.D. Anderson; Equality (kafā’ah) in the Muslim law of marriage, Farhat J. Ziadeh; Mahr: legal obligation or rightful demand?, Mona Siddiqui; Marriage-guardianship and minor’s marriage at Islamic law, Lucy Carroll; Polygamy in traditional and contemporary Islamic law, Doreen Hinchcliffe; Women and divorce: the position of the SharÄ«Ê»ah, Abdul-Fatah Makinde ʼKola; A critical appraisal of ’triple divorce’ in Islamic law, Nehaluddin Ahmad; Tafwīḍ al-Ṭalāq: transferring the right to divorce to the wife, Fareeha Khan; A husband’s authority: emerging formulations in Muslim family laws, Lynn Welchman. Part II Islamic Law of Succession: The role of pre-Islamic customs in the Islamic law of succession, M. Habibur Rahman; The Islamic inheritance system: a socio-historical approach, David S. Powers; The Qur’anic law of inheritance, Richard Kimber; Representational succession in contemporary Islamic law, N.J. Coulson. Part III Islamic Law of Financial Transactions: Negotiating contracts in Islamic and Middle Eastern laws, Mahdi Zahraa; Contracts in Islamic law: the principles of commutative justice and liberality, Hussein Hassan; The concept of musharakah and its application as an Islamic method of financing, Muhammad Taqi Usmani; Islamic laws on riba (interest) and their economic implications, M. Siddieq Noorzoy; The Islamic law of real security, Nicholas H.D. Foster. Part IV Islamic Criminal Law: Islamic criminal law and procedure: religious fundamentalism v. modern law, Matthew Lippman; The concept of ḥadd in Islamic law, Fazlur Rahman; Effective legal representation in ’SharÄ«Ê»ah’ courts as a means of addressing human rights concerns in the Islamic criminal justice system of Muslim states, Mashood A. Baderin. Part V Islamic Judicial Procedure: Muslim procedure and evidence, J.N.D. Anders

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe 1950s and 60s were times of extraordinary social and political change across North America that re-drew the boundaries between traditional and progressive, conservative and liberal. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the history of Catholic nuns. During these two decades, nuns boldly experimented with their role in the church, removing their habits, rejecting the cloister, and fighting for social justice. The media quickly took to their cause and dubbed them 'the new nuns,' modern exemplars of liberated but sexually contained womanhood.With Visual Habits, Rebecca Sullivan brings this unexamined history of nuns to the fore, revisiting the intersection of three distinct movements - the Second Vatican Council, the second wave of feminism, and the sexual revolution - to explore the pivotal role nuns played in revamping cultural expectations of femininity and feminism.From The Nun's Story to The Flying Nun to The Singing Nun, nuns were a major preTrade ReviewVisual Habitsprovides a persuasive argument of how postwar worries concerning women were calmed by fantasizing about spunky women wearing veils. At the same time, it reminds us of the importance of imagining alternatives to the heterosexual family romance that is far from being the natural order of things. -- Colleen McDannell Bookforum - Oct/Nov 2005 Vol. 12 Issue 3 Visual Habits is a must-read in a culture that has forgotten the influence of professed religious in both women's history and pop culture...women religious, vocations directors and those with an interest in the films and folk music of the post-war era will enjoy grappling with this thought-provoking work. -- Dorothy Cummings The Catholic Register

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book argues that instead of the Oedipus complex explaining the myth, the Oedipus myth explains the complex. The author argues that the Oedipus myth is an historical anomaly, a myth of failed royal investiture or of avoided masculine initiation.Table of ContentsContents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Read more less

Book Synopsis Bleached Faith argues that the gravest threat to real faith in modern America comes from those who would water down religion in order to win the dubious honor of forcing it into public buildings and classrooms.Trade Review"Brilliantly written, passionately argued, and sincerely unbiased, the book is a clarion call to restrain the billboarding of religion." -- Library Journal"Accessible to any reader, but with insights for experts as well, Bleached Faith is a richly informed and frankly personal meditation about the importance of spiritual conviction in society. Steven Goldberg—long an important voice in questions of the relationships among religion, science, and the law—carefully surveys how courts have tried to mediate conflicts between the Constitution and those who want more religion in the public square. Anyone who wants to understand the fault line between church and state will be enriched by this book." -- Dennis J. Hutchinson * University of Chicago Law School, author of The Man Who Once Was Whizzer White *"Steven Goldberg has written a book for anyone concerned about American religion and its ill-conceived push into the public square. Bleached Faith is a powerful, cautionary tale." -- Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Executive Director, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, and Professor of Law * Santa Clara University *"Bleached Faith is a useful primer to some of the recent church/state debates." -- Jerome E. Copulsky * Politics and Religion *"Though the broad argument [this book] advances is not new, some of the evidence presented is based on very current issues, such as the discussion of Intelligent Design. The Court's jurisprudence in this area remains highly contested, and I think this book provides a useful counterweight to those who oppose the separation principle." -- Caren Dubnoff * College of the Holy Cross *"With a journalist's clarity and a lawyer's precision, Steven Goldberg shows what we've lost in the legal battles over religion's place in the public sphere—a serious commitment to what makes religion important." -- Mark Tushnet * Harvard Law School, author of A Court Divided: The Rehnquist Court and the Future of Constitutional Law *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments x Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Erasing the Ten Commandments 000 Chapter 3 How Intelligent Design Demeans Religion 000 Chapter 4 The Ultimate Demise of Christmas and Chanukah 000 Chapter 5 Neither France nor Iran: Religious Freedom in America 000 Chapter 6 Conclusion 000 Notes 000 Bibliographic Note 000 Index 000

Read more less

Book SynopsisSet in late sixteenth-century Spain, this book tells the gripping story of Lucrecia de León, a young woman of modest background who gained a dangerously popular reputation as a prophetic dreamer predicting apocalyptic ruin for her country. When Lucrecia was still a teenager, several Catholic priests took great interest in her prolific dreams and began to record them in detail. But the growing public attention to the dreams eventually became too much for the Spanish king. Stung that Lucrecia had accurately foreseen the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Philip II ordered the Inquisition to arrest her on charges of heresy and sedition. During Lucrecia''s imprisonment, trial, and torture, the carefully collected records of her dreams were preserved and analyzed by the court. The authenticity of these dreams, and their potentially explosive significance, became the focal point of the Church''s investigation.Returning to these records of a dreamer from another era, Lucrecia Trade Review"An excellent scholarly work, Lucrecia the Dreamer reads like a novel of political and religious intrigue, for the scenes are stranger than fiction—even though they are a matter of historical record. Anyone interested in dreams should read this book."—Patrick McNamara, Boston University and Northcentral University"Structured like a police procedural and delightful to read, Lucrecia the Dreamer employs concepts from psychology, anthropology, and history to situate Lucrecia de León in a broader human story about the power of dreaming. Given the difficulties of crossing disciplinary boundaries while maintaining the integrity of each discipline's rules of analysis, Kelly Bulkeley's achievement is most impressive."—Leslie Tuttle, Louisiana State University"While Lucrecia's personal story becomes the framework on which the fault-lines of Spanish society are displayed, Bulkeley sees a bigger picture....4/5 stars"—Bob Rickard, Fortean Times"Bulkeley's book presents an intriguing micro-history that illuminates life in late sixteenth-century Madrid and suggests the potential value of incorporating cognitive and digital approaches to scholarship on early modern events and texts. Bulkeley portrays Lucrecia as a living, breathing person, and he attempts to reconstruct her lived experiences, both waking and sleeping. His multifaceted analyses may indicate new paths for studying other visionaries and mystics of Golden-Age Spain."—Teresa Hancock-Parmer, Bulletin of Spanish StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction Historical Prologue 1. Early Life 2. A Record of Dreams 3. The Three Companions 4. Esta Negra Soñadora 5. New Powers 6. The Trial 7. What She Was Not 8. Patterns in the Dreams 9. Cognitive Science 10. Relational Psychology 11. Politics and Society 12. History of Religions 13. What She Most Likely Was Historical Epilogue Conclusion

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBeginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s,significant numbers of Haitian immigrants began to arrive and settle in Miami.Overcoming some of the most foreboding obstacles ever to face immigrants inAmerica, they, their children, and now their grandchildren, as well as morerecently arriving immigrants from Haiti, have diversified socioeconomically.Together, they have made South Florida home to the largest population ofnative-born Haitians and diasporic Haitians outside of the Caribbean and one ofthe most significant Caribbean immigrant communities in the world. Religion hasplayed a central role in making all of this happen. Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faith is a historical andethnographic study of Haitian religion in immigrant communities, based onfieldwork in both Miami and Haiti, as well as extensive archival research.Where many studies of Haitian religion limit themselves to one faith, Rey andTrade ReviewCrossing the Water and Keeping the Faith is a compelling sociological analysis of Haitian religion in Florida and offers important interventions into the sociology of religion and migration studies more broadly. * European Association of Social Anthropologists *Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faithsuccessfully locates Catholic, Protestant, and Vodouist religious identities in Haitian Miami and illustrates the diversity of religious places in the diaspora. Rey and Stepicks extensive fieldwork yields vivid anecdotes of faithful persons, sensitive considerations of immigrant struggle and resilience and, to date, the most comprehensive theory of Haitian American religious lives. * Southern Spaces *[A]n informative book that should be read by everyone interested in Haitian immigrant religion. Rey and Stepick have successfully managed to describe and untangle the intricacies of the religious practices of a major immigrant group in the United States. Moreover, they have skillfully removedthe superstitious and evil dimension that is often attached to Haitian religions * Sociology of Religion *Crossing the Waterdemonstrates many strengths and is a valuable contribution to a nuanced and sensitive understanding of the Haitian religion experience on both sides of the water. Its rich ethnographic, historical, and demographic information, along with an apt engagement with and critique of the rational choice and microeconomic theories of religion result in a book that is at once useful to a wide swath of scholars as well as quite and enjoyable read. * Review of Religious Research *Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faithstreatment of Haitian religion will be of value to scholars and students interested in Diaspora religions and sociology/anthropology of religion. * Religious Studies Review *Conjoining historical method with rich ethnographical material, Rey and Stepick offer a holistic view of Haitian religion in Miami. Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faiths treatment of Haitian religion will be of value to scholars and students interested in Diaspora religions and sociology/anthropology of religion. * Religion Studies Review *The authors are not anthropologists but rather professors of religion and of sociology, respectively, and their text does not quite read like anthropology, but I think we can concur that their portraits of three different yet linked Haitian religions, in Haiti and translocally, unified by a religious collusio are valuable to anthropology and suggest paths of research and analysis for the future. -- Jack David Eller * Anthropology Review Database *A monumental scholarly achievement by two excellent scholars of the three main religions in Haiti and its diaspora: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Vodou. Because of its breadthcovering all three religions of Haitiand the length of time it coversdecadesno one will be able to teach or write about Haitian and/or Caribbean religion without citing this work. -- Margarita A. Mooney,University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThis outstanding book is the first comprehensive overview of the rise and existing triangular relations between the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Vodou communities among Haitians in Miami, Florida. The authors let their subjects speak and reveal the importance these religious traditions play in Haitians transnational experiences. This volume should be of interest to a general readership and is especially of vital importance to anthropologists, sociologists, theologians and historians of American religion. -- Leslie Desmangles,Trinity CollegeTable of ContentsContentsForeword ixArchbishop Thomas WenskiAcknowledgments xiiiIntroduction: Haitian Religion in Miami 11 The Haitian Catholic Church in Miami: When the Saints Go Sailing In 332 Immigrant Faith and Class Distinctions: Haitian Catholics beyond Little Haiti 593 Feting Haiti's Patron Saint in Little Haiti: The Feast of OurLady of Perpetual Help 834 Vodou in the Magic City: Serving the Spirits across the Sea 1135 Storefront and Transnational Protestantism in Little Haiti: Harvesting the Gospel in the Haitian Church of the Open Door 151Conclusion: Beasts, Gods, and TransnationalTransubstantiation 189Appendices 203Notes 227Bibliography 237Index 253About the Authors 266

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn both the literary sense and content, this gospel differs dramatically from the others in that it expresses the movement towards agnosticism and is more concerned with explaining high concepts like truth, light, life and spirit than recounting historical fact. With an introduction by Blake Morrison.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGenesis covers some of the most famous stories of all time, including the garden of Eden, Noah''s Ark and Cain and Abel. Using the emergence of the people of Israel as a starting point, it tells the story of the beginning of the world as ancient writers understood it. The text is introduced by Steven Rose.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJoanna Trollope is the author of fifteen highly acclaimed bestselling novels. She has also written a study of women in the British Empire, Britannia's Daughters, as well as a number of historical novels. Born in Gloucestershire, she now lives in London. She was appointed OBE in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book analyses the biblical notions of purity and pollution as they relate to the body. It integrates psychological and anthropological insights to explain their implications for understanding infectious disease, sexuality, diet, souls and morality in ancient Israel.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffers an introduction to the basic beliefs, practices, and major deities of Greek and Roman religions A volume in the Blackwell Ancient Religions, Greek and Roman Religions offers an authoritative overview of the region's ancient religious practices. The authora noted expert in the fieldexplores the presence of divinity in all aspects of ancient life and highlights the origins of myth, religious authority, institutions, beliefs, rituals, sacred texts, and ethics. Comprehensive in scope, the text focuses on myriad aspects that constitute Greco-Roman culture such as economic class, honor and shame, and slavery as well as the religious role of each member of the family. The integration of ethnic and community identity with divine elements are highlighted in descriptions of religious festivals. Greek and Roman Religions presents the evolution of ideas concerning death and the afterlife and the relation of death to concepts of ultimate justice. The author also offers insight into the elTable of ContentsPreface ix I Living with the Divine 1 II The Ancient Civilizations of the Mediterranean Basin 23 III Myths, Gods, and Heroes: Greece 47 IV Myths, Gods, and Heroes: Rome 71 V Temples and Priests 95 VI Worship of the Gods: Community Religious Festivals 113 VII Religion and Society 141 VIII Communicating with the Divine 161 IX The Mysteries 185 X Death and the Afterlife: Funeral Rites and Funeral Games 205 XI Religion and Philosophy 229 XII Religion and the State 253 XIII The Legacy of Greco‐Roman Religions in Western Culture 277 Glossary 303 Index 315

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow does religion maintain or challenge discourses on national identity? What are the roles that religion plays on all sides from Islamophobia of the radical right to the Christian alliances on both sides of the Atlantic, to the Islamic beliefs and practices of European citizens as well as migrant communities in the constitution of Fortress Europe? Are there any alliances shaping between belief and unbelief on either side of the battle for the future of Europe?These questions and more motivate the chapters in this timely interdisciplinary collection, with contributions focusing on diverse contexts throughout Europe involving a broad range of religious identifications and actors.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe nature of ethics has been the subject of much controversy and argument in recent decades. Theological Ethics and Global Dynamics tackles these various debates, offering a wide-ranging, comprehensive, and provocative statement of the nature of theological ethics in global times. Offers an accessible, lively, and provocative statement of the nature of moral philosophy and theological ethics in contemporary times. Tackles various perspectives on debates about distinctly Christian ethics. Argues that we need to reframe the arena in which moral questions are asked. Engages a range of positions, exploring distinctively modern issues such as moral and cultural relativism, globalization, problems of consumption and violence, and religious pluralism. Addresses the complexity of certain ethical decisions, which are difficult and far from clear-cut, and yet presents aTrade Review"It is a very good book that will greatly benefit everyone who needs to think deeply about the world in which we live." (Political Theology, June 2009)Table of ContentsDedication. Acknowledgments. Introduction. Part I: Creation And World-Making. 1. Global Dynamics And The Integrity Of Life. 2. Pluralism In Creation. 3. Reconsidering Greed. Part II: Time And Responsibility. 4. Timing Moral Cosmologies. 5. Love In The End Times. 6. From Toleration To Political Forgiveness. Part III: Imagination And Conscience. 7. Sacred Texts And The Social Imaginary. 8. Comparing Religions, Comparing Lives. 9. On Moral Madness. Postscript. 10. Presenting Theological Humanism. Selected Bibliography. Index of Names. Index of Scripture. Index of Subjects

Read more less

Book SynopsisLeading theologian Graham Ward presents a stimulating series of reflections on Christ and contemporary culture.Trade ReviewIn this book Graham Ward lifts debates about Christ and culture to an unprecedented level of sophistication and at the same time decisively moves them away from a theologically liberal ambience towards one that is genuinely orthodox and Catholic, but in a new, critical and unavoidably controversial mode. He most significantly advances our ability to tackle the question of what should be the Christian stance in the face of advanced modernity. John Milbank, University of Nottingham Graham Ward has always written insightful and arresting theology, but in this book he exposits scripture, retrieves tradition and interrogates culture with a yet more brilliant and surer touch than ever before. His concern is with the cultural mediation of the Mediator, Jesus Christ, who, in the endless displacements of his body, is not so much an identity to be known as an operation, a movement, in which to participate. This book is about the ‘first born’ of creation, the one by, for and in whom we live, the ‘culture’ by which we are given to be. Ward’s transcorporeal Christology challenges our secular certainties and finds for us the promise of the transcendent in the textual—and indeed sexual—negotiations of our always encultured bodies. This is wonderfully mesmeric, bravura theology. Gerard Loughlin, University of Durham "New book attempts to break out of the Christian insularity to produce a genuinely public theology of significant interest to postmodern philosophers and social theorists." Modern TheologyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Part One THE ECONOMY OF RESPONSE 27 1 Christology and Mimesis 29 2 The Schizoid Christ 60 3 The Body of the Church and its Erotic Politics 92 Part Two ENGENDERING CHRIST 111 4 Redemption: Between Reception and Response 113 5 Divinity and Sexual Difference 129 6 The Politics of Christ's Circumcision (and the Mystery of all Flesh) 159 Part Three THE LIVING CHRIST: ECONOMIES OF REDEMPTION 181 7 Allegoria Amoris: A Christian Ethics 183 8 Spiritual Exercises: A Christian Pedagogy 219 9 Suffering and Incarnation: A Christian Politics 248 Index 267

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Reader in the Anthropology of Religion is a collection of some of the most significant classic and contemporary writings in the field. Updated in its second edition, this volume examines numerous aspects of religion in a diversity of cultures and expands upon the idea of what we mean by religion', linking it to some of the broader questions of culture and politics. Collects classic and contemporary articles from the major thinkers in both North American and British anthropology Emphasizes the ongoing conversation among anthropologists with respect to central questions of religious behavior Presents comprehensive coverage of theory and religious practice, through time and ethnographic regions, integrated by editorial commentary Includes additional classic pieces by Pouillon, Burridge, and Meyerhoff, as well as more contemporary work by Harding, De Boeck, and Palmié Includes indexed bibliography arranged according to boTrade Review"Michael Lambek has succeeded in putting together an impressive collection of key texts and essays." (Culture and Religion, July 2009) "The most comprehensive anthology on its subject, this is a splendid tool for teaching and a matchless scholarly resource." (International Review of Biblical Studies, 2008) Praise for the first edition: "[A] reader that ambitiously attempts to represent the full breadth, depth, and complexity of anthropology's investigations into religion.... The masterly general introduction situates this anthology within the long and often difficult anthropological engagement with this most mystified and powerful realm of social action.... [A]n excellent text." (International Social Science Review) "A major guide to both the history of the anthropology of religion and new trends in research.... Lambek has compiled an excellent anthology." (Journal of Empirical Theology) Table of ContentsPreface to Second Edition xi General Introduction 1 Part I The Context of Understanding and Debate 19 Opening Frameworks 21 Introduction 21 1 Religion in Primitive Culture 23Edward Burnett Tylor 2 The Elementary Forms of Religious Life 34Emile Durkheim 3 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 48Max Weber 4 Religion as a Cultural System 57Clifford Geertz Skeptical Rejoinders 77Introduction 77 5 Remarks on Frazer’s Golden Bough 79Ludwig Wittgenstein 6 Religion, Totemism and Symbolism 82W. E. H. Stanner 7 Remarks on the Verb “To Believe” 90Jean Pouillon 8 Christians as Believers 97Malcolm Ruel 9 The Construction of Religion as an Anthropological Category 110Talal Asad Part II Poiesis: The Composition of Religious Worlds 127 Signs and Symbols 129Introduction 129 10 The Logic of Signs and Symbols 131Susanne K. Langer 11 The Problem of Symbols 139E. E. Evans-Pritchard 12 On Key Symbols 151Sherry B. Ortner 13 The Virgin of Guadalupe: A Mexican National Symbol 160Eric R. Wolf Structure, Function, and Interpretation 167 Introduction 167 14 Myth in Primitive Psychology 168Bronislaw Malinowski 15 Folk Dialectics of Nature and Culture 176Marshall Sahlins 16 Land Animals, Pure and Impure 183Mary Douglas 17 A Jivaro Version of Totem and Taboo 196Claude Lévi-Strauss 18 Text-Building, Epistemology, and Aesthetics in Javanese Shadow Theatre 206Alton L. Becker Moral Inversions and Spaces of Disorder 225Introduction 225 19 The Winnebago Trickster Figure 226Paul Radin 20 Witchcraft and Sexual Relations: An Exploration in the Social and Semantic Implications of the Structure of Belief 238Raymond C. Kelly 21 The Politics and Poetics of Transgression 253Peter Stallybrass and Allon White Conceptualizing the Cosmos 265Introduction 265 22 Closure and Multiplication: An Essay on Polynesian Cosmology and Ritual 267Alfred Gell 23 Cosmological Deixis and Amerindian Perspectivism 280Eduardo Viveiros de Castro Part III Praxis: Religious Action 299 The Movement in Ritual: Emergence 301Introduction 301 24 The Control of Experience: Symbolic Action 302Godfrey Lienhardt 25 Form and Meaning of Magical Acts 311Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah 26 Liminality and Communitas 326Victor Turner Gender, Subjectivity, and the Body 341 Introduction 341 27 “Jewish Comes Up in You from the Roots” 342Barbara Myerhoff 28 Fate in Relation to the Social Structure 350Meyer Fortes 29 Medusa’s Hair: An Essay on Personal Symbols and Religious Experience 356Gananath Obeyesekere 30 Spirits and Selves in Northern Sudan: The Cultural Therapeutics of Possession and Trance 368Janice Boddy 31 The Poetics of Time in Mayan Divination 386Dennis Tedlock What Ritual Does: The Foundations of Order 397 Introduction 397 32 The Disconnection between Power and Rank as a Process 398Maurice Bloch 33 Enactments of Meaning 410Roy A. Rappaport Part IV Historical Dynamics: Power, Modernity, and Change 429 Capitalism, Colonialism, Christianity, and Conflict 431 Introduction 431 34 New Heaven, New Earth 432Kenelm Burridge 35 The Genesis of Capitalism amongst a South American Peasantry: Devil’s Labor and the Baptism of Money 447Michael Taussig 36 The Colonization of Consciousness 464John and Jean Comaroff 37 Convicted by the Holy Spirit: The Rhetoric of Fundamental Baptist Conversion 479Susan F. Harding 38 On Being Shege in Kinshasa: Children, the Occult and the Street 495Filip De Boeck Religious Ethics and Politics in the State, Public Sphere, and Transnational Scene 507Introduction 507 39 Civil Religion in America 509Robert N. Bellah 40 Shamanic Practices and the State in Northern Asia: Views from the Center and Periphery 519Caroline Humphrey 41 “Using the Past to Negate the Present”: Ritual Ethics and State Rationality in Ancient China 533Mayfair Mei-hui Yang 42 Passional Preaching, Aural Sensibility, and the Islamic Revival in Cairo 544Charles Hirschkind 43 Moral Landscapes: Ethical Discourses among Orthodox and Diaspora Jains 560Anne Vallely 44 Candomblé in Pink, Green and Black: Re-scripting the Afro-Brazilian Religious Heritage in the Public Sphere of Salvador, Bahia 573Mattijs van de Port 45 Martyr vs. Martyr: The Sacred Language of Violence 590Galit Hasan-Rokem Afterword 597 46 Evidence and Presence, Spectral and Other 598Stephan Palmié Part V Research Tools 611 A Guide to the Literature 613 Bibliography 630 Index 673

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Reader in the Anthropology of Religion is a collection of some of the most significant classic and contemporary writings in the field. Updated in its second edition, this volume examines numerous aspects of religion in a diversity of cultures and expands upon the idea of what we mean by religion', linking it to some of the broader questions of culture and politics. Collects classic and contemporary articles from the major thinkers in both North American and British anthropology Emphasizes the ongoing conversation among anthropologists with respect to central questions of religious behavior Presents comprehensive coverage of theory and religious practice, through time and ethnographic regions, integrated by editorial commentary Includes additional classic pieces by Pouillon, Burridge, and Meyerhoff, as well as more contemporary work by Harding, De Boeck, and Palmié Includes indexed bibliography arranged according to boTrade Review"Michael Lambek has succeeded in putting together an impressive collection of key texts and essays." (Culture and Religion, July 2009) "The most comprehensive anthology on its subject, this is a splendid tool for teaching and a matchless scholarly resource." (International Review of Biblical Studies, 2008) Praise for the first edition: "[A] reader that ambitiously attempts to represent the full breadth, depth, and complexity of anthropology's investigations into religion.... The masterly general introduction situates this anthology within the long and often difficult anthropological engagement with this most mystified and powerful realm of social action.... [A]n excellent text." (International Social Science Review) "A major guide to both the history of the anthropology of religion and new trends in research.... Lambek has compiled an excellent anthology." (Journal of Empirical Theology) Table of ContentsPreface to Second Edition xi General Introduction 1 Part I The Context of Understanding and Debate 19 Opening Frameworks 21 Introduction 21 1 Religion in Primitive Culture 23Edward Burnett Tylor 2 The Elementary Forms of Religious Life 34Emile Durkheim 3 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 48Max Weber 4 Religion as a Cultural System 57Clifford Geertz Skeptical Rejoinders 77Introduction 77 5 Remarks on Frazer’s Golden Bough 79Ludwig Wittgenstein 6 Religion, Totemism and Symbolism 82W. E. H. Stanner 7 Remarks on the Verb “To Believe” 90Jean Pouillon 8 Christians as Believers 97Malcolm Ruel 9 The Construction of Religion as an Anthropological Category 110Talal Asad Part II Poiesis: The Composition of Religious Worlds 127 Signs and Symbols 129Introduction 129 10 The Logic of Signs and Symbols 131Susanne K. Langer 11 The Problem of Symbols 139E. E. Evans-Pritchard 12 On Key Symbols 151Sherry B. Ortner 13 The Virgin of Guadalupe: A Mexican National Symbol 160Eric R. Wolf Structure, Function, and Interpretation 167 Introduction 167 14 Myth in Primitive Psychology 168Bronislaw Malinowski 15 Folk Dialectics of Nature and Culture 176Marshall Sahlins 16 Land Animals, Pure and Impure 183Mary Douglas 17 A Jivaro Version of Totem and Taboo 196Claude Lévi-Strauss 18 Text-Building, Epistemology, and Aesthetics in Javanese Shadow Theatre 206Alton L. Becker Moral Inversions and Spaces of Disorder 225Introduction 225 19 The Winnebago Trickster Figure 226Paul Radin 20 Witchcraft and Sexual Relations: An Exploration in the Social and Semantic Implications of the Structure of Belief 238Raymond C. Kelly 21 The Politics and Poetics of Transgression 253Peter Stallybrass and Allon White Conceptualizing the Cosmos 265Introduction 265 22 Closure and Multiplication: An Essay on Polynesian Cosmology and Ritual 267Alfred Gell 23 Cosmological Deixis and Amerindian Perspectivism 280Eduardo Viveiros de Castro Part III Praxis: Religious Action 299 The Movement in Ritual: Emergence 301Introduction 301 24 The Control of Experience: Symbolic Action 302Godfrey Lienhardt 25 Form and Meaning of Magical Acts 311Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah 26 Liminality and Communitas 326Victor Turner Gender, Subjectivity, and the Body 341 Introduction 341 27 “Jewish Comes Up in You from the Roots” 342Barbara Myerhoff 28 Fate in Relation to the Social Structure 350Meyer Fortes 29 Medusa’s Hair: An Essay on Personal Symbols and Religious Experience 356Gananath Obeyesekere 30 Spirits and Selves in Northern Sudan: The Cultural Therapeutics of Possession and Trance 368Janice Boddy 31 The Poetics of Time in Mayan Divination 386Dennis Tedlock What Ritual Does: The Foundations of Order 397 Introduction 397 32 The Disconnection between Power and Rank as a Process 398Maurice Bloch 33 Enactments of Meaning 410Roy A. Rappaport Part IV Historical Dynamics: Power, Modernity, and Change 429 Capitalism, Colonialism, Christianity, and Conflict 431 Introduction 431 34 New Heaven, New Earth 432Kenelm Burridge 35 The Genesis of Capitalism amongst a South American Peasantry: Devil’s Labor and the Baptism of Money 447Michael Taussig 36 The Colonization of Consciousness 464John and Jean Comaroff 37 Convicted by the Holy Spirit: The Rhetoric of Fundamental Baptist Conversion 479Susan F. Harding 38 On Being Shege in Kinshasa: Children, the Occult and the Street 495Filip De Boeck Religious Ethics and Politics in the State, Public Sphere, and Transnational Scene 507Introduction 507 39 Civil Religion in America 509Robert N. Bellah 40 Shamanic Practices and the State in Northern Asia: Views from the Center and Periphery 519Caroline Humphrey 41 “Using the Past to Negate the Present”: Ritual Ethics and State Rationality in Ancient China 533Mayfair Mei-hui Yang 42 Passional Preaching, Aural Sensibility, and the Islamic Revival in Cairo 544Charles Hirschkind 43 Moral Landscapes: Ethical Discourses among Orthodox and Diaspora Jains 560Anne Vallely 44 Candomblé in Pink, Green and Black: Re-scripting the Afro-Brazilian Religious Heritage in the Public Sphere of Salvador, Bahia 573Mattijs van de Port 45 Martyr vs. Martyr: The Sacred Language of Violence 590Galit Hasan-Rokem Afterword 597 46 Evidence and Presence, Spectral and Other 598Stephan Palmié Part V Research Tools 611 A Guide to the Literature 613 Bibliography 630 Index 673

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Wiley-Blackwell Companion to African Religions brings together a team of international scholars to create a single-volume resource on the religious beliefs and practices of the peoples in Africa. Offers broad coverage of issues relating to African religions, considering experiences in indigenous, Christian, and Islamic traditions across the continent Contributors are from a variety of fields, ensuring the volume offers multidisciplinary perspectives Explores methodological approaches to religion from anthropological, philosophical, and historical perspectives Provides insights into the historical developments in African religions, as well as contemporary issues such as the development of African-initiated churches, neo traditional religions, and Pentecostalism Discusses important topics at the intersection of culture and religion in Africa, including the arts, health, politics, globalization, gender relations, and the economy Trade Review“Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty.” (Choice, 1 June 2013) Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors xi Foreword xixJacob K. Olupona Acknowledgments xxii Introduction 1Elias K. Bongmba Part I Methodological Perspectives on African Religions 23 1 Methodological Views on African Religions 25James L. Cox 2 Philosophy of Religion on African Ways of Believing 41V.Y. Mudimbe and Susan Mbula Kilonzo 3 Neo-Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism: Perspectives from the Social Sciences 62Jean Comaroff and John L. Comaroff 4 Divination in Africa 79René Devisch 5 Orality, Literature, and African Religions 97Jonathan A. Draper and Kenneth Mtata 6 African Rituals 112Laura S. Grillo 7 Postcolonial Feminist Perspectives on African Religions 127Musa W. Dube 8 Religion and the Environment 140Edward P. Antonio 9 Christianity in Africa: From African Independent to Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches 153Birgit Meyer Part II Interpreting Religious Pluralism 171 10 Neo-traditional Religions 173Marleen de Witte 11 Spirit Possession in Africa 184Susan J. Rasmussen 12 Christian Missions in Africa 198Norman Etherington 13 Christianity in Africa 208David T. Ngong 14 Coptic Christianity 220Jason R. Zaborowski 15 The Ethiopian Orthodox Church 234Christine Chaillot 16 African Theology 241Elias K. Bongmba 17 The Church and Women in Africa 255Isabel Apawo Phiri 18 Feminist Theologies in Africa 269Sarojini Nadar 19 Church and Reconciliation 279Tinyiko Maluleke 20 Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements in Modern Africa 295Matthews A. Ojo 21 African Initiated Churches in the Diaspora 310Afe Adogame 22 Islam in Africa 323Yushau Sodiq 23 Women in Islam: Between Sufi sm and Reform in Senegal 338Penda Mbow 24 Islam and Modernity 355Carmen McCain 25 Jihad 365John H. Hanson 26 Shari’a in Muslim Africa 377David Cook 27 Hinduism in South Africa 389P. Pratap Kumar Part III Religion, Culture, and Society 399 28 Religion and Art in Ile-Ife 401Suzanne Preston Blier 29 Sufi Arts: Engaging Islam through Works of Contemporary Art in Senegal 417Allen F. Roberts and Mary Nooter Roberts 30 Religion, Health, and the Economy 430James R. Cochrane 31 Religion, Illness, and Healing 443David Westerlund 32 Religion and Politics in Africa 457Stephen Ellis and Gerrie ter Haar 33 Religion and Development 466Steve de Gruchy 34 Religion, Media, and Confl ict in Africa 483Rosalind I.J. Hackett 35 Gospel Music in Africa 489Damaris Seleina Parsitau 36 Religion and Globalization 503Asonzeh Ukah 37 Religion and Same Sex Relations in Africa 515Marc Epprecht Bibliography 529 Index 590

Read more less

Book SynopsisA comparative global history of Mennonites from the ground up. Winner of the Dale W. Brown Book Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Shortlisted for the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize by the Canadian Historical Association, Nominee of the Margaret McWilliams Award by the Manitoba Historical SocietyMennonite farmers can be found in dozens of countries spanning five continents. In this comparative world-scale environmental history, Royden Loewen draws on a multi-year study of seven geographically distinctive Anabaptist communities around the world, focusing on Mennonite farmers in Bolivia, Canada, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russia, the United States, and Zimbabwe. These farmers, who include Amish, Brethren in Christ, and Siberian Baptists, till the land in starkly distinctive climates. They absorb very disparate societal lessons while being shaped by particular faith outlooks, historical memory, and the natural environment. The book reveals the ways in whichTrade ReviewAn accessible entry point for readers interested in learning about places other than their own, as well as the interplays between natural resources and human cultivation.—Dr. Rachel Waltner Goossen, Washburn Univerity, Anabaptist WorldTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. Sect and Settler in the North: Plowing Friesland, Iowa, Manitoba, and Siberia2. Peasant and Piety in the South: Planting Java, Matabeleland, and Bolivia's Oriente3. Something New under the Mennonite Sun: A Century of Agricultural Change4. Making Peace on Earth: Seven Farmers and a Faith of the Everyday5. Women on the Land: Gender and Growing Food in Patriarchal Lands6. Farm Subjects and State Biopower: Seven Degrees of Separation7. Vernaculars of Climate Change: Southern Concern, Northern Complacency8. Mennonite Farmers in "World Scale" History: Seven Encounters on EarthConclusionAppendicesNotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Veiled Figures, Teresa Heffernan explores how the clash of civilizations is perpetuated by the rhetoric of veiling and unveiling.Trade Review‘Veiled Figures is a compelling work that presents an original and well-documented argument by a scholar well versed in the field of women’s and gender studies in Middle Eastern studies. -- Roberta Micallef * Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature vol 36:02:2017 *‘Veiled Figures is an important read for those who seek examinations of the veil’s role in the contemporary context that present a hopeful alternative to the common narrative.’ -- Georgia Carter * Journal of Religion and Culture vol 27:01:2017 *"Teresa Heffernan’s timely and powerful Veiled Figures: Women, Modernity, and the Spectres of Orientalism is a significant entry into the discussions that have ensued from Edward Said’s 1978 Orientalism… In framing the (un)veiled woman in historical, global debates, interrogating voices of compliance and resistance, and documenting the troubling new iterations of this trope in the present day, Heffernan follows Said’s model in crossing disciplinary boundaries and revealing cross-cultural dialogues." -- Carolyn McCue Gofman, Depaul University * University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018 *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Islam, Secularism, and the Veil 2. The Great Whore of Babylon: Cosmopolitanism and Racialized Nationalism 3. Two Western Women Venture East: Lady Annie Brassey and Anna Bowman Dodd 4. The Great War and its Aftermath: Militarized Citizens, (Un)Veiled Bodies, and the Nation 5. The Burqa and the Bikini: Veiling and Unveiling at the Turn of the Twentieth Century Conclusion: The Legacy of Orientalism

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisHarry Freedman, author of The Talmud: A Biography and The Murderous History of Bible Translations, explores the mysterious Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah. Kabbalah is popularly known as a fashionable system for personal and spiritual insight, a Jewish mystical tradition popularized by devoted celebrities like Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, and Britney Spears. But behind the hype and simplicity of pop-Kabbalah lies an ancient, complex and very profound system that can take a lifetime to master. Kabbalah: Secrecy, Scandal and the Soul is a short introduction that untangles the complex history and spiritual tradition behind the phenomenon. Kabbalah is difficult to define. The very phrase story of Kabbalah is as opaque and mysterious as the topic itself. This of course is its appeal. The word itself means received. For over half a millennium, individuals and movements with no attachment to Judaism havTrade ReviewWelcome to the curious but fascinating world of Harry Freedman’s Kabbalah: Secrecy, Scandal and the Soul, a cheerfully non-partisan, no-frills attempt at demystifying one of the world’s most mysterious, opaque and esoteric spiritual traditions. * Spectator *Freedman navigates the story with great skill and good judgment […] In a secular age such as our own, when popular theological literacy is at an all-time low [he] has undoubtedly done a great service by rescuing Kabbalah from the pile * Daily Telegraph *This comprehensive guide to an important religious tradition will appeal to both readers of Jewish history and general readers of spirituality * Publishers Weekly *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Introduction The Origins of Kabbalah Out of the East The Beginning of Kabbalah Radiance Christian Cabala The City of Mystics Cabala and the Occult Sciences Golem Good, Evil and the life of the Soul Critics and Crisis Decline and Revival Hasidism The Occult Revival Towards Modernity The New Age Appendix: A Very Brief Outline for the Sefirot Glossary Notes Bibliography Index A Note on the Author Plates

Read more less