Religious life and practice Books
Oxford University Press Americas Four Gods What We Say About GodAnd What That Says About Us What We Say about GodAnd What That Says about Us Updated
Book SynopsisDespite all the hype surrounding the New Atheism, the United States remains one of the most religious nations on Earth. In fact, 95% of Americans believe in God--a level of agreement rarely seen in American life. The greatest divisions in America are not between atheists and believers, or even between people of different faiths. What divides us, this groundbreaking book shows, is how we conceive of God and the role He plays in our daily lives. America''s Four Gods draws on the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and illuminating survey of American''s religious beliefs ever conducted to offer a systematic exploration of how Americans view God. Paul Froese and Christopher Bader argue that many of America''s most intractable social and political divisions emerge from religious convictions that are deeply held but rarely openly discussed. Drawing upon original survey data from thousands of Americans and a wealth of in-depth interviews from all parts of the country, Froese and Bader trace America''s cultural and political diversity to its ultimate source--differing opinions about God. They show that regardless of our religious tradition (or lack thereof), Americans worship four distinct types of God: The Authoritative God--who is both engaged in the world and judgmental; The Benevolent God--who loves and helps us in spite of our failings; The Critical God--who catalogs our sins but does not punish them (at least not in this life); and The Distant God--who stands apart from the world He created. The authors show that these four conceptions of God form the basis of our worldviews and are among the most powerful predictors of how we feel about the most contentious issues in American life. This updated edition includes a new preface and afterword in which the authors reflect on their goals in writing this book, and explore trends that have developed since the initial publication. America''s Four Gods provides an invaluable portrait of how we view God and therefore how we view virtually everything else.Trade Review"America's Four Gods is an outstanding exposé on what exactly people mean when they talk about God. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how people think and feel about God."--Andrew Newberg, M.D., author of Why We Believe What We Believe "A tour de force showing what Americans believe about God and how it shapes their behavior. This path-breaking work forces us to move beyond the ill-defined labels of religious liberals and conservatives to understand how images of God move people to action." -- Roger Finke, Professor of Sociology & Religious Studies, Penn State UniversityTable of ContentsPreface ; Introduction: Why God? ; 1. America's Four Gods ; 2. God, Self, and Society ; 3. God and Morals ; 4. God and Science ; 5. God and Mammon ; 6. God and Evil ; 7.The Future of God ; Afterword ; Postscript: The God Questionnaire ; Appendix: Research Methods ; Bibliography ; Index
£32.77
Oxford University Press, USA Saving Souls Serving Society Understanding the Faith Factor in ChurchBased Social Ministry
Book SynopsisAs public funding for social services has been slashed, there has arisen an unprecedented interest in the potential (and dangers) of faith-based institutions as agents of social change. Now, as President Bush begins his second term, he has placed government funding of faith-based programs at the top of his domestic agenda. What distinguishes church-based from secular social activism? What is particularly religious about church-based social services? How do churches express their religious identity in the context of social services, and how does this affect their access to resources and partners? This book, based on a Lilly-funded study of fifteen Philadelphia churches with active outreach, seeks to answer these and other pressing questions surrounding this important and controversial issue. Providing a far more objective understanding of faith-based initiatives than previously available, this study will be of interest not only to scholars of sociology of religion, social work, and social policy, but to denominational leaders, non-profit professionals, social policy analysts, community development practitioners, and others with the common goal of aiding struggling communities.Trade ReviewWhereas most scholars focus on the social service side of faith-based social services, Unruh and Sider integrate the faith factor and evangelism in understanding congregational social services. They convincingly demonstrate that one cannot understand faith-based social services without understanding its faith dimensions. This is a most innovative and groundbreaking book that is a must for all those concerned with the faith-based initiative and congregational studies. * Ram A. Cnaan, author of The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare *
£46.54
Oxford University Press Sacred Pain
Book SynopsisPhysical pain ranks as one of the great evils of human life, not far behind death. Yet, religious individuals and groups around the world and throughout history have inflicted pain on themselves and on others in pursuit of religious goals. Despite this, no broad explanation for the uses of pain has emerged, and this book seeks to remedy this lack. Glucklich shows that a ritually controlled regimen of pain can produce a transformation of consciousness in which personal identity gives way to identification with God, Truth, or other spiritual ideals. This phenomenon is explored in many cultural and historical contexts, including rituals of possession and exorcism, rites of passage, and the tortures of the Inquisition. Glucklich also shows how the modern invention of anæsthesia transformed our perception of pain and undermined the idea that pain can be good. This book helps us to understand sacred pain from the perspective of its practitioners, opening a window onto a mysterious world of eTrade Review"Succeeds not only because of the immense and careful scholarship it displays, but also because it establishes a creative dialogue between science and religion on a question of enduring, and today largely forgotten, importance. Most of all, the book invites its readers to appreciate that pain need not be meaningless."--Stephen G. Post, First Things"Erudite and wide-ranging...compelling.... This fascinating, closely argued study suggests that in religion as in sports, there is no gain without pain."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)"This demanding book does justice to the complexity of its subject as Glucklich masterfully leads the reader through all the diverse paths that connect with the central topic. He is a skilled writer who presents complicated material well without sacrificing meaning or nuance."--Library Journal"A brilliantly written, thought-provoking volume on the transformative potential of physical pain experienced within a religious context."--Harold G. Koenig, M.D., co-author, Handbook of Religion and Health"Ariel Glucklich is that rare being, a genuine comparativist, of cosmopolitan learning and wide sympathies. Drawing upon such diverse approaches as neurobiology, social psychology, ritual studies, cultural theory, phenomenology, and history of religion, he succeeds in shedding light on the darkest reaches of the seemingly chaotic realm of pain. Glucklich reminds us of all-but-forgotten insights into the transformative power of sacred pain, brings these insights into dialogue with the best thinking that is being done in the behavioral and biological sciences, and in so doing forges new instruments for the study of religious consciousness."--Carol Zaleski, Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, Smith College"Indeed, Glucklich examines the function of pain as part of the redemptive pilgrimage from numerous angles and distances, then turns it over and examines it some more...anyone with a serious interest in religion, pain and suffering, and/or the anthropology of the "community" will find much food for thought in this book...Sacred Pain offers valuable insights about pain, belief, and Western society's conflicting attitudes about pain and suffering."--Medscape
£45.12
Oxford University Press Making of Buddhist Modernism
Book SynopsisIn this book, David McMahan offers the first comprehensive attempt to chart the development of modern Buddhism. His position is critical but empathetic: while he presents modern Buddhism as a construction of numerous parties with varying interests, he does not reduce it to a mistake, a misrepresentation, or a fabrication. Rather, he presents modern Buddhism as a complex historical process constituted by a variety of responses - sometimes trivial, often profound - to some of the most important concerns of the modern era.Trade ReviewMcMahan's investigation is a valuable and welcome addition to studies of Victorian-era Buddhism, Buddhism and colonialism, Engaged Buddhism, and Buddhism in America. * Anne M. Blackburn, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *David McMahan has developed a creative and richly suggestive historical synthesis. ... McMahan's investigation is a valuable and welcome addition to studies of Victorian-era Buddhism, Buddhism and colonialism, Engaged Buddhism, and Buddhism in America. * Anne M. Blackburn, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of Contents1. Introduction: Buddhism and Modernity ; 2. The Spectrum of Tradition and Modernism ; 3. Buddhism and the Discourses of Modernity ; 4. Modernity and the Discourse of Scientific Buddhism ; 5 ; 6. A Brief History of Interdependence ; 7. Meditation and Modernity ; 8. Mindfulness, Literature, and the Affirmation of the World ; 9. From Modern to Postmodern?
£37.04
Oxford University Press Everyday Religion
Book SynopsisSocial scientists sometimes seem not to know what to do with religion. In the first century of sociologys history as a discipline, the reigning concern was explaining the emergence of the modern world, and that brought with it an expectation that religion would simply fade from the scene as societies became diverse, complex, and enlightened. As the century approached its end, however, a variety of global phenomena remained dramatically unexplained by these theories. Among the leading contenders for explanatory power to emerge at this time were rational choice theories of religious behavior. Researchers who have spent time in the field, observing religious groups and interviewing practitioners, however, have questioned the sufficiency of these market models. Studies abound that describe thriving religious phenomena that fit neither the old secularization paradigm nor the equations predicting vitality only among organizational entrepreneurs with strict orthodoxies. In this collection of Trade ReviewThis book plots a new agenda for understanding religion in contemporary society. Based on case studies in both Europe and the United States, the poverty of rational-choice explanations of religion is exposed, along with the inadequacy of charting religious change by surveying beliefs and patterns of institutional affiliation. Pluralism may challenge traditional perceptions of religion, but it certainly has not led to the demise religion if one examines what people do in everyday life. This is a wonderful collection of essays, framed by Ammerman's brilliant opening and closing chapters. * Donald E. Miller, Professor of Religion and Executive Director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California *
£33.72
Oxford University Press Sacred Stories Spiritual Tribes
Book SynopsisNancy Tatom Ammerman examines the stories Americans tell of their everyday lives, from dinner table to office and shopping mall to doctor's office, about the things that matter most to them and the routines they take for granted, and the times and places where the everyday and ordinary meet the spiritual.Trade ReviewNancy Ammerman's recent work has helped to lead a growing group of scholars who, disenchanted with the perceived dead ends of the secularization versus rational choice debate of the 1990s, recommend new ways of thinking about and studying religion. Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes, which uses a lived religion approach, is a welcome addition to these efforts. Ammerman's innovative account of religiosity in the United States uses qualitative methods, especially elicited narratives, in an original way that combines depth with considerable breadth. * Mary Ellen Konieczny, Sociology of Religion *Provides a helpful glimpse into how 'non experts' in America talk about and practice religion in their everyday lives...Besides making a wonderful addition to the syllabus of different graduate courses such as practical theology, spirituality, and the sociology of religion, Sacred Stories could be helpful for church book group discussions on everyday religion. * Ecclesial Practices *Sacred Stories brings to light the myriad ways our contemporaries find religious meaning in their twenty-first century lives. It succeeds in launching readers into new conversations about what spirituality is, how we go about identifying activities and experiences as in some way spiritual, and how existing traditions connect with specific moments of everyday religion. * Church History *This comprehensive, thought-provoking work adds immeasurably to scholarship in sociology of religion and will help set agendas in sociology of religion for years to come. * Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion *By setting aside the typical categories academic researchers use when studying contemporary religion, Ammerman and her team document the complex ways religion shows up in a wide range of domains: in communities and conversations, in homes, at work and in public life, and not surprisingly around matters of health, illness and death. * Religion Dispatches *Nancy Ammerman's Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes offers the most in-depth, yet wide-ranging mapping of religious/spiritual/secular sensibilities in the everyday lives of contemporary Americans yet to emerge. She weaves a tapestry that shatters many of our taken-for-granted assumptions about people's circumscribed life-worlds. The book deserves a serious reading on the part of anyone who would try to describe this emerging, but exceedingly complex mix of the sacred and the secular. * Wade Clark Roof, J.F. Rowny Professor of Religion and Society, University of California at Santa Barbara *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments ; List of Tables ; List of Illustrations and Captions ; Chapter 1. In Search of Religion in Everyday Life ; Chapter 2. "Spirituality" and "Religion": What Are We Talking About? ; Chapter 3. Spiritual Practices in Everyday Life ; Chapter 4. Religious Communities and Spiritual Conversations ; Chapter 5. Everyday Life at Home ; Chapter 6. Nine to Five: Spiritual Presence at Work ; Chapter 7. Everyday Public Life: Circles of Spiritual Presence and Absence ; Chapter 8. Bodies and Spirits: Health, Illness and Mortality ; Chapter 9. Spiritual Tribes: Toward a Sociology of Religion in Everyday Life ; Appendix 1. Participants and Their Religious Communities ; Appendix 2. Coding and Analyzing Stories ; Appendix 3. Research Protocols ; Notes ; References ; Index
£40.37
Oxford University Press Belief without Borders Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious
Book SynopsisThe last twenty years have seen a dramatic increase in nones: people who do not claim any religious affiliation, and who now outnumber even the largest Protestant denominations in America. Not to be confused with secularists, many nones identify themselves as spiritual but not religious (SBNR). Public response to the emergence of SBNRs has been wildly mixed. Nones have been evaluated, statistically analyzed, classified and categorized, derided as shallow dilettantes, and hailed as spiritual pioneers, but very rarely asked to describe their own views and experiences. In Beliefs without Borders, theologian and one-time SBNR Linda Mercadante gives nones a chance to speak for themselves.This volume is the outcome of extensive observation and over 85 in-depth interviews with SBNRs across the United States. Mercadante presents SBNRs'' stories and analysis of their spiritual journeys as well as their rationale for the rejection of organized religion, showing that people who identify in this way can be found not only outside of organized religon, but within it. She reveals the surprising latent theology within the nones movement, including the interviewees'' creative concepts of divine transcendence, life after death, human nature, and community, and the conclusions she draws are startling: despite that SBNRs routinely discount the creeds and doctrines of organized religion, many have devised a structured set of beliefs, often purposefully in opposition to doctrines associated with Christianity.Beliefs without Borders is a captivating exploration of a growing belief system certain to transform the spiritual character of America.Trade ReviewWhether or not Mercadante's readers endorse her theological critique, this fascinating book offers an investigation of American SBNR's beliefs that is important and timely, a gift to scholars and practitioners of religion, spirituality and non-religion. * Kristin Aune, Times Higher Education *This informative, engaging, and important book shatters the myth that those who describe themselves as 'spiritual but not religious' (SBNR) are self-absorbed theological illiterates self-indulgently 'pic 'n mixing' their way to objectively superficial spiritual self-satisfaction. * Mark Bratton, Journal of Contemporary Religion *the book has a strong balance of description, evaluation and criticism and is, as yet, one of only a few major empirical studies on the SBNR revolution. * Oliver Robinson, Network Review *Table of ContentsA Personal Prelude: Confessions of a Former SBNR ; Chapter One - Introduction ; Chapter Two - Waking from the Dream ; Chapter Three - The Interviewees ; Chapter Four - Common Themes ; Chapter Five - Transcendence ; Chapter Six - Human Nature ; Chapter Seven - Community ; Chapter Eight - Afterlife ; Chapter Nine - Conclusions and Implications ; Afterword - Rita Rodriquez and the Resiliency of Religion ; Appendix - Research Methodology
£55.10
Darton,Longman & Todd Ltd Fire and the Rose are One
£18.58
Hymns Ancient & Modern Taking Leave of God SCM Classics
Book SynopsisRejecting Christian doctrines and metaphysics in favour of the religious consciousness which characterizes human identity, Cupitt "takes leave" of God by abandoning objective theism.Trade Review"'Composed with a moving integrity and honesty, with a stress on disinterested spirituality and discipline.' John Robinson in the Times Literary Supplement 'There shines through this lucid book a passion, an integrity, an often agonising seriousness of concern, which is in refreshing contrast to the dilettantism, the sceptical frivolity, which disfigures some other popular writing on religious matters.' The Tablet"
£21.99
Penguin Random House LLC Daily Devotions Inspired by 90 Minutes in Heaven 90 Readings for Hope and Healing
£21.47
Time Warner Trade Publishing Miracles and Wonders How God Changes His Natural Laws to Benefit You
Book SynopsisCalvin Miller, bestselling CBA author and well-respected seminarian, explores the mystery and methodology of divine miracles. At some time or another, nearly everyone needs a miracle. Failing health, financial difficulties, deteriorating relationships--all are problems that make people cry out for divine intervention. But while Scripture offers numerous examples of God performing miracles for ancient generations--from Moses and the burning bush to the loaves and fishes that fed 5,000--does He still do it in the 21st century? Author Calvin Miller investigates, delving into the Scriptures and drawing on modern testimonials to find the answer. He examines the Bible's most famous miracles--from the Virgin Birth to the Resurrection of Christ, analyzes the discrepancy between science and miracle, and explores such perplexing questions as why God chooses to intervene on some occasions but not on others. By illuminating God's patterns, Miller reaches a conclusion that offers a tremendous sourc
£20.64
Random House Publishing Group Circle Round
Book SynopsisIn our rushed, stressed society, it''s sometimes difficult to spend meaningful time as a family. Now Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill offer new ways to foster a sense of togetherness through celebrations that honor the sacredness of life and our Mother Earth.Goddess tradition embraces the wheel of life, the never-ending cycle of birth, growth, love, fulfillment, and death. Each turn of the wheel is presented here, in eight holidays spanning the changing seasons, in rites of passage for life transitions, and in the elements of fire, air, water, earth, and spirit. Circle Round is rich with songs, rituals, craft and cooking projects, and read-aloud stories, as well as suggestions for how you can create your own unique family traditions. Here are just some of the ways to make each event in the cycle of life more special: Mark Summer Solstice by making sweet-smelling herb pillows for good dreams Send a teenager off to college with the Leaving Behind and Carryi
£18.04
Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp An Interview with God
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