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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.
Religion, Race, and the Making of Confederate Kentucky, 1830-1880
by Luke E. HarlowThis book sheds new light on the role of religion in the nineteenth-century slavery debates. In it, Luke E. Harlow argues that ongoing conflict over the meaning of Christian "orthodoxy" constrained the political and cultural horizons available for defenders and opponents of American slavery. The central locus of these debates was Kentucky, a border slave state with a long-standing antislavery presence. Although white Kentuckians famously cast themselves as moderates in the period and remained with the Union during the Civil War, their religious values showed no moderation on the slavery question. When the war ultimately brought emancipation, white Kentuckians found themselves in lockstep with the rest of the Confederate South. Racist religion thus paved the way for the making of Kentucky's Confederate memory of the war, as well as a deeply entrenched white Democratic Party in the state.
Religion, Social Memory and Conflict
by Sandra Milena Rios OyolaThe field of transitional justice and reconciliation considers social memory to be an important mechanism for acknowledging the violation of victims' rights and a step toward building peace. Societies in conflict, such as Colombia, challenge our current understanding of using memory in the construction of social peace processes, which in turn question the impossibility of forgiving violence that is still to come. Drawing on original ethnographical research, Rios analyses strategies of memorialization after the massacre of Bojay#65533;, Colombia, as an arena of political contention but also of grassroots resistance to persistent and diverse forms of violence. The book focuses on the work of the local grassroots Catholic Church and of the victims' association ten years after the massacre of Bojay#65533;. It explores the role of religion in the management of victims' emotions and in supporting claims of transitional justice from a grassroots perspective in a context of thin political transition.
Religion, Society, And Psychoanalysis: Readings In Contemporary Theory
by Janet L JacobsDistinguished contributors provide an overview of three generations of psychoanalytic theory, including the work of Freud, Horney, Winnicott, and Kristeva, and discuss the evolution of psychoanalytic thought as it relates to the role that religion plays in modern culture. }Religion clearly remains a powerful social and political force in Western society. Freudian-based theory continues to inform psychoanalytic investigations into personality development, gender relations, and traumatic disorders. Using a historical framework, this collection of new essays brings together contemporary scholarship on religion and psychoanalysis. These various yet related psychoanalytic interpretations of religious symbolism and commitment offer a unique social analysis on the meaning of religion.Beginning with Freuds views on religion and mystical experience and continuing with those of Horney, Winnicott, Kristeva, Miller, and others, this volume surveys the work of three generations of psychoanalytic theorists. Special attention is given to objects relations theory and ego psychology, as well as to the recent work from the European tradition. Distinguished contributors provide a basic overview of a given theorists scholarship and discuss its place in the evolution of psychoanalytic thought as it relates to the role that religion plays in modern culture. Religion, Society, and Psychoanalysis marks a major, interdisciplinary step forward in filling the void in the social-psychology of religion. It is an extremely useful handbook for students and scholars of psychology and religion.
Religion, Space and Conflict in Sri Lanka: Colonial and Postcolonial Contexts (Routledge South Asian Religion Series)
by Elizabeth J. HarrisSpace is dynamic, political and a cause of conflict. It bears the weight of human dreams and fears. Conflict is caused not only by spatial exclusivism but also by an inclusivism that seeks harmony through subordinating the particularity of the Other to the world view of the majority. This book uses the lens of space to examine inter-religious and inter-communal conflict in colonial and post-colonial Sri Lanka, demonstrating that the colonial can shed light on the post-colonial, particularly on post-war developments, post-May 2009, when Buddhist symbolism was controversially developed in the former, largely non-Buddhist, war zones. Using the concepts of exclusivism and inclusivist subordination, the book analyses the different imaginaries or world views that were present in colonial and post-1948 Sri Lanka, with particular reference to the ethnic or religious Other, and how these were expressed in space, influenced one another and engendered conflict. The book’s use of insights from human geography, peace studies and secular iterations of the theology of religions breaks new ground, as does its narrative technique, which prioritizes voices from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the author’s fieldwork and personal observation in the twenty first. Through utilizing past and contemporary reflections on lived experience, informed by diverse religious world views, the book offers new insights into Sri Lanka’s past and present. It will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of colonial and postcolonial studies; war and peace studies; security studies; religious studies; the study of religion; Buddhist Studies, mission studies, South Asian and Sri Lankan studies.
Religion, Spirituality, and Aging: A Social Work Perspective
by Harry R MoodyLearn how to make a more positive impact with your social work with the agedReligion is an important coping mechanism for many aging adults. Religion, Spirituality, and Aging: A Social Work Perspective presents the latest research that shows how religion and spirituality can improve quality of life for elders. Respected social work researchers and scholars provide insight and practical methods for fostering positive aging while also considering how spirituality and religion can affect practitioners themselves. The full range of advantages and ethical implications are discussed in clear detail from a social work viewpoint. Case studies plainly illustrate the positive impact that the inclusion of spirituality and religion in an aging person&’s life may have on their physical and mental welfare.Organized social work in the early twentieth century actively tried to distance itself from its roots as a form of religious charity in favor of becoming a scientific and professional endeavor. Religion, Spirituality, and Aging once again bridges the gap between social work and spiritual matters by presenting penetrating articles that discusses the issues of the aging soul while examining ways to improve care. Creative strategies are offered to contribute to the spiritual side of aging while considering every implication and ethical question. The compilation is extensively referenced and includes helpful figures and tables to clearly illustrate data and ideas.Religion, Spirituality, and Aging discusses: the latest social work trends and attitudes toward spirituality prayer, meditation, and acts of altruism as interventions an empirical study of how social workers use religion and spirituality as an intervention ethical considerations and best practices religion and spirituality during long-term care the "Postcards to God" project dreams and their relationship to the search for meaning in later life a spiritual approach to positive aging through autobiography dementia and spirituality creating new rituals for sacred aging spiritual master Henri Nouwen&’s principles of aging-and his approaches to caring for older people an interview study on elders&’ spirituality and the changes manifested in their views of religionReligion, Spirituality, and Aging is a remarkable reminder that elders are our future selves. This erudite, well-reasoned examination of aging and spirituality from a social work perspective is crucial reading for social workers, human service professionals who work with the aged, and gerontology scholars.
Religion-State Encounters in Hindu Domains
by Vineeta SinhaThe historical and empirical project presented here is grounded in a desire to theorize 'religion-state' relations in the multi-ethnic, multi-religious, secular city-state of Singapore. The core research problematic of this project has emerged out of the confluence of two domains, 'religion, law and bureaucracy' and 'religion and colonial encounters.' This work has two core objectives: one, to articulate the actual points of engagement between institutions of religion and the state, and two, to identify the various processes, mechanisms and strategies through which relations across these spheres are sustained. The thematic foundations of this book rest on disentangling the complex interactions between religious communities, individuals and the various manifestations of the Singapore state, relationships that are framed within a culture of bureaucracy. This is accomplished through a scrutiny of Hindu domains on the island nation-state, from her identity as part of the Straits Settlements to the present day. The empirical and analytical emphases of this book rest on the author's engagement with the realm of Hinduism as it is conceived, structured, framed and practiced within the context of a strong state in Singapore today. Ethnographically,the book focusses on Hindu temple management and the observance of Hindu festivals and processions, enacted within administrative and bureaucratic frames.
Religion, Sustainability, and Place: Moral Geographies of the Anthropocene
by Steven E. Silvern Edward H. DavisThis book explores how religious groups work to create sustainable relationships between people, places and environments. This interdisciplinary volume deepens our understanding of this relationship, revealing that the geographical imagination—our sense of place—is a key aspect of the sustainability ideas and practices of religious groups. The book begins with a broad examination of how place shapes faith-based ideas about sustainability, with examples drawn from indigenous Hawaiians and the sacred texts of Judaism and Islam. Empirical case studies from North America, Europe, Central Asia and Africa follow, illustrating how a local, bounded, and sacred sense of place informs religious-based efforts to protect people and natural resources from threatening economic and political forces. Other contributors demonstrate that a cosmopolitan geographical imagination, viewing place as extending from the local to the global, shapes the struggles of Christian, Jewish and interfaith groups to promote just and sustainable food systems and battle the climate crisis.
Religion, Terror and Violence: Religious Studies Perspectives
by Bryan Rennie, Philip L. TiteSeptember 11 and the subsequent War on Terror continues to cast a long shadow over the world. Religion, Terror and Violence brings together a group of distinguished scholars from a range of backgrounds and disciplines to explore the claim that acts of violence – most spectacularly the attack of September 11, 2001 and the international reaction to it – were intimately linked to cultural and social authorizing processes that could be called 'religious.' This book provides a nuanced but incisive insight into the reaction of the discipline of religious studies to the post 9/11 world.
Religion That Heals, Religion That Harms
by James GriffithFrom James L. Griffith, well known for his work on harnessing the healing potential of religion and spirituality, this book helps clinicians to intervene effectively in situations where religion is causing harm. Vivid examples illustrate how religious beliefs and practices may propel suicide, violence, self-neglect, or undue suffering in the face of medical or emotional challenges. Griffith also unravels the links between psychiatric illness and distorted religious experience. He demonstrates empathic, respectful ways to interview patients who disdain contact with mental health professionals, yet whose religious lives put themselves or others at risk. The book incorporates cutting-edge research on the psychology of religion and social neuroscience.
Religion, the Community, and the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders
by Thomas P O'ConnorExplore the relationship between faith-based programs, religion, and offender rehabilitation! This book reports on current research from several disciplines to help the reader understand the nature and impact of the relationship between faith-based programs, religion, and offender rehabilitation. Religion, the Community, and the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders is a unique resource-there has been very little research published on this important topic. President Bush's faith-based initiative recognized that religion plays a role in the justice system and corrections that is overlooked but essential-it increases the role of community and caring in the system in a unique and important way. This pathbreaking book points the way toward a system of faith-based programs that are not only effective but also economical, as these programs are often staffed by volunteers. Religion, the Community, and the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders addresses important questions regarding the importance and effectiveness of faith-based rehabilitation programs, including: What is the relationship between prison religion and offender rehabilitation? What motivates inmates to become involved with religious programs and activities? What is the prison chaplain's role in rehabilitation? Are certain religious denominations more effective than others in preventing crime, delinquency, and recidivism? How does religious activity help inmates adjust to the prison environment? What do inmates have to say about the religious programs they encounter within the system? How did Islam develop within American correctional institutions and what changes has the movement gone through in recent years? Why do female African-American inmates tend to resist conversion to Islam while their male counterparts embrace the Muslim faith in increasing numbers? How can sacred texts and social theory be utilized as teaching tools and intervention strategies in the transformation processes of men incarcerated for violent crimes? (A fascinating study from the Sing-Sing prison) and more!
Religion, the Secular, and the Politics of Sexual Difference (Religion, Culture, and Public Life)
by Linell E. Cady Tracy FessendenGlobal struggles over women's roles, rights, and dress increasingly cast the secular and the religious in tense if not violent opposition. When advocates for equality speak in terms of rights and modern progress, or reactionaries ground their authority in religious and scriptural appeals, both tend to presume women's emancipation is ineluctably tied to secularization. Religion, the Secular, and the Politics of Sexual Difference upsets this certainty by drawing on diverse voices and traditions in studies that historicize, question, and test the implicit links between secularism and expanded freedoms for women. Rather than position secularism as the answer to conflicts over gender and sexuality, this volume shows both religion and the secular collaborate in creating the conditions that generate them.
Religion, Women’s Health Rights, and Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe: Volume 1 (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Sophia Chirongoma Molly Manyonganise Ezra ChitandoThis volume brings to the fore the interface of religion, women’s sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Zimbabwe. It emphasizes that empowering African women is a pivotal pillar for attaining sustainable development. Contributors discuss the need for implementing structural changes as a prerequisite for social progress and development to occur in Southern Africa. They interrogate the extent to which religious beliefs and practices either promote or impede women’s SRHR. The contributors also proffer several ways in which addressing the themes of health for all and equality for all women and girls can make a meaningful contribution towards the fulfillment of the goals set for Agenda 2030.
Religion, Women’s Health Rights, and Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe: Volume 2 (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Ezra Chitando Sophia Chirongoma Molly ManyonganiseThis volume brings to the fore the interface of religion, women’s sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Zimbabwe. It emphasizes that empowering African women is a pivotal pillar for attaining sustainable development. Contributors discuss the need for implementing structural changes as a prerequisite for social progress and development to occur in Southern Africa. They interrogate the extent to which religious beliefs and practices either promote or impede women’s SRHR. The contributors also proffer several ways in which addressing the themes of health for all and equality for all women and girls can make a meaningful contribution towards the fulfillment of the goals set for Agenda 2030.
Religionen der Welt für Dummies (Für Dummies)
by Rabbi Marc Gellman Monsignor Thomas HartmanAuf einen Blick: Gemeinsamkeiten und Unter-schiede der großen Religionen kennenlernen Die verschiedenen Glaubensbekenntnisse verstehen Alles über Riten und Traditionen erfahren Wie Religionen die Gesellschaft beeinflussen Nun sag': Wie hast du's mit der Religion? Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede der verschiedenen Glaubensgemeinschaften Protestantismus, Islam, Judentum und Buddhismus kennt jeder, aber sagen Ihnen Jainismus, Bahá'í und Shinto etwas? Marc Gellman und Thomas Hartman stellen Ihnen die großen Glaubensrichtungen und deren Ursprünge vor. Sie erfahren alles über die Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten der Religionen: Wie und wo die Gläubigen beten, welche Vorstellungen sie von Gott und dem Leben nach dem Tod haben und wie sie ihre Feste feiern. So wissen Sie bald, was Zarathustra sprach, Mohammed lehrte und Jesus predigte.
Religionen der Welt für Dummies (Für Dummies)
by Rabbi Marc Gellman Monsignor Thomas HartmanDie Menschen durch ihren Glauben verstehen Über Religionen hat man sich oft schnell eine Meinung gebildet – doch wie viel wissen wir wirklich über sie? Dieses Buch stellt Ihnen verschiedene Religionen vor und zeigt Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede auf. Marc Gellman und Thomas Hartman erzählen von heiligen Menschen und Schriften und erläutern die Standpunkte der Glaubensgemeinschaften zu kritischen gesellschaftlichen Fragen. Die Autoren schildern auch, wie die Menschen ihren Glauben praktizieren und welche Auswirkungen Religion auf die Gesellschaft hat. So liefert Ihnen dieses Buch einen Überblick über den Glauben von Menschen rund um die Welt. Sie erfahren Was eine Religion ausmachtWelchen ethischen Verhaltensregeln die Weltreligionen folgenWie religiöse Botschaften verbreitet werdenWelche verschiedenen Glaubensformen es neben den großen Religionen gibt
The Religion–Gender Nexus in Development: Policy and Practice Considerations (Routledge Research in Religion and Development)
by Nora Khalaf-ElledgeThis book illuminates the intersection of religion and gender within the development sector, exposing challenges in both policy and practice and suggesting implementable solutions. This book argues that a better understanding of the religion–gender nexus is needed by development sector practitioners, especially at a time when religious arguments are being used around the world to justify gender inequality and violence against women. The book draws on extensive qualitative research with senior gender personnel, religion advisors, and implementation partners from across the largest bilateral development agencies. The nexus is considered from the grassroots level up to donor country politics and across key themes, such as gender-based violence, reproductive rights, unpaid care and domestic work, and women’s participation in leadership roles. The book concludes by offering implementable solutions for practitioners to address the religion-gender nexus in a more meaningful way. Bridging the gap between academic theory and day-to-day development practice, this book is an important reference for development practitioners, and for researchers from across development studies, gender studies, and religious studies.
The Religionization of Israeli Society (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)
by Yoav Peled Horit Herman PeledDuring Israel's military operation in Gaza in the summer of 2014 the commanding officer of the Givati infantry brigade, Colonel Ofer Vinter, called upon his troops to fight "the terrorists who defame the God of Israel." This unprecedented call for religious war by a senior IDF commander caused an uproar, but it was just one symptom of a profound process of religionization, or de-secularization, that Israeli society has been going through since the turn of the twenty-first century. This book analyzes and explains, for the first time, the reasons for the religionization of Israeli society, a process known in Hebrew as hadata. Jewish religion, inseparable from Jewish nationality, was embedded in Zionism from its inception in the nineteenth century, but was subdued to a certain extent in favor of the national aspect in the interest of building a modern nation-state. Hadata has its origins in the 1967 war, has been accelerating since 2000, and is manifested in a number of key social fields: the military, the educational system, the media of mass communications, the teshuvah movement, the movement for Jewish renewal, and religious feminism. A major chapter of the book is devoted to the religionization of the visual fine arts field, a topic that has been largely neglected by previous researchers. Through careful examination of religionization, this book sheds light on a major development in Israeli society, which will additionally inform our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As such, it is a key resource for students and scholars of Israel Studies, and those interested in the relations between religion, culture, politics and nationalism, secularization and new social movements.
Religions and Migrations in the Black Sea Region (Religion and Global Migrations)
by Eleni Sideri and Lydia Efthymia RoupakiaThis book focuses on the interconnections of religion and migration in the Black Sea region through case studies that explore shifting identities, community, and national boundaries, as well as social practices and networks. During the past few decades the Black Sea has been transformed from a largely closed region, due to the Cold War, to a bridge for human, economic, and cultural capital flows. As the region opened up, understandings and practices of religion were re-signified due to new and diverse mobilities and resettlements. This volume addresses and responds to the current scarcity of academic research on the repercussion of political reform, migration, and modernization in the areas surrounding the Black Sea. Contributors uncover and examine the pivotal role of religion in current cultural contestations taking place in this strategic region. Engaging with a wide range of case studies, the book offers a fresh, comparative examination of migration as it relates to different countries and religious groups in the region.
Religions and Migrations in the Black Sea Region
by Eleni Sideri Lydia Efthymia RoupakiaThis book focuses on the interconnections of religion and migration in the Black Sea region through case studies that explore shifting identities, community and national boundaries, and social practices and networks. During the past few decades the Black Sea has been transformed from a largely closed region, due to the Cold War, to a bridge for human, economic, and cultural capital flows. As the region opened up, understandings and practices of religion were re-signified due to new and diverse mobilities and resettlements. This volume addresses and responds to the current scarcity of academic research on the repercussion of political reform, migration, and modernization in the areas surrounding the Black Sea. Contributors uncover and examine the pivotal role of religion in current cultural contestations taking place in this strategic region. Engaging with a wide range of case studies, the book offers a fresh, comparative examination of migration as it relates to different countries and religious groups in the region.
Religions Are Remixes: Rethinking Originality, Authenticity, and Authority in the Study of Religion (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Seth M. WalkerThis book utilizes an approach that centers on remix theory and conceptual metaphor theory, arguing for an examination of the study of religion via a model for analyzing cultural constructs that the author terms Remix+/-. After discerning the metaphorical correspondences underlying his argument, the author claims that the shift in conceptual and terminological framing remix provides can assist in understanding religious phenomena and developments differently, paying close attention to the sorts of meanings, implications, and assumptions that are disrupted and subverted as a result. The chapters indicate how notions of originality, authenticity, and authority are problematized and challenged from the perspective modeled by Remix+/-, with Buddhist philosophy occupying a significant role in the demonstrative examples. This book will be of interest to remix theorists and conceptual metaphor theorists because it advances a new approach to applying both remix and metaphor to the study of cultural constructs. It will also be valuable for those studying religion and digital culture—especially Buddhist thought and practice—as it proposes a new lens through which religiosity can be defamiliarized and critically analyzed.
Religions in Dialogue: From Theocracy to Democracy (Routledge Revivals)
by Alan Race Ingrid ShaferThis title was first published in 2002. Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as Abrahamic religions, share much theological common ground and the momentum for dialogue between them at theological levels has greatly increased in recent decades. This book explores the relationship between religion and the modern democratic state from the perspective of these three monotheistic traditions. It investigates how the three religions in dialogue might overcome their historic antagonism as a prelude to working for the development of the global common good. As part of the test of religious ideals, some of the contributions bring theory down to earth by examining the role of religion in three democratic states with different histories - Turkey, Indonesia, India - and also in relation to a culture of human rights. Drawing together leading Muslim, Christian, and Jewish authors from America, Europe and Asia, the book presents a rare collaboration of faiths and ideas to make a contribution to studies of inter-religious dialogue and the changing role of religion in the democratic state.
Religions in Practice: An Approach to the Anthropology of Religion
by John R. BowenExamines religious practices from an anthropological perspectiveReligions in Practice, 6/e, offers an issues-oriented perspective on everyday religious behaviors - prayer, sacrifice, initiation, healing, etc. - by focusing on such topics as transnationalism, gender, and religious laws. The text examines a full spectrum of religions, from small-scale societies to major, established religions. The in-depth treatment of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity is particularly noteworthy and easily supplemented with field projects directly related to the text.
Religions in Practice (Sixth Edition)
by John R. BowenExamines religious practices from an anthropological perspective, Religions in Practice, 6/e, offers an issues-oriented perspective on everyday religious behaviors - prayer, sacrifice, initiation, healing, etc. - by focusing on such topics as transnationalism, gender, and religious laws. The text examines a full spectrum of religions, from small-scale societies to major, established religions. The in-depth treatment of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity is particularly noteworthy and easily supplemented with field projects directly related to the text. MySearchLab is a part of the Bowen program. Research and writing tools, including access to academic journals, help students explore religion in even greater depth. To provide students with flexibility, students can download the eText to a tablet using the free Pearson eText app. NOTE: MySearchLab does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase the text with MySearchLab, order the package ISBN: 0205961045 / 9780205961047 Religions in Practice Plus MySearchLab with Pearson eText -- Access Card Package Package consists of: 0205239927 / 9780205239924 MySearchLab with Pearson eText -- Valuepack Access Card 0205917666 / 9780205917662 Religions in Practice
Religions of Early India: A Cultural History
by Richard H. DavisThe extraordinary multiplicity of religions and religious cultures in India, chronicled over two thousand yearsFrom its earliest recorded history, India was a place of remarkable and varied religious activity, ranging from elaborate sacrificial rituals and rigorous regimes of personal austerity to psycho-spiritual experimentation and utopian visions. In this ambitious and wide-ranging chronicle, Richard Davis offers a history of India&’s myriad religious cultures that spans two thousand years, from 1300 BCE to 700 CE. India, Davis writes, was not only the birthplace of the religions we now know as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It was also the home of other, often unnamed religions that can be classified as &“folk&” or &“popular&” religions. Tracing these intertwined practices, Davis shows that the ardent and heterogeneous religious cultures of early India came to define and redefine themselves in relation to one another.Davis recounts this history through voices—voices recorded in hymns, poems, songs, didactic stories, epic narratives, scientific treatises, and theological discourses, as well as voices that speak through material remains, whether monumental sculptures or tiny terracotta figurines of nameless goddesses. He focuses on the long millennium often designated as &“classical India,&” which stretches from the time of the founding figures of Buddhism and Jainism during the sixth century BCE through the seventh-century-CE dynasties of the Chalukyas and the Pallavas in southern India. Throughout, he emphasizes encounter, interaction, debate, critique, and borrowing among religious communities within a shared, changing social and political reality. The voices and visions of early India&’s religions, Davis shows us, are fascinating in their multiplicity.