Religious fundamentalism Books

Book SynopsisFocusing on apocalyptic manifestations found in ISIS propaganda, this book situates the group's agenda in the broader framework of contemporary Muslim thought and explains key topics in millennial thinking within the spiritual context of modern Islamic apocalypticism.

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Book SynopsisOlivier Roy, world-renowned authority on Islam and politics, finds in the modern disconnection between faith communities and socio-cultural identities a fertile space for fundamentalism to grow. Instead of freeing the world from religion, secularization has encouraged a kind of holy ignorance to take root, an anti-intellectualism that promises immediate, emotional access to the sacred and positions itself in direct opposition to contemporary pagan culture. The secularization of society was supposed to free people from religion, yet individuals are converting en masse to fundamentalist faiths, such as Protestant evangelicalism, Islamic Salafism, and Haredi Judaism. These religions either reconnect adherents to their culture through casual referents, like halal fast food, or maintain their momentum through purification rituals, such as speaking in tongues, a practice that allows believers to utter a language that is entirely their own. Instead of a return to traditional religious worship, we are now witnessing the individualization of faith and the disassociation of faith communities from ethnic and national identities. Roy explores the options now available to powers that hope to integrate or control these groups; and whether marginalization or homogenization will further divide believers from their culture.Trade ReviewOlivier Roy, the outstanding scholar of contemporary religions, has written a book of startling clarity and wisdom. Illuminating trends, issues and movements that had before appeared bizarre or simply antipathetic, he provides us with tools for the comprehension of matters as diverse as coverage of the war on terror to the common individual confusion over one's own beliefs and scepticisms. * Financial Times *'Holy Ignorance' is in a way a synthesis of all Roy's previous work on the sociology of religion. It formulates forcefully the thesis that has been taking shape throughout his previous works: in a globalised world, religion thrives to the extent that it has severed its ties with culture. This de-culturation . . . of religions explains their revival, and much of our difficulties in understanding them. . . . It is certainly an important book that is written in an easy, accessible language fit for a wide audience . . . Roy's erudition is simply flabbergasting, and it has the merit of making his book very concrete, very vivid. -- Nicholas Guilhot, New York UniversityRoy's central theses about the way religion is going in today's world (a breathtakingly ambitious exercise to be sure) could, and deserve to, reset . . . debates about secularization and secularism, and give birth to creative new departures in theory and research. -- David Lehmann, Cambridge UniversityOver the past few years, a number of theories have been offered about the rise of fundamentalism. The brilliant French social scientist Roy proposes the most original - and the most persuasive. Fundamentalism, in his view, is a symptom of, rather than a reaction against, the increasing secularization of society. Whether it takes the form of the Christian right in the United States or Salafist purity in the Muslim world, fundamentalism is not about restoring a more authentic and deeply spiritual religious experience. It is instead a manifestation of holy ignorance, Roy's biting term meant to characterize the worldview of those who, having lost both their theology and their roots, subscribe to ideas as incoherent as they are ultimately futile. The most important thing to know about those urging the restoration of a lost religious authenticity is that they are sustained by the very forces they denounce. * The New York Times *Above all else, Mr. Roy is able to show us vividly how much has changed with the secularization that Weber predicted . . . how formerly Christian societies have lost a sense of their own religious foundation... By transforming itself into another instrument of therapeutic . . . satisfaction, Mr. Roy observes, religion risks losing its soul. * Wall Street Journal *an erudite account of intricate relationships between religion and other markers of identity, including nationality, socially defined race, language, class, political ideology, generation, gender and sexual orientation. * Times Literary Supplement *A highly complex book that critically examines the relationship between religion, culture and globalization, 'Holy Ignorance' provides theoretical keys to unlocking the riddle of the religious imagination and the 'deculturation' of religious movements in the modern world. Few scholars of religion are as qualified as Olivier Roy to write such an erudite work on religious and cultural trends, to contextualize them and to make sense of them. -- Fawaz A. Gerges, Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations, London School of EconomicsWith 'Holy Ignorance' Olivier Roy moves beyond his established perch as one of contemporary Islam's foremost scholars to train his formidable analytical skills on the question of globalization's broader impact on religion. The result is a tour de force of comparative religious sociology, and represents required reading for anyone seeking to understand the relationship between faith, culture, and the market. -- Peter Mandaville, George Mason University and author of 'Global Political Islam'Firmly rooted in the uncompromisingly laique tradition of French sociology, Roy serves his sweet and sour soup of secularism, a peculiar melange of empirical history and normative history, in the chalice of postmodernity, proclaiming globalization as the only universal faith of our times. * The Muslim World Book Review *'Holy Ignorance' offers an impressive insight and a significant contribution to the field of religious sociology by addressing the second scheme of secularization that will have an enduring influence on the global discourse regarding the issue of the role of religion in our modern world. -- Abdullahi A. Gallab, Sociology of ReligionAn intriguing thesis slithers through this impressively profuse and promiscuous garden of sociohistorical erudition. Religion is not experiencing a comeback, the renowned scholar of political Islam argues, but a significant transformation brought about by the secularization intended to marginalize and diminish it. -- Michael P. Kramer, Common Knowledge

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Book SynopsisOlivier Roy, world-renowned authority on Islam and politics, finds in the modern disconnection between faith communities and socio-cultural identities a fertile space for fundamentalism to grow. Instead of freeing the world from religion, secularization has encouraged a kind of holy ignorance to take root, an anti-intellectualism that promises immediate, emotional access to the sacred and positions itself in direct opposition to contemporary pagan culture. The secularization of society was supposed to free people from religion, yet individuals are converting en masse to fundamentalist faiths, such as Protestant evangelicalism, Islamic Salafism, and Haredi Judaism. These religions either reconnect adherents to their culture through casual referents, like halal fast food, or maintain their momentum through purification rituals, such as speaking in tongues, a practice that allows believers to utter a language that is entirely their own. Instead of a return to traditional religious worship, we are now witnessing the individualization of faith and the disassociation of faith communities from ethnic and national identities. Roy explores the options now available to powers that hope to integrate or control these groups; and whether marginalization or homogenization will further divide believers from their culture.Trade ReviewOlivier Roy, the outstanding scholar of contemporary religions, has written a book of startling clarity and wisdom. Illuminating trends, issues and movements that had before appeared bizarre or simply antipathetic, he provides us with tools for the comprehension of matters as diverse as coverage of the war on terror to the common individual confusion over one's own beliefs and scepticisms.'-Financial Times 'Holy Ignorance is in a way a synthesis of all Roy's previous work on the sociology of religion. It formulates forcefully the thesis that has been taking shape throughout his previous works: in a globalised world, religion thrives to the extent that it has severed its ties with culture. This de-culturationA" of religions explains their revival, and much of our difficulties in understanding them. - It is certainly an important book that is written in an easy, accessible language fit for a wide audience - Roy's erudition is simply flabbergasting, and it has the merit of making his book very concrete, very vivid.' -- Nicholas Guilhot, New York University 'Roy's central theses about the way religion is going in today's world (a breathtakingly ambitious exercise to be sure) could, and deserve to, resetA" debates about secularization and secularism, and give birth to creative new departures in theory and research.' -- David Lehmann, Cambridge University 'Over the past few years, a number of theories have been offered about the rise of fundamentalism. The brilliant French social scientist Roy proposes the most original - and the most persuasive. Fundamentalism, in his view, is a symptom of, rather than a reaction against, the increasing secularization of society. Whether it takes the form of the Christian right in the United States or Salafist purity in the Muslim world, fundamentalism is not about restoring a more authentic and deeply spiritual religious experience. It is instead a manifestation of holy ignorance, Roy's biting term meant to characterize the worldview of those who, having lost both their theology and their roots, subscribe to ideas as incoherent as they are ultimately futile. The most important thing to know about those urging the restoration of a lost religious authenticity is that they are sustained by the very forces they denounce.'-New York Times 'Above all else, Mr. Roy is able to show us vividly how much has changed with the secularization that Weber predicted-how formerly Christian societies have lost a sense of their own religious foundation... By transforming itself into another instrument of therapeuticA" satisfaction, Mr. Roy observes, religion risks losing its soul.'-Wall Street Journal 'an erudite account of intricate relationships between religion and other markers of identity, including nationality, socially defined race, language, class, political ideology, generation, gender and sexual orientation.' TLS

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Book SynopsisPresents an intellectual historical critique of the Fundamentalist movement in America. This work argues that our understanding of this movement has been grievously distorted by the Fundamentalist-Modernist debate of the 1920s, as symbolized by William Jennings Bryan and the Scopes trial.Trade Review"All historians need to face the issues [this book] raises. Serious theological discussion of Fundamentalism tends to be neglected because it is intellectually unfashionable: Mr. Sandeen shows that for the historian such neglect is a luxury he cannot afford." - David M. Thompson, English Historical Review "Sandeen's 'new approach to Fundamentalism' eschews the common tendency to see the movement as parochially American, rurally based, and essentially a phenomenon of the twenties.... It is a highly valuable addition to American and - more singularly - to comparative theological history." - William R. Hutchinson, Journal of American History"

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewNothing less than astonishing-The Taliban's Virtual Emirate is a blueprint for how to do cultural analysis of terrorist/insurgent activity online. The depth of what's on offer here should only spur more academics to figure out how they too can do work like this. -- John G. Horgan, author of The Psychology of Terrorism Aggarwal has a detailed understanding of the group, the culture, and their use of language. The scientific research presented when discussing psychological concepts is accurate and wholly representable and (more importantly) relevant and interesting to the discussions. -- Neil D. Shortland, Center for Terrorism and Security Studies, University of Massachusetts, Lowell Aggarwal, who is trained in cultural psychology, demonstrates how to conduct systematic discourse analysis and wed this to leadership analysis. The Taliban's Virtual Emirate will be seen as essential reading for both practitioners and academic analysts. -- Jerrold M. Post, author of The Mind of a Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda It is difficult to overstate the importance of The Taliban's Virtual Emirate, which provides a comprehensive and intelligent analysis of the use of the virtual space by one of the more successful and violent contemporary ideological movements. Scholars, practitioners, and others who are interested in the new ways militant groups shape their communities' and other constituencies' perceptions and understanding of the political reality should read this book. -- Arie Perliger, director of Terrorism Studies at the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy, and author of Middle Eastern Terrorism This remarkable study brings to bear Aggarwal's broad knowledge of South Asian and Middle Eastern languages and cultures and the conceptual frameworks of cultural psychiatry to examine the discourse and rhetoric of the Taliban. The insights will help all concerned to understand the religious idoleogies and aspirations that fuel some of the central conflicts of our time. -- Laurence J. Kirmayer, McGill University Aggarwal demonstrates an accurate understanding of the Islamic and Afghani cultural contexts. Hismethod of inquiry is rigorous and reproducible. American Journal of PsychiatryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Transcription and Translation Guide Preface 1. Channels of Communication in the Virtual Emirate 2. Mullah Omar's Leadership in the Virtual Emirate 3. Identity in the Virtual Emirate 4. Jihad in the Virtual Emirate 5. International Relations in the Virtual Emirate Epilogue Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a groundbreaking analysis of how religious terrorist groups manage and adapt to major shifts in leadership. It argues that how successors position themselves in terms of the founder shapes a terrorist group’s future course and examines how and why different types of successors choose to pursue incremental or discontinuous change.Trade ReviewMeticulous in its research, Terror in Transition delivers an abundance of new insight into the impact of succession on terrorist entities, delivering on its objective to better “analyze the implications of decapitation.” Focusing on the essence of a leader’s “how” and “why” and its relationship to succession, Terror in Transition also provides CT practitioners with a framework to assess other options for influencing the direction of terrorist entities. -- Gina M. Bennett, author of National Security Mom: Why Going Soft Will Make America StrongTerror in Transition is the definitive study of how terrorist groups manage (or fail to manage) leadership transitions. Bacon and Grimm's analysis helps us understand how and why certain terrorist groups thrive while some split or otherwise cannot manage the transition. Their many insights can help counterterrorist officials exploit transition tensions to weaken extremist groups. -- Daniel Byman, author of Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist TerrorismAn original, systematic, detailed, and rigorous analysis of terrorist leadership and succession. A very compelling study of a major topic. -- Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work?: A HistoryMeticulous in its research, Terror in Transition delivers an abundance of new insight into the impact of succession on terrorist entities, delivering on its objective to better “analyze the implications of decapitation.” Focusing on the essence of a leader’s “how” and “why” and its relationship to succession, Terror in Transition also provides CT practitioners with a framework to assess other options for influencing the direction of terrorist entities. -- Gina M. Bennett, author of National Security Mom: Why Going Soft Will Make America StrongBacon and Grimm have written an outstanding book, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand terrorist organizations, or leadership of violent groups in general. -- Brian Phillips * Small War Journals *It rewards unpacking owing to its analytic soundness, practical utility and, lamentably, its ongoing relevance. * Survival *An important conceptual and knowledge-based foundation, which will undoubtedly be built on for years to come. * Parameters *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Literature Review and Research Design2. Founders: Who Is a Founder, What Does He Do, and Who Comes Next?3. The Second Ku Klux Klan: From Founder to Fixer4. Egyptian Islamic Jihad: From Founder to Figureheads, to Fixer, to Visionary5. Al-Qaida in Iraq/the Islamic State of Iraq: From Founder to Signalers6. Al-Shabaab: From Founder to Fixer, to Figurehead7. Pathways and Possibilities: Lessons Learned from the Mini–Case StudiesConclusionAppendix A. Religious Terrorist GroupsAppendix B. Summary of Mini–Case Study DataNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a groundbreaking analysis of how religious terrorist groups manage and adapt to major shifts in leadership. It argues that how successors position themselves in terms of the founder shapes a terrorist group’s future course and examines how and why different types of successors choose to pursue incremental or discontinuous change.Trade ReviewMeticulous in its research, Terror in Transition delivers an abundance of new insight into the impact of succession on terrorist entities, delivering on its objective to better “analyze the implications of decapitation.” Focusing on the essence of a leader’s “how” and “why” and its relationship to succession, Terror in Transition also provides CT practitioners with a framework to assess other options for influencing the direction of terrorist entities. -- Gina M. Bennett, author of National Security Mom: Why Going Soft Will Make America StrongTerror in Transition is the definitive study of how terrorist groups manage (or fail to manage) leadership transitions. Bacon and Grimm's analysis helps us understand how and why certain terrorist groups thrive while some split or otherwise cannot manage the transition. Their many insights can help counterterrorist officials exploit transition tensions to weaken extremist groups. -- Daniel Byman, author of Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist TerrorismAn original, systematic, detailed, and rigorous analysis of terrorist leadership and succession. A very compelling study of a major topic. -- Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work?: A HistoryMeticulous in its research, Terror in Transition delivers an abundance of new insight into the impact of succession on terrorist entities, delivering on its objective to better “analyze the implications of decapitation.” Focusing on the essence of a leader’s “how” and “why” and its relationship to succession, Terror in Transition also provides CT practitioners with a framework to assess other options for influencing the direction of terrorist entities. -- Gina M. Bennett, author of National Security Mom: Why Going Soft Will Make America StrongBacon and Grimm have written an outstanding book, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand terrorist organizations, or leadership of violent groups in general. -- Brian Phillips * Small War Journals *It rewards unpacking owing to its analytic soundness, practical utility and, lamentably, its ongoing relevance. * Survival *An important conceptual and knowledge-based foundation, which will undoubtedly be built on for years to come. * Parameters *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Literature Review and Research Design2. Founders: Who Is a Founder, What Does He Do, and Who Comes Next?3. The Second Ku Klux Klan: From Founder to Fixer4. Egyptian Islamic Jihad: From Founder to Figureheads, to Fixer, to Visionary5. Al-Qaida in Iraq/the Islamic State of Iraq: From Founder to Signalers6. Al-Shabaab: From Founder to Fixer, to Figurehead7. Pathways and Possibilities: Lessons Learned from the Mini–Case StudiesConclusionAppendix A. Religious Terrorist GroupsAppendix B. Summary of Mini–Case Study DataNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisExplores this prevalent human desire to envision the End by analysing how various live End-Time performances allow people to live in and through future time. The book’s main focus is contemporary Christian End-Time performances and how they theatrically construct encounters with future time.

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Book SynopsisGrounding their analysis in a deep understanding of the country’s past, leading scholars of Afghan history, politics, society, and culture show how the Taliban was less an attempt to revive a medieval theocracy than a dynamic, complex, and adaptive force rooted in the history of Afghanistan and shaped by modern international politics.Trade ReviewBringing the story of a poorly understood but suddenly vitally important political movement up to date, the authors provide new perspectives on a revitalized Taliban that again threatens the stability of Afghanistan and Pakistan. -- David Edwards, Williams CollegeTarzi and Crews' account of the Taliban's historical and political evolution provides a most useful and important perspective on strategic thinking. Issues that bedeviled the Taliban endure, and this timely book underlines the scope of the problem. -- Ronald E. Neumann, former Ambassador to AfghanistanHistorian Crews and reporter Tarzi have assembled eight revealing essays on this widely reviled movement...The authors' 58-page introduction adds additional clarity and context to Afghanistan's tortured history, making for an engrossing read. * Publishers Weekly *The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan is of great value and highly welcome...Historically, successful counter-insurgency depends on striking political deals with parts of the insurgency. For that to happen, NATO needs to know its enemy. This volume makes a great contribution towards understanding the Taliban and the insurgency. -- Timo Noetzel * World Today *Table of ContentsIntroduction Robert D. Crews and Amin Tarzi 1. Explaining the Taliban's Ability to Mobilize the Pashtuns Abdulkader Sinno 2. The Rise and Fall of the Taliban Neamatollah Nojumi 3. The Taliban, Women, and the Hegelian Private Sphere Juan R. I. Cole 4. Taliban and Talibanism in Historical Perspective M. Nazif Shahrani 5. Remembering the Taliban Lutz Rzehak 6. Fraternity, Power, and Time in Central Asia Robert L. Canfield 7. Moderate Taliban? Robert D. Crews 8. The Neo-Taliban Amin Tarzi Epilogue: Afghanistan and the Pax Americana Atiq Sarwari and Robert D. Crews Notes Contributors Acknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisProvides a helpful overview of Radical Orthodoxy, highlights its areas of agreement with Reformed theology, and assesses its value as a truly postmodern theology.Table of ContentsForeword by John Milbank IntroductionPart 1: Orientation1. Inhabiting the Post-Secular: Why Radical Orthodoxy? Why Now?2. Elements of a Manifesto: The Movements of Radical Orthodoxy3. Radical Orthodoxy's "Story" of Philosophy: From Plato to Scotus and Back Part 2: Navigation4. Postmodern Parodies: The Critique of Modernity and the Myth of the Secular5. Possibilities for the Post-Secular: Faith, Reason, and Public Engagement6. Participation and Incarnation: Materiality, Liturgy, Sacramentality7. Cities of God: Cultural Critique and Social Transformation Conclusion Index

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Book SynopsisProvides behind-the-scenes explanations from nineteen former BJU students from the past few decades who now identify as LGBT+. They write about their experiences, reflect on their relationships with a religious institution, and describe their vulnerability under a controlling regime.

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Book SynopsisLooks at two groups that represent, in one case, the "hard" right, and in the other, the "soft" right-Pete Peters' "Scriptures for America" and James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" - in order to investigate the specific methods these groups rely on to appeal to their followers.Trade Review“Lift High the Cross teaches scholars, activists, and a popular audience the all-important historical background and differences among various groups on the Right, but just as importantly, it also teaches a way of performing politics that demands both activism and thinking. This sophisticated discussion of politics, religion, and religious narratives could not be more timely, in particular because the activist left has had such a hard time grappling with religion.”—Linda Kintz, author of Between Jesus and the Market: The Emotions that Matter in Right-Wing America“In Lift High the Cross Ann Burlein crafts fascinating case studies exploring boundaries between the Christian Right and the Extreme Right. She simultaneously shows how both ideologies intersect and share notions of a hierarchical natural order embedded in mainstream assumptions—themselves shaped by a cloaked history of cultural violence that we all share.”—Chip Berlet, coauthor of Right Wing Populism in AmericaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface The Violence of Culture: Countermemory and Niche Marketed Masculinity 1. Countermemory, Children, and Ignorance-Power 2. Converging Case Studies: Body Politics as Brand Recognition Christian Identity, Scriptures for America, and Pete Peters 3. Mainstream Roots 4. Biblical Memories and the Erotics of Domination: “Not Politically Correct but Biblically Correct” 5. Nichemarketing the Apocalypse: Violence as Hard-Sell The Christian Right, Focus on the Family, and James Dobson 6. The Power of Soft-Sell Style: Building a Multimillion-Dollar Ministry by Subverting Feminism 7. Remembering the Sixties as Pop Cultural Conspiracy: “Everyone’s Best Interest Group” 8. Nichemarketing the Family Homestead: Rearticulating Mainstream Silences in the Romance of Privatism Conclusion 9. The Bowl, the Crossing Point, and the Moment After Notes Selected Bibliography of Secondary Sources Index

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Book SynopsisAndrea Smith examines the racial reconciliation movement in Evangelical Christianity through a critical ethnic studies lens, evaluating the varying degrees to which Evangelical communities that were founded on white supremacy have attempted to address racism and become more inclusive.Trade Review“For women of color, in particular, who have been laboring to disrupt the racially and sexually oppressive policies and practices of evangelical organizations, Andrea Smith communicates ‘I see you.’ The way that she does this gives credence to the Sisyphean burden undertaken by women of color who are employing progressive intersectional frameworks in evangelical spaces. Smith manages to impart a sense of hope, demonstrating how the very presence of people of color within evangelical spaces can serve to destabilize white heterosexist patriarchal power.” -- Chanequa Walker-Barnes, author of * I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation *“Offering the first cultural history of the evangelical racial justice movement that is subversively and gradually changing the face of politics in the United States, Andrea Smith argues that whiteness is the heart of the problem of American evangelicalism. Upon reading Unreconciled, scholars of religion and politics will need to rethink what they mean by evangelicals, racial reconciliation, and progressive politics. This brilliant book is a must-read for all thoughtful Americans.” -- Peter Goodwin Heltzel, author of * Jesus and Justice: Evangelicals, Race, and American Politics *"Unreconciled is an informative read for scholars of contemporary religion, critical ethnic studies, and evangelical theology alike. In light of the global Black Lives Matter movements of 2020 and the rising interest in conversations on race and religion, the book’s in-depth coverage of a wide variety of racial injustice and racial reconciliation ideologies and movements within contemporary Christian evangelicalism is both urgent and informative." -- Flora X. Tang * Religion and Gender *"Smith’s book pries both critical ethnic studies and Christian evangelicalism from their presumed positions within the academy and the hands of white conservatives, respectively. In doing so, Smith presents valuable theoretical critique where the academy does not usually look for it and further demonstrates the usefulness of a critical ethnic studies framework outside the academy and across political and religious contexts." -- Allie Arend * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisAndrea Smith examines the racial reconciliation movement in Evangelical Christianity through a critical ethnic studies lens, evaluating the varying degrees to which Evangelical communities that were founded on white supremacy have attempted to address racism and become more inclusive.Trade Review“For women of color, in particular, who have been laboring to disrupt the racially and sexually oppressive policies and practices of evangelical organizations, Andrea Smith communicates ‘I see you.’ The way that she does this gives credence to the Sisyphean burden undertaken by women of color who are employing progressive intersectional frameworks in evangelical spaces. Smith manages to impart a sense of hope, demonstrating how the very presence of people of color within evangelical spaces can serve to destabilize white heterosexist patriarchal power.” -- Chanequa Walker-Barnes, author of * I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation *“Offering the first cultural history of the evangelical racial justice movement that is subversively and gradually changing the face of politics in the United States, Andrea Smith argues that whiteness is the heart of the problem of American evangelicalism. Upon reading Unreconciled, scholars of religion and politics will need to rethink what they mean by evangelicals, racial reconciliation, and progressive politics. This brilliant book is a must-read for all thoughtful Americans.” -- Peter Goodwin Heltzel, author of * Jesus and Justice: Evangelicals, Race, and American Politics *"Unreconciled is an informative read for scholars of contemporary religion, critical ethnic studies, and evangelical theology alike. In light of the global Black Lives Matter movements of 2020 and the rising interest in conversations on race and religion, the book’s in-depth coverage of a wide variety of racial injustice and racial reconciliation ideologies and movements within contemporary Christian evangelicalism is both urgent and informative." -- Flora X. Tang * Religion and Gender *"Smith’s book pries both critical ethnic studies and Christian evangelicalism from their presumed positions within the academy and the hands of white conservatives, respectively. In doing so, Smith presents valuable theoretical critique where the academy does not usually look for it and further demonstrates the usefulness of a critical ethnic studies framework outside the academy and across political and religious contexts." -- Allie Arend * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisReveals the history of Black Fundamentalists during the early part of the twentieth centuryAs the modernist-fundamentalist controversy came to a head in the early twentieth century, an image of the fighting fundamentalist was imprinted on the American cultural consciousness. To this day, the word fundamentalist often conjures the image of a fire-breathing preacherstrident, unyielding in conviction . . . and almost always white. But did this major religious perspective really stop cold in its tracks at the color line?Black Fundamentalists challenges the idea that fundamentalism was an exclusively white phenomenon. The volume uncovers voices from the Black community that embraced the doctrinal tenets of the movement and, in many cases, explicitly self-identified as fundamentalists. Fundamentalists of the early twentieth century felt the pressing need to defend the fundamental doctrines of their conservative Christian faithdoctrines like biblical inerrancy, the divinity of Christ, and theTrade ReviewUncovers a generation of African American theological conservatives who shared the ‘fundamentals’ of the faith with their white counterparts. At the same time, they sought progress in racial matters in ways fundamentally differing from those same white counterparts. This book tells the story of these progressive fundamentalists skillfully and with rich detail. -- Paul Harvey, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Colorado, Colorado SpringsDaniel R. Bare’s splendid book . . . will become one of the essential works on American fundamentalism, carrying major implications for the troubles over race and politics confronting many American churches today. -- Thomas S. Kidd, Vardaman Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor UniversityToo often the history of Protestant fundamentalism has been an incomplete one, largely omitting the black experience. Black Fundamentalists is a welcome and needed contribution, demonstrating that black Protestantism has never been monolithic. . . . Bare has retrieved a forgotten history of the black church, but also of the varieties of broader American fundamentalism in the first half of the twentieth century. -- Matthew J. Hall, Provost & Associate Professor of Church History, The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryThis book’s investigation into the neglected history of black fundamentalism is a most welcome addition to the fields of both fundamentalist history and black church history…Black Fundamentalists provides a well-structured and interesting treatment of a timely and overlooked topic and is worthy of readers’ attention. -- Charles Gillett * Theophron *Daniel R. Bare’s well-researched Black Fundamentalists is a fine and valuable contribution to American and African-American religious and general history…The author with solid documentation demonstrates that this Black embrace of fundamentalism was consistent with, and was regarded as indispensable to, the pursuit of the political and economic liberation of African Americans. * Baptist History and Heritage *Bare is to be commended for taking seriously the theological convictions of African Americans during the emergence of fundamentalism and trying to understand the diversity that existed even within black Christianity. * American Religion *Black Fundamentalists uncovers some important and powerful new sources and shows us how some African American Christians wrestled with some of the great theological issues of the era. -- Matthew Avery Sutton * Reading Religion *This book is a well-researched account of Black fundamentalism in the United States. Moreover, as an essential contribution to scholarship in general and American religion in particular,Black Fundamentalists opens new possibilities and areas of study for graduate students and scholars of race and American Christianity. -- Dara Coleby Delgado * Journal of Southern History *Bare’s book joins Mary Beth Swetnam Mathews’s Doctrine and Race: African American Evangelicals and Fundamentalism between the Wars (The University of Alabama Press, 2017) as one of the first significant historical studies on Black religious conservatives during the interwar period. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *

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Book SynopsisReveals the history of Black Fundamentalists during the early part of the twentieth centuryAs the modernist-fundamentalist controversy came to a head in the early twentieth century, an image of the fighting fundamentalist was imprinted on the American cultural consciousness. To this day, the word fundamentalist often conjures the image of a fire-breathing preacherstrident, unyielding in conviction . . . and almost always white. But did this major religious perspective really stop cold in its tracks at the color line?Black Fundamentalists challenges the idea that fundamentalism was an exclusively white phenomenon. The volume uncovers voices from the Black community that embraced the doctrinal tenets of the movement and, in many cases, explicitly self-identified as fundamentalists. Fundamentalists of the early twentieth century felt the pressing need to defend the fundamental doctrines of their conservative Christian faithdoctrines like biblical inerrancy, the divinity of Christ, and theTrade ReviewUncovers a generation of African American theological conservatives who shared the ‘fundamentals’ of the faith with their white counterparts. At the same time, they sought progress in racial matters in ways fundamentally differing from those same white counterparts. This book tells the story of these progressive fundamentalists skillfully and with rich detail. -- Paul Harvey, Distinguished Professor of History, University of Colorado, Colorado SpringsDaniel R. Bare’s splendid book . . . will become one of the essential works on American fundamentalism, carrying major implications for the troubles over race and politics confronting many American churches today. -- Thomas S. Kidd, Vardaman Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor UniversityToo often the history of Protestant fundamentalism has been an incomplete one, largely omitting the black experience. Black Fundamentalists is a welcome and needed contribution, demonstrating that black Protestantism has never been monolithic. . . . Bare has retrieved a forgotten history of the black church, but also of the varieties of broader American fundamentalism in the first half of the twentieth century. -- Matthew J. Hall, Provost & Associate Professor of Church History, The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryThis book’s investigation into the neglected history of black fundamentalism is a most welcome addition to the fields of both fundamentalist history and black church history…Black Fundamentalists provides a well-structured and interesting treatment of a timely and overlooked topic and is worthy of readers’ attention. -- Charles Gillett * Theophron *Daniel R. Bare’s well-researched Black Fundamentalists is a fine and valuable contribution to American and African-American religious and general history…The author with solid documentation demonstrates that this Black embrace of fundamentalism was consistent with, and was regarded as indispensable to, the pursuit of the political and economic liberation of African Americans. * Baptist History and Heritage *Bare is to be commended for taking seriously the theological convictions of African Americans during the emergence of fundamentalism and trying to understand the diversity that existed even within black Christianity. * American Religion *Black Fundamentalists uncovers some important and powerful new sources and shows us how some African American Christians wrestled with some of the great theological issues of the era. -- Matthew Avery Sutton * Reading Religion *This book is a well-researched account of Black fundamentalism in the United States. Moreover, as an essential contribution to scholarship in general and American religion in particular,Black Fundamentalists opens new possibilities and areas of study for graduate students and scholars of race and American Christianity. -- Dara Coleby Delgado * Journal of Southern History *Bare’s book joins Mary Beth Swetnam Mathews’s Doctrine and Race: African American Evangelicals and Fundamentalism between the Wars (The University of Alabama Press, 2017) as one of the first significant historical studies on Black religious conservatives during the interwar period. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Daniel Bare seeks to correct the record… by showing there were indeed black Christians, in addition to those who were white, who actively participated in the fundamentalist crusade. He not only demonstrates this definitively, but in the process of tracing the history of black fundamentalism makes several noteworthy observations about Christianity and race in America… Bare, an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Texas A&M University, is to be commended for this fine work. * Southeastern Theological Review *

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Book SynopsisThere is widespread concern today about the “radicalization” of young muslim men, and the deprived areas of Western cities are believed to have become breeding grounds of home-grown extremism. But how do young Muslims growing up in the cities of the West really live? This book takes us beyond the rhetoric and into the housing estates on the outskirts of Paris to meet Adama, Radouane, Hassan, Tarik, Marley, and a shadowy figure whose name suddenly and brutally became known to the world at the time of the Charlie Hebdo shootings: Amédy Coulibaly. Seeing Amédy through the eyes of close friends and other young Muslim men in the neighbourhoods where they grew up, Fabien Truong uncovers a network of competing loyalties and maps the road these youths take to resolve the conflicts they face: becoming Muslim. For these young men, Islam stands, often alone, as a resource, a gateway – as if it were the last route to “escape” without betrayal and to “fight” in a meaningful and noble way. Becoming Muslim does not necessarily lead to the radicalized “other”. It is more like a long-distance race, a powerful reconversion of the self that allows for introspection and change. But it can also lead to a belligerent presentation of the self that transforms a dead-end into a call to arms.Trade Review"Truong vividly describes the lives of young men from immigrant backgrounds in the Paris banlieue, charting their trajectories from dropping out of school towards crime and then prison. This is an extremely valuable book, rich in ethnographic detail and very well written: I was irresistibly drawn in to this world of kickbacks, payoffs and unsettlingly deep resentment against the whole of French society."—David Lehmann, University of Cambridge, UK "Truong take us deep inside the personal world of six immigrant young men from France's disreputable urban periphery. He shows how they navigate the promises and demands of the school, the street economy, the prison and the police, and why they are attracted (or not) by Islam as a 'floating political imaginary.' An insightful and urgent contribution to the analysis of the social fabrication of terrorists that punctures the sonorous but empty notion of 'radicalization.'"—Loïc Wacquant, University of California, Berkeley "It is not a clash of civilizations that Fabien Truong vividly describes but a collapse of communities, as young men in transitional stages of their life search for significance in the West's Muslim diaspora. If you want to understand how most overcome feelings of rootlessness and despair and how a few become jihadis, read this book."—Scott Atran, CNRS, Paris, and University of Oxford "... an excellent ethnography of Muslim masculinity."—Times Higher Education "... a thoughtful, well-crafted ethnography that humanizes the faceless, amorphous 'Muslim youth' of the French banlieues."—Los Angeles Review of Books "Radicalized Loyalties is an outstanding study of the social worlds of immigrant young men living in the urban periphery of Paris.... The book will be of great interest to scholars within the cross-disciplinary field of (counter)terrorism studies as well as to social scientists and anthropologists interested in state-margin relationships, Islam, the secular state, and the administration of the urban periphery in the West."EthnosTable of ContentsNote to the Reader Acknowledgements Introduction: The call of the ground Friday the 13th Behind absurdity, the social world The magic of "radicalization" A bad religion for "bad seeds"? Finding Allah at street-level Chapter 1: Common histories Making a home in public housing: a French history "Boys will be boys" Conflicting loyalties, recognition of debts "A white fence-post in a dark forest" Rebels without a cause, or a cause without rebels? Chapter 2: On the margins of the city Imprints of school The incompleteness of le business Common criminals Masculine machines Police, death, and hatred: a political trinity Chapter 3: Reconversions Being or becoming Muslim? The "community" illusion The Koran: reading and sharing In the here and now: getting better Beyond the here and now: being the best The value of reconversion and the reconversion of values Chapter 4: War and Peace Turning thirty: the verdict Toward a sociology of inner peace Kif-kif Desires for Syria: going off to war, over there "I am Amédy": at war, over here Epilogue Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe aughts was a strange era for everyone. America finally filled that hammer-and-sickle-size hole in its heart with turbans and beards. High schoolers went from wearing JNCO denim tents to hermetically sealed Jeggings. And someone declared war on Christmas.

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Book SynopsisRecent studies of Indonesian Islam have pointed to the growing prominence of ‘conservative’ and globally expansive Islamic doctrines. Salafism is one such doctrine, and it has gained increasing popularity in Indonesia over the past several decades. Aiming to propagate a ‘literalist’ interpretation of Islam, Salafi activists argue that many local Islamic traditions, histories and cultures are unIslamic. This has led to significant controversy, and accusations by many Indonesians that Salafism is foreign to country, an intolerant religion, and should have no part in the religious life of the nation. This book offers an ethnographic study of this often misunderstood and controversial movement. It explains why Salafism is growing in numbers, especially amongst young people, and how Salafi activists promote their faith within the wider public. It explores the range of propagational activities and products Salafis use in their public outreach, including literature, mosque sermons, social media ventures, and even fashion, and describes how these activities are tailored to a young Indonesian audience. Salafis may have global roots, but as this book outlines, its success in Indonesia is best understood as an intrinsically local phenomenon entangled within Indonesian ideas of Islamic praxis, consumerism, modernity, political action and citizenship. Salafi activists do not see themselves as foreign religious agents or detached from Indonesian life, but increasingly as part of a religiously conservative moral vanguard. Salafism is, consequently, part of the broader re-orientation of social, cultural and political life we are seeing in contemporary Indonesia.Trade Review‘Chris Chaplin’s carefully argued and sophisticated analysis of Salafism in Indonesia not only shows its appeal as a mix of social movement and individualizing force; it leverages rich ethnographic detail to reveal Salafism’s internal tensions and paradoxes as a defining trait, a necessary condition for the movement’s growth as it continues to inspire an increasingly conservative and politicized religious landscape. Relevant well beyond the Indonesian context, this book is an important contribution to the study of Islam. It will be widely read.’ (Dr David Kloos, KITLV - Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies)

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