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Religion and Science as Forms of Life: Anthropological Insights into Reason and Unreason
by Carles Salazar Joan BestardThe relationships between science and religion are about to enter a new phase in our contemporary world, as scientific knowledge has become increasingly relevant in ordinary life, beyond the institutional public spaces where it traditionally developed. The purpose of this volume is to analyze the relationships, possible articulations and contradictions between religion and science as forms of life: ways of engaging human experience that originate in particular social and cultural formations. Contributions use this theoretical and ethnographic research to explore different scientific and religious cultures in the contemporary world.
Religion and Science: The Emergence Of Spirit In The Natural World. Frankfurt Templeton Lectures 2006 (The Basics #13)
by Philip ClaytonReligion and science are arguably the two most powerful social forces in the world today. But where religion and science were once held to be compatible, many people now perceive them to be in conflict. This unique book provides the best available introduction to the burning debates in this controversial field. Examining the defining questions and controversies, renowned expert Philip Clayton presents the arguments from both sides, asking readers to decide for themselves where they stand: • science or religion, or science and religion? • history and philosophy of science • the role of scientific and religious ethics – modifying genes, extending life, and experimenting with human subjects • religion and the environmental crisis • the future of science vs. the future of religion. Thoroughly updated throughout, this second edition explores religious traditions from around the world and provides insights from across the sciences, making this book essential reading for all those wishing to come to their own understanding of some of the most important debates of our day.
Religion and Society in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia (Routledge Research in Religion and Development)
by Carole RakodiThis book analyses how religion is entangled in people’s lives in Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. It provides an introduction to the teachings, practices and values promoted by the main religious traditions in these regions and an overview of the evidence on what religion means to people in terms of their beliefs and religious practices and how it influences their values, attitudes and day-to-day relationships with others, especially their families. Over the course of the book Carole Rakodi explores similarities and differences between and within religious traditions and identifies some of the key factors that influence and explain the roles played by religion in people’s personal lives and social relationships. A separate companion volume will go on to focus on the social and political roles and relationships of religious groups and organisations. This book will be of great interest to academics and students working in a range of disciplines, especially sociology, religious studies and development studies but also anthropology, geography and area studies.
Religion and Sustainability: Intersection of Sustainability Studies and Religion, Theology, Philosophy (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Purushottama Bilimoria Rita D. ShermaThis volume brings sustainability studies into creative and constructive conversation with actions, practices, and worldviews from religion and theology supportive of the vision and work of the UN SDGs. It features more than 30 chapters from scholars across diverse disciplines, including economics, ethics, theology, sociology, ritual studies, and visual culture. This interdisciplinary content presents new insights for inhibiting ecospheric devastation, which is inextricably linked to unsustainable financial, societal, racial, geopolitical, and cultural relationships. The chapters show how humanistic elements can enable the establishment of sustainable ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. This includes the aesthetic and emotive dimensions of life. The contributors cover such topics as empowering women and girls to systemically reverse climate change; nurturing interreligious peace; decolonizing landscapes; and promoting horticulture, ecovillages, equity, and animal ethics. Coverage integrates a variety of religious and theological perspectives. These include Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and other traditions.To enable the restoration and flourishing of the ecosystems of the biosphere, human societies need to be reimagined and reordered in terms of economic, cultural, religious, racial, and social equitability. This volume illustrates transformative paradigms to help foster such change. It introduces new principles, practices, ethics, and insights to the discourse. This work will appeal to students, scholars, and professionals researching the ethical, moral, social, cultural, psychological, developmental, and other social scientific impacts of religion on the key markers of sustainability.
Religion and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Southern Africa (Routledge Studies on Religion in Africa and the Diaspora)
by Fortune Sibanda, Tenson Muyambo and Ezra ChitandoThis book investigates the role of religion in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Africa. Building on a diverse range of methodologies and disciplinary approaches, the book reflects on how religion, politics and health have interfaced in Southern African contexts, when faced with the sudden public health emergency caused by the pandemic. Religious actors have played a key role on the frontline throughout the pandemic, sometimes posing roadblocks to public health messaging, but more often deploying their resources to help provide effective and timely responses. Drawing on case studies from African indigenous knowledge systems, Islam, Rastafari and various forms of Christianity, this book provides important reflections on the role of religion in crisis response. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of African Studies, Health, Politics and Religious Studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Religion as Make-Believe: A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity
by Neil Van LeeuwenTo understand the nature of religious belief, we must look at how our minds process the world of imagination and make-believe.We often assume that religious beliefs are no different in kind from ordinary factual beliefs—that believing in the existence of God or of supernatural entities that hear our prayers is akin to believing that May comes before June. Neil Van Leeuwen shows that, in fact, these two forms of belief are strikingly different. Our brains do not process religious beliefs like they do beliefs concerning mundane reality; instead, empirical findings show that religious beliefs function like the imaginings that guide make-believe play.Van Leeuwen argues that religious belief—which he terms religious “credence”—is best understood as a form of imagination that people use to define the identity of their group and express the values they hold sacred. When a person pretends, they navigate the world by consulting two maps: the first represents mundane reality, and the second superimposes the features of the imagined world atop the first. Drawing on psychological, linguistic, and anthropological evidence, Van Leeuwen posits that religious communities operate in much the same way, consulting a factual-belief map that represents ordinary objects and events and a religious-credence map that accords these objects and events imagined sacred and supernatural significance.It is hardly controversial to suggest that religion has a social function, but Religion as Make-Believe breaks new ground by theorizing the underlying cognitive mechanisms. Once we recognize that our minds process factual and religious beliefs in fundamentally different ways, we can gain deeper understanding of the complex individual and group psychology of religious faith.
Religion of Sports: Navigating the Trials of Life Through the Games We Love
by Gotham Chopra Joe LevinFrom the acclaimed director who has gone behind the scenes with many of the greatest athletes in the world, a memoir-meets-manifesto featuring never-before-heard stories about Tom Brady, Simone Biles, Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, and many more. Sports is religion. No, really. From pilgrimages and cathedrals, gods and fallen angels, holy wars and holy ghosts, sports has every aspect of an organized faith. In fact, it might be even better: all it takes to believe is to stand and cheer. Nobody knows this better than the preeminent sports documentarian Gotham Chopra, who just so happens to be the son of world-renowned spiritualist Deepak Chopra. While his father taught him to find faith through prayer, Gotham felt pulled towards the Boston Garden and Larry Bird instead. Tracing his unique path from being a diehard fan to witnessing miracles alongside the gods of sport, Gotham makes a compelling case for sports as a modern-day faith. And like any worthy religious text, he also doles out wisdom, which comes in the form of never-before-heard stories about some of the biggest names in sports. Rarely has anyone had such an up-close view of greatness as Chopra, and now, he lets you come with him behind the scenes to learn how legendary quarterback Tom Brady managed the end of his career, gold medal gymnast Simone Biles struggled with the pressure of the Tokyo Olympics, Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry developed the greatest three-point shot of all time, and much more. Chopra weaves together stories from Kobe Bryant, Alex Morgan, LeBron James, Michael Strahan, Shaun White, and more into modern-day parables that unlock secrets of competition—and of life. Passionate and inspiring, the Religion of Sports is not just for diehard sports fans, but for anyone who&’s ever believed in something greater than themselves.
Religion, Climate Change, and Food Security in Africa (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Ezra Chitando Sophia Chirongoma Loreen Maseno David Andrew OmonaThis book addresses the relationship between religion, climate change, and food security in Africa. Contributors to this volume interrogate how and to what extent religion in Africa serves as a resource (or confounding factor) in responding to Sustainable Development Goals 13 (action on climate change) and 2 (achieve Zero Hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture). Approaching the theme from diverse disciplinary and methodological angles, contributors probe the potential role of religion in Africa to accelerate the achievement of these two SDGs, especially the role of religion with regard to food availability, food accessibility, food utilization, and food systems stability.
Religion, Magic, and the Origins of Science in Early Modern England (Variorum Collected Studies #999)
by John HenryIn these articles John Henry argues on the one hand for the intimate relationship between religion and early modern attempts to develop new understandings of nature, and on the other hand for the role of occult concepts in early modern natural philosophy. Focussing on the scene in England, the articles provide detailed examinations of the religious motivations behind Roman Catholic efforts to develop a new mechanical philosophy, theories of the soul and immaterial spirits, and theories of active matter. There are also important studies of animism in the beginnings of experimentalism, the role of occult qualities in the mechanical philosophy, and a new account of the decline of magic. As well as general surveys, the collection includes in depth studies of William Gilbert, Sir Kenelm Digby, Henry More, Francis Glisson, Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke, and Isaac Newton.
Religion, Medicine and the Law (Biomedical Law and Ethics Library)
by Clayton Ó NéillIs the legal protection that is given to the expression of Abrahamic religious belief adequate or appropriate in the context of English medical law? This is the central question that is explored in this book, which develops a framework to support judges in the resolution of contentious cases that involve dissension between religious belief and medical law, developed from Alan Gewirth’s Principle of Generic Consistency (PGC). <P><P>This framework is applied to a number of medical law case studies: the principle of double effect, ritual male circumcision, female genital mutilation, Jehovah’s Witnesses (adults and children) who refuse blood transfusions, and conscientious objection of healthcare professionals to abortion. <P><P>The book also examines the legal and religious contexts in which these contentious cases are arbitrated. It demonstrates how human rights law and the proposed framework can provide a gauge to measure competing rights and apply legitimate limits to the expression of religious belief, where appropriate. The book concludes with a stance of principled pragmatism, which finds that some aspects of current legal protections in English medical law require amendment.
Religion, Neuroscience and the Self: A New Personalism (Routledge Studies in Neurotheology, Cognitive Science and Religion)
by Patrick McNamaraThe purpose of this book is to use neuroscience discoveries concerning religious experiences, the Self and personhood to deepen, enhance and interrogate the theological and philosophical set of ideas known as Personalism. McNamara proposes a new eschatological form of personalism that is consistent with current neuroscience models of relevant brain functions concerning the self and personhood and that can meet the catastrophic challenges of the 21st century. Eschatological Personalism, rooted in the philosophical tradition of "Boston Personalism", takes as its starting point the personalist claim that the significance of a self and personality is not fully revealed until it has reached its endpoint, but theologically that end point can only occur within the eschatological realm. That realm is explored in the book along with implications for personalist theory and ethics. Topics covered include the agent intellect, dreams and the imagination, future-orientation and eschatology, phenomenology of Time, social ethics, Love, the challenge of AI, privacy and solitude and the individual ethic of autarchy. This book is an innovative combination of the neuroscientific and theological insights provided by a Personalist viewpoint. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Cognitive Science, Theology, Religious Studies and the philosophy of the mind.
Religion, Public Health and Human Security in Nigeria (Routledge Studies on Remote Places and Remoteness)
by Abiodun AlaoThis book critically examines the intersection of religion, public health and human security in Nigeria. Focusing on Christianity, Islam, traditional religions and "intra-religious" doctrinal divergencies, the book explores the impact faith has on health-related decisions and how this affects security in Nigeria. The book assesses the connection between religion and five contemporary major health and medical issues in the country. This includes the issue of epidemics and pandemics such as the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccines, contraception, blood transfusion and the controversies associated with "miracle healing". In particular, the book explores situations where individuals have the power of choice but instead, embraces faith and religious positions that contradict science in the management of their health and, in the process, expose themselves and others to personal health insecurity. It investigates aspects of human security including the wider international ramifications of health issues, approaches to cures and the interpretation of causes of diseases, as well as the ethno-religious connotations of such interpretations. Exploring key issues that have brought religion into the politics of health and human security in Nigeria, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of African Religion, African Politics, African Studies, public health, security, and Sociology.
Religions and Environments: A Reader in Religion, Nature and Ecology
by Richard BohannonRecent decades have witnessed a surge of literature and activism from religious leaders and thinkers on the natural environment. This volume brings together some of the most thought-provoking examples of such writings from the nineteenth century up to today, spanning a variety of methodological approaches and religious traditions, viewpoints, and locations. Within three parts--the wilderness, the garden, and the city--are essays representing nature spiritualities, Asian traditions, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and indigenous traditions. Each part contains a critical introduction by the editor which provides an overview of issues and guides students to key ideas. Ideal resource for courses on religion and the environment, religion and ecology, and religion and nature.
Religions and Extraterrestrial Life
by David A. WeintraubIn the twenty-first century, the debate about life on other worlds is quickly changing from the realm of speculation to the domain of hard science. Within a few years, as a consequence of the rapid discovery by astronomers of planets around other stars, astronomers very likely will have discovered clear evidence of life beyond the Earth. Such a discovery of extraterrestrial life will change everything. Knowing the answer as to whether humanity has company in the universe will trigger one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in history, not the least of which will be a challenge for at least some terrestrial religions. Which religions will handle the discovery of extraterrestrial life with ease and which will struggle to assimilate this new knowledge about our place in the universe? Some religions as currently practiced appear to only be viable on Earth. Other religions could be practiced on distant worlds but nevertheless identify both Earth as a place and humankind as a species of singular spiritual religious importance, while some religions could be practiced equally well anywhere in the universe by any sentient beings. Weintraub guides readers on an invigorating tour of the world's most widely practiced religions. It reveals what, if anything, each religion has to say about the possibility that extraterrestrial life exists and how, or if, a particular religion would work on other planets in distant parts of the universe.
Religionsphilosophie nach Pascal: Über Wissenschaft und Religion unter nachmetaphysischen Prämissen (Neue Horizonte der Religionsphilosophie)
by Markus KnappIn der Formierungsphase der Neuzeit hat Blaise Pascal den durch den Fortschritt der Wissenschaften verursachten Wandel des Weltbildes sowohl existentiell erlitten wie kritisch reflektiert. Das zentrale Anliegen Pascals, der selbst ein bedeutender Wissenschaftler war, bestand darin, eine Vernunftkonzeption zu entwickeln, die der Wissenschaft ebenso wie dem religiösen Glauben Raum gibt. In den Beiträgen dieses Bandes der Reihe Neue Horizonte der Religionsphilosophie wird zum einen das Projekt Pascals im Kontext des 17. Jahrhunderts hermeneutisch erschlossen. Zum anderen wird systematisch reflektiert, welche Bedeutung ihm in den gegenwärtigen Kontroversen um ein gemessenes Verhältnis von Vernunft und Religion, Gott und Säkularität zukommen kann.
Religious Agrarianism and the Return of Place: From Values to Practice in Sustainable Agriculture (SUNY series on Religion and the Environment)
by Todd LeVasseurGold Medalist, 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Religion CategoryFinalist for the 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Religion categoryWriting at the interface of religion and nature theory, US religious history, and environmental ethics, Todd LeVasseur presents the case for the emergence of a nascent "religious agrarianism" within certain subsets of Judaism and Christianity in the United States. Adherents of this movement, who share an environmental concern about the modern industrial food economy and a religiously grounded commitment to the values of locality, health, and justice, are creating new models for sustainable agrarian lifeways and practices. LeVasseur explores this greening of US religion through an extensive engagement with the scholarly literature on lived religion, network theory, and grounded theory, as well as through ethnographic case studies of two intentional communities at the vanguard of this movement: Koinonia Farm, an ecumenical Christian lay monastic community, and Hazon, a progressive Jewish environmental group.
Religious Environmental Activism: Emerging Conflicts and Tensions in Earth Stewardship (Routledge Studies in Religion and Environment)
by Jens Koehrsen Julia Blanc Fabian HuberThis volume explores how religious and spiritual actors engage for environmental protection and fight against climate change. Climate change and sustainability are increasingly prominent topics among religious and spiritual groups. Different faith traditions have developed "green" theologies, launched environmental protection projects and issued public statements on climate change. Against this background, academic scholarship has raised optimistic claims about the strong potentials of religions to address environmental challenges. Taking a critical stance with regard to these claims, the chapters in this volume show that religious environmentalism is an embattled terrain. Tensions are an inherent part of religious environmentalism. These do not necessarily manifest themselves in open clashes between different parties but in different actions, views, theologies, ambivalences, misunderstandings, and sometimes mistrust. Keeping below the surface, these tensions can create effective barriers for religious environmentalism. The chapters examine how tensions are manifested and dealt with through a range of empirical case studies in various world regions. Covering different religious and spiritual traditions, they reflect on intradenominational, interdenominational, interreligious, and religious-societal tensions. Thereby, this volume sheds new light on the problems that religions face when they seek to take an active role in today’s societal challenges.
Religious Experience Reconsidered: A Building-Block Approach to the Study of Religion and Other Special Things
by Ann TavesHow the sciences of the mind can advance the study of religionThe essence of religion was once widely thought to be a unique form of experience that could not be explained in neurological, psychological, or sociological terms. In recent decades scholars have questioned the privileging of the idea of religious experience in the study of religion, an approach that effectively isolated the study of religion from the social and natural sciences. Religious Experience Reconsidered lays out a framework for research into religious phenomena that reclaims experience as a central concept while bridging the divide between religious studies and the sciences.Ann Taves shifts the focus from "religious experience," conceived as a fixed and stable thing, to an examination of the processes by which people attribute meaning to their experiences. She proposes a new approach that unites the study of religion with fields as diverse as neuroscience, anthropology, sociology, and psychology to better understand how these processes are incorporated into the broader cultural formations we think of as religious or spiritual. Taves addresses a series of key questions: how can we set up studies without obscuring contestations over meaning and value? What is the relationship between experience and consciousness? How can research into consciousness help us access and interpret the experiences of others? Why do people individually or collectively explain their experiences in religious terms? How can we set up studies that allow us to compare experiences across times and cultures?Religious Experience Reconsidered demonstrates how methods from the sciences can be combined with those from the humanities to advance a naturalistic understanding of the experiences that people deem religious.
Religious Representation in Place: Exploring Meaningful Spaces at the Intersection of the Humanities and Sciences (Religion And Spatial Studies)
by Mark K. George Daria Pezzoli-OlgiatiReligious Representation in Place.
Religious Responses to Pandemics and Crises: Isolation, Survival, and #Covidchaos (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Marianne Bjelland Kartzow Sravana Borkataky-Varma Christian A. EberhartReligious Responses to Pandemics and Crises explores various dimensions of the interrelations between the individual, community, and religion. With their global scope, the contributions to this volume represent reflections on the rich and multifaceted spectrum of human responses in a variety of different religions and cultures to the current SARS-2-COVID-19 pandemic and similar crises in the past.The contributions are organized in three thematic parts focusing on strategies, rituals, and past and present responses to pandemics and crises. They reflect on the intersection of personal or communal responses and state-mandated policies relative to SARS-2-COVID-19 while outlining different strategies to cope with the pandemic crisis. Timely questions explored include: How do individuals connect with or disconnect from religious and spiritual communities during times of personal and collective crises, including pandemics? How do religious practices such as rituals bridge individuals and communities? How do religious texts from past and present highlight and represent crises and pandemics? Dynamic and multidisciplinary in its inquiry, this volume is an outstanding resource for scholars of religion, theology, anthropology, social sciences, ritual theory, sex and gender studies, and contemporary medical science.
Religious Responses to Pandemics and Crises: Isolation, Survival, and #Covidchaos (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Christian A. Eberhart, and Marianne Bjelland KartzowReligious Responses to Pandemics and Crises explores various dimensions of the interrelations between the individual, community, and religion. With their global scope, the contributions to this volume represent reflections on the rich and multifaceted spectrum of human responses in a variety of different religions and cultures to the current SARS2-COVID-19 pandemic and similar crises in the past. The contributions are organized in three thematic parts focusing on strategies, rituals, and past and present responses to pandemics and crises. They reflect on the intersection of personal or communal responses and state-mandated policies relative to SARS2-COVID-19 while outlining different strategies to cope with the pandemic crisis. Timely questions explored include: How do individuals connect with or disconnect from religious and spiritual communities during times of personal and collective crises, including pandemics? How do religious practices such as rituals bridge individuals and communities? How do religious texts from past and present highlight and represent crises and pandemics? Dynamic and multidisciplinary in its inquiry, this volume is an outstanding resource for scholars of religion, theology, anthropology, social sciences, ritual theory, sex and gender studies, and contemporary medical science.
Religious Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence (Psychology Revivals)
by Ronald GoldmanFirst published in 1964, Religious Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence describes the capacities of pupils of varying ages, abilities and backgrounds to understand religious truths. How concepts of the Bible, of God, of Jesus, of Prayer and of the Church developed from the early years is seen within the psychological context of maturing thought, and the implications for religious education, which are provocative and far-reaching, are explored. Teachers, clergy and parents will find this book a challenge to reconsider not only how the growing child views what he is taught but also the reasons why he frequently misunderstands religious teaching. By presenting a systematic account of religious thinking from 6 to 17 years, Dr. Goldman adds a new dimension to our insights into child development.
Relocating the History of Science
by Jürgen Renn Theodore Arabatzis Ana SimõesThis volume is put together in honor of a distinguished historian of science, Kostas Gavroglu, whose work has won international acclaim, and has been pivotal in establishing the discipline of history of science in Greece, its consolidation in other countries of the European Periphery, and the constructive dialogue of these emerging communities with an extended community of international scholars. The papers in the volume reflect Gavroglu's broad range of intellectual interests and touch upon significant themes in recent history and philosophy of science. They include topics in the history of modern physical sciences, science and technology in the European periphery, integrated history and philosophy of science, historiographical considerations, and intersections with the history of mathematics, technology and contemporary issues. They are authored by eminent scholars whose academic and personal trajectories crossed with Gavroglu's. The book will interest historians and philosophers of science and technology alike, as well as science studies scholars, and generally readers interested in the role of the sciences in the past in various geographical contexts.
Reluctant Conquest: American Wealth, Power, and Science in the Arctic
by Kathryn C. LavelleA comprehensive history of U.S. involvement in the Arctic, from the American Revolution through the acquisition of Alaska to the present day What drives American foreign relations in the Arctic? It is difficult to give a unified answer to this question because most histories of the region are divided between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Asian and European strategic interests, or federal government and Indigenous peoples&’ concerns, making it difficult to understand the connections among the environmental challenges, scientific understandings, strategic calculations, and governance relationships. Most Americans do not think of their country as an Arctic power, yet it is a region where the United States has had important ties throughout its history. In this sweeping study, from the founding of the country through the acquisition of Alaska to the present, Kathryn C. Lavelle considers American relations across the circumpolar North, incorporating discussions of economics, national security, and science that are conventionally separated. Lavelle argues that it is impossible to understand U.S. policy without a knowledge of American political development and of how scientific understandings have grown alongside studies of climate and other environmental issues. This history has important implications for future American policy regarding traditional national security and political economy, in addition to climate change and environmental cooperation.
Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention
by Charlotte GrayThe popular image of Alexander Graham Bell is that of an elderly American patriarch, memorable only for his paunch, his Santa Claus beard, and the invention of the telephone. In this magisterial reassessment based on thorough new research, acclaimed biographer Charlotte Gray reveals Bell’s wide-ranging passion for invention and delves into the private life that supported his genius. The child of a speech therapist and a deaf mother, and possessed of superbly acute hearing, Bell developed an early interest in sound. His understanding of how sound waves might relate to electrical waves enabled him to invent the "talking telegraph” be- fore his rivals, even as he undertook a tempestuous courtship of the woman who would become his wife and mainstay. In an intensely competitive age, Bell seemed to shun fame and fortune. Yet many of his innovations--electric heating, using light to transmit sound, electronic mail, composting toilets, the artificial lung--were far ahead of their time. His pioneering ideas about sound, flight, genetics, and even the engineering of complex structures such as stadium roofs still resonate today. This is an essential portrait of an American giant whose innovations revolutionized the modern world.