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Religion, Discourse, and Society: Discourse Theory and Analysis for the Sociology of Religion (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Marcus MobergThis book focuses on the utility and application of discourse theory and discourse analysis in the sociological study of religious change. It presents an outline of what a ‘discursive sociology of religion’ looks like and brings scholarly attention to the role of language and discourse as a significant component in contemporary processes of religious change. Marcus Moberg addresses the concept of discourse and its main meta-theoretical underpinnings and discusses the relationship between discourse and ‘religion’ in light of previous research. The chapters explore key notions such as secularism and public religion as well as the ideational and discursive impact of individualism and market society on the contemporary Western religious field. In addition to providing scholars with a thorough understanding and appreciation of the analytic utility of discourse theory and analysis in the sociological study of religious change, the book offers a cohesive and systematized framework for actual empirical analysis.
Religion During the Russian Ukrainian Conflict (Routledge Religion, Society and Government in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet States)
by Elizabeth A. Clark; Dmytro VovkThis book investigates how the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has affected the religious situation in these countries. It considers threats to and violations of religious freedom, including those arising in annexed Crimea and in the eastern part of Ukraine, where fighting between Ukrainian government forces and separatist paramilitary groups backed and controlled by Russia is still going on, as well as in Russia and Ukraine more generally. It also assesses the impact of the conflict on church-state relations and national religion policy in each country and explores the role religion has played in the military conflict and the ideology surrounding it, focusing especially on the role of the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches, as well as on the consequences for inter-church relations and dialogue.
Religion, Equalities, and Inequalities (Theology and Religion in Interdisciplinary Perspective Series in Association with the BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group)
by Dawn Llewellyn Sonya SharmaPresenting cutting edge research on how religion can confront and obscure social inequalities in everyday life, Religion, Equalities and Inequalities argues that when religion is left out of social scientific analyses, it can result in incomplete analyses that conceal pathways to social inclusion and exclusion. Bringing together an international and interdisciplinary group of contributors who operate at the vanguard of theoretical and empirical work on how social structures of power, institutions and bodies can generate equalities and inequalities in religion, the collection shows how religion can enable and challenge the inequities that affect people’s everyday lives. Academics and students of religious studies, sociology, politics and social policy will all find this book offers useful insights into the relationship between religion and contemporary culture.
Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan during the Modern Era: The Dao among the Miao? (Academia Sinica on East Asia)
by Paul R. KatzThis book explores how beliefs and practices have shaped the interactions between different ethnic groups in Western Hunan, as well as considering how religious life has adapted to the challenges of modern Chinese history. Combining historical and ethnographic methodologies, chapters in this book are structured around changes that occurred during the interaction between Miao ritual traditions and religions such as Daoism, with particular focus on the commonalities and differences seen between Western Hunan and other areas of Southwest China. In addition, investigation is made into how gender and ethnicity have shaped such processes, and what these phenomena can teach about larger questions of modern Chinese history. As such, this study transcends existing scholarship on Western Hunan – which has stressed the impact of state policies and elite agendas – by focusing instead on the roles played by ritual specialists. Such findings call into question conventional wisdom about the ‘standardization’ of Chinese culture, as well as the integration of local society into the state by means of written texts. Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender in Western Hunan during the Modern Era will prove valuable to students and scholars of history, ethnography, anthropology, ethnic studies, and Asian studies more broadly.
Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought
by Pascal BoyerMany of our questions about religion, says renowned anthropologist Pascal Boyer, are no longer mysteries. We are beginning to know how to answer questions such as "Why do people have religion?" Using findings from anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology, Religion Explained shows how this aspect of human consciousness is increasingly admissible to coherent, naturalistic explanation. This brilliant and controversial book gives readers the first scientific explanation for what religious feeling is really about, what it consists of, and where it comes from.
Religion, Extremism and Violence in South Asia (Politics of South Asia)
by Imran Ahmed Shahram Akbarzadeh Howard Brasted Zahid Shahab AhmedThis book sheds light on religiously motivated extremism and violence in South Asia, a phenomenon which ostensibly poses critical and unique challenges to the peace, security and governance not only of the region, but also of the world at large. The book is distinctive in-so-far as it reexamines conventional wisdom held about religious extremism in South Asia and departs from the literature which centres its analyses on Islamic militancy based on the questions and assumptions of the West’s ‘war on terror’. This volume also offers a comprehensive analysis of new extremist movements and how their emergence and success places existing theoretical frameworks in the study of religious extremism into question. It further examines topical issues including the study of social media and its impact on the evolution and operation of violent extremism. The book also analyses grassroots and innovative non-state initiatives aimed to counter extremist ideologies. Through case studies focusing on Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, this collection examines extremist materials, methods of political mobilisation and recruitment processes and maps the interconnected nature of sociological change with the ideological transformations of extremist movements.
Religion, Faith and Crime
by Kim Sadique Perry StanislasThis unique collection brings together international contributors from a range of disciplines to explore crime and responses to crime through a religious/faith-based lens. At a time when religion is under the media spotlight in terms of religiously-motivated hate crime, terrorism and child abuse this book provides an important platform for academic debate. It examines these and other key issues including: faith as a coping strategy, religion as a motivating factor and the role of religion and morality in shaping criminal justice responses. This collection clearly places religion/faith at the heart of criminological enquiry and illustrates its relevance in addressing wider social issues and would be of benefit to students and academics researching or studying in these areas. It will also be of interest to community and criminal justice practitioners and those with an interest in community engagement and multi-faith work.
Religion, Family, and Chinese Youth Development: An Empirical View (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Jerf W. YeungReligion is a fundamental cultural factor profoundly influential on human mental health and behavioural choices, and, in addition, family is the most proximal and intimate socialization agent contributive to youth development. Religion, Family, and Chinese Youth Development explores how religious involvement of Chinese parents affects their psychological health and family socialization, which leads to various aspects of the development of Chinese youths. Specifically, a structural relationship between religion, family socialization, and youth development was constructed theoretically and tested empirically in the Chinese context, which can portray the linked lives of religious involvement of Chinese parents, parental psychological health, family processes, parenting practices, the development of psychosocial maturity, and the internalizing and externalizing outcomes of Chinese youths. Undeniably, the findings of this book provide insightful social and policy implications for researchers and human service practitioners related to Chinese societies. By clearly depicting and empirically testing the connections between religion, family, and Chinese youth development, the book can be a reference for clergy, family practitioners, researchers, policy makers, management of NGOs, and graduate students of social sciences.
Religion, Feminism, and Idoloclasm: Being and Becoming in the Women's Liberation Movement (Gender, Theology and Spirituality)
by Melissa RaphaelReligion, Feminism, and Idoloclasm identifies religious and secular feminism’s common critical moment as that of idol-breaking. It reads the women’s liberation movement as founded upon a philosophically and emotionally risky attempt to liberate women’s consciousness from a three-fold cognitive captivity to the self-idolizing god called ‘Man’; the ‘God’ who is a projection of his power, and the idol of the feminine called ‘Woman’ that the god-called-God created for ‘Man’. Examining a period of feminist theory, theology, and culture from about 1965 to 2010, this book shows that secular, as well as Christian, Jewish, and post-Christian feminists drew on ancient and modern tropes of redemption from slavery to idols or false ideas as a means of overcoming the alienation of women’s being from their own becoming. With an understanding of feminist theology as a pivotal contribution to the feminist criticism of culture, this original book also examines idoloclasm in feminist visual art, literature, direct action, and theory, not least that of the sexual politics of romantic love, the diet and beauty industry, sex robots, and other phenomena whose idolization of women reduces them to figures of the feminine same, experienced as a de-realization or death of the self. This book demonstrates that secular and religious feminist critical engagements with the modern trauma of dehumanization were far more closely related than is often supposed. As such, it will be vital reading for scholars in theology, religious studies, gender studies, visual studies, and philosophy.
Religion, Gender, and Populism in the Mediterranean (Gendering the Study of Religion in the Social Sciences)
by Alberta Giorgi Júlia Garraio Teresa ToldyThis book offers a systematic and comparative analysis of the intersections of religion and gender in times of populism across the EU-Mediterranean. The chapters explore tensions and issues related to religion and gender in nations including Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, and Israel/Palestine. Shifting attention from the European Union to the Mediterranean area allows the inclusion of countries whose history is significantly interwoven, taking into account the legacies of colonialism, the effects of post-colonialism, and the role of the EU in relation to gender-related issues in particular. The volume investigates not only country-specific cases but highlights similarities and differences in the region and aims to understand how the interconnections influence the issues at stake. It draws together countries with non-Christian majoritarian religions, with different political regimes, and where feminism and women’s movements have different shapes, histories, and relationships with religion. The book will appeal to scholars interested in the entanglements of gender, religion and populism from a range of disciplines including anthropology, sociology, political science, religious studies and gender studies.
Religion Health & Suffering
by PorterFirst Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Religion, History, and Place in the Origin of Settled Life
by Ian HodderThis volume explores the role of religion and ritual in the origin of settled life in the Middle East, focusing on the repetitive construction of houses or cult buildings in the same place. Prominent archaeologists, anthropologists, and scholars of religion working at several of the region’s most important sites—such as Çatalhöyük, Göbekli Tepe, Körtik Tepe, and Aşıklı Höyük—contend that religious factors significantly affected the timing and stability of settled economic structures. Contributors argue that the long-term social relationships characteristic of delayed-return agricultural systems must be based on historical ties to place and to ancestors. They define different forms of history-making, including nondiscursive routinized practices as well as commemorative memorialization. They consider the timing in the Neolithic of an emerging concern with history-making in place in relation to the adoption of farming and settled life in regional sequences. They explore whether such correlations indicate the causal processes in which history-making, ritual practices, agricultural intensification, population increase, and social competition all played a role. Religion, History, and Place in the Origin of Settled Life takes a major step forward in understanding the adoption of farming and a settled way of life in the Middle East by foregrounding the roles of history-making and religious ritual. This work is relevant to students and scholars of Near Eastern archaeology, as well as those interested in the origins of agriculture and social complexity or the social role of religion in the past. Contributors: Kurt W. Alt, Mark R. Anspach, Marion Benz, Lee Clare, Anna Belfer-Cohen, Morris Cohen, Oliver Dietrich, Güneş Duru, Yilmaz S. Erdal, Nigel Goring-Morris, Ian Hodder, Rosemary A. Joyce, Nicola Lercari, Wendy Matthews, Jens Notroff, Vecihi Özkaya, Feridun S. Şahin, F. Leron Shults, Devrim Sönmez, Christina Tsoraki, Wesley Wildman
Religion, Identity and Politics: Germany and Turkey in Interaction (Studies in European Sociology)
by Haldun Gülalp Günter SeufertGerman–Turkish relations, which have a long history and generally unrecognized depth, have rarely been examined as mutually formative processes. Isolated instances of influence have been examined in detail, but the historical and still ongoing processes of mutual interaction have rarely been seriously considered. The ruling assumption has been that Germany may have an impact on Turkey, but not the other way around. Religion, Identity and Politics examines this mutual interaction, specifically with regard to religious identities and institutions. It opposes the commonly held assumption that Europe is the abode of secularism and enlightenment, while the lands of Islam are the realm of backwardness and fundamentalism. Both historically and contemporarily, Germany has treated religion as a core aspect of communal and civilizational identity and framed its institutions accordingly; the book explores how there has been, and continues to be, a mutual exchange in this regard between Germany and both the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey. The authors show that the definition of identity and regulation of communities have been explicitly based on religion until the early and since the late twentieth century; the period in between– the age of secular nationalism– which has always been treated as the norm, now appears more clearly as an exception. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, politics, history and religion.
Religion in a Tswana Chiefdom
by B. A. PauwOriginally published in 1960, this book is a study of religion among the Tlhaping, a rural Bantu society who were the first among the Tswana tribes to come into contact with Europeans. The religious organization of the Tlhaping has been viewed within the framework of the people’s social structure and economy. The book traces the declining influence of paganism before surveying the types of churches, their organization, activities, rituals and revelations, with particular reference to Bantu separatist churches.
Religion in America (Sociology in the Twenty-First Century #6)
by Lisa D. Pearce Claire Chipman GillilandWritten in an engaging and accessible tone, Religion in America probes the dynamics of recent American religious beliefs and behaviors. Charting trends over time using demographic data, this book examines how patterns of religious affiliation, service attendance, and prayer vary by race and ethnicity, social class, and gender. The authors identify demographic processes such as birth, death, and migration, as well as changes in education, employment, and families, as central to why some individuals and congregations experience change in religious practices and beliefs while others hold steady. Religion in America challenges students to examine the demographic data alongside everyday accounts of how religion is experienced differently across social groups to better understand the role that religion plays in the lives of Americans today and how that is changing.
Religion in China: A Brief Account of the Three Religions of the Chinese
by Joseph EdkinsFirst Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Religion in China
by K. Hughes E. R. HughesFirst published in 1950.Beginning with ancient times, this volume shows how some of the early superstitions became purified through the influence of the Confucianist philosophy, how a deep strain of mysticism came from the Taoists and how thereby a worship of 'Heaven' and 'Earth' was evolved. Besides the main streams of Confucianism and Buddhism, the introduction and development of Christianity into China is also analyzed.
Religion in Contemporary China: Revitalization and Innovation (Routledge Contemporary China Series)
by Adam Yuet ChauBefore the modernist transformations of the twentieth century, China had one of the richest and most diverse religious cultures in the world. The radical anti-traditionalist policies of both the Republican and Communist regimes as well as other socio-historical factors posed formidable challenges to China’s religious traditions but, this book argues, these conditions also presented new opportunities for re-generation and innovation. It shows that economic reforms and the concurrent relaxation of religious policies have provided fertile ground for the revitalization of a wide array of religious practices, including divination, ancestor worship, temple festivals, spirit mediumism, churchgoing, funeral rites, exorcism, pilgrimages, sectarianism, sutra chanting, and the printing and distribution of morality books. Equally new forms of religious practices have emerged such as lay Buddhist preachers, "Maoist shamans", and a range of qigong sects/schools. Written by an international, interdisciplinary team of experts who have all conducted in-depth fieldwork research in China, this book provides a wide-ranging survey of contemporary religious practices in China. It examines the different processes and mechanisms of religious revivals and innovations, and, more broadly, relates the Chinese example of religious revitalization to larger issues of social and cultural continuity and change.
Religion in Diaspora: Cultures of Citizenship (Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship)
by Jane Garnett Sondra L. HausnerThis edited collection addresses the relationship between diaspora, religion and the politics of identity in the modern world. It illuminates religious understandings of citizenship, association and civil society, and situates them historically within diverse cultures of memory and state traditions.
Religion in Diaspora: Cultures of Citizenship (Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship)
by Sondra L. Hausner Jane GarnettThis edited collection addresses the relationship between diaspora, religion and the politics of identity in the modern world. It illuminates religious understandings of citizenship, association and civil society, and situates them historically within diverse cultures of memory and state traditions.
Religion in French Feminist Thought: Critical Perspectives
by Morny Joy Kathleen O’Grady Judith L. PoxonReligion in French Feminist Thought: Critical Perspectives brings together some of the leading modern religious responses to major French feminist writings on religion. It considers central figures such as Hélène Cixous, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray and Catherine Clément, and its focus on questions of divinity, subjectivity, and ethics provides an accessible introduction to an area of growing philosophical interest.Illustrating the ways in which French feminism has become a valuable tool in feminist efforts to rethink religion, and responding to its promise as an intellectual resource for religious philosophy in the future, Religion in French Feminist Thought is ideal both for independent use and as a companion book to French Feminists on Religion (Routledge, 2001).
Religion in Gender-Based Violence, Immigration, and Human Rights (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Mary Nyangweso Jacob K. OluponaThis book builds on work that examines the interactions between immigration and gender-based violence, to explore how both the justification and condemnation of violence in the name of religion further complicates our societal relationships. Violence has been described as a universal challenge that is rooted in the social formation process. As humans seek to exert power on the other, conflict occurs. Gender based violence, immigration, and religious values have often intersected where patriarchy-based power is exerted on the other. An international panel of contributors take a multidisciplinary approach to investigating three central themes. Firstly, the intersection between religion, immigration, domestic violence, and human rights. Secondly, the possibility of collaboration between various social units for the protection of immigrants’ human rights. Finally, the need to integrate faith-based initiatives and religious leaders into efforts to transform attitude formation and general social behavior. This is a wide-ranging and multi-layered examination of the role of religion in gender-based violence and immigration. As such, it will be of keen interest to academics working in religious studies, gender studies, politics, and ethics.
Religion in Japanese Daily Life (Japan Anthropology Workshop Series)
by David C. LewisAre Japanese people religious – and, if so, in what ways? David Lewis addresses this question from the perspective of ordinary Japanese people in the context of their life cycles, and explores why they engage in religious activities. He not only discusses how Japanese people engage in different religious practices as they encounter new events in their lives but also analyses the attitudes and motivations behind their behaviour. Activities such as fortune-telling, religious rites in the workplace, ancestral rites and visits to shrines and temples are actually engaged in by many people who view themselves as ‘non- religious’ but express their motivations in terms other than the conventional ‘religious’ ones. This book outlines the religious options available, and assesses why people choose particular religious activities at various times in their lives or in specific circumstances. The author challenges some widespread assumptions about religion in urban and industrial contexts and also shows how some of the underlying motivations behind Japanese behaviour are expressed both in religious and non-religious forms.
Religion in Philanthropic Organizations: Family, Friend, Foe?
by Thomas J. DavisReligion in Philanthropic Organizations explores the tensions inherent in religious philanthropies across a variety of organizations and examines the effect assumptions about "professional" philanthropy have had on how religious philanthropies carry out their activities. Among the organizations discussed are the Salvation Army, the World Council of Churches, and Catholic Charities USA. The essays focus on the work of one individual, Robert Pierce, founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, and on more general matters such as philanthropy and Jewish identity, American Muslim philanthropy since 9/11, and the federal program that funds faith-based initiatives. The book sheds light on how religion and philanthropy function in American society, shaping and being shaped by the culture and its notions of the "common good."
Religion in the Age of Digitalization: From New Media to Spiritual Machines (Routledge Research in Religion, Media and Culture)
by Giulia Isetti; Elisa Innerhofer; Harald Pechlaner; Michael de RachewiltzThis book examines the current use of digital media in religious engagement and how new media can influence and alter faith and spirituality. As technologies are introduced and improved, they continue to raise pressing questions about the impact, both positive and negative, that they have on the lives of those that use them. The book also deals with some of the more futuristic and speculative topics related to transhumanism and digitalization. Including an international group of contributors from a variety of disciplines, chapters address the intersection of religion and digital media from multiple perspectives. Divided into two sections, the chapters included in the first section of the book present case studies from five major religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism and their engagement with digitalization. The second section of the volume explores the moral, ideological but also ontological implications of our increasingly digital lives. This book provides a uniquely comprehensive overview of the development of religion and spirituality in the digital age. As such, it will be of keen interest to scholars of Digital Religion, Religion and Media, Religion and Sociology, as well as Religious Studies and New Media more generally, but also for every student interested in the future of religion and spirituality in a completely digitalized world.