An Introduction to Religion and Politics
An Introduction to Religion and Politics

Author: Jonathan Fox

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-05-07

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1136206914

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An Introduction to Religion and Politics offers a comprehensive overview of the many theories of religion and politics, and provides students with an accessible but in-depth account of the most significant debates, issues and methodologies. Fox examines the ways in which religion influences politics, analyses the current key issues and provides a state of the art account of religion and politics, highlighting the diversity in state religion policies around the world. Topics covered include: Secularism and secularization Religious identity Religious worldviews, beliefs, doctrines and theologies Religious legitimacy Religious institutions and mobilization Rational and functional religion Religious fundamentalism Conflict, violence and terror This work combines theoretical analysis with data on the religion policies of 177 governments, showing that while most of the world's government support religion and many restrict it; true neutrality on the issue of religion is extremely rare. Religion is becoming an inescapable issue in politics. This work will be essential reading for all students of religion and politics, and will also be of great interest to those studying related subjects such as comparative politics, international relations and war and conflict studies.

Manufacturing Religion
Manufacturing Religion

Author: Russell T. McCutcheon

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1997-06-19

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 0195355687

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In this new book, author Russell McCutcheon offers a powerful critique of traditional scholarship on religion, focusing on multiple interrelated targets. Most prominent among these are the History of Religions as a discipline; Mircea Eliade, one of the founders of the modern discipline; recent scholarship on Eliade's life and politics; contemporary textbooks on world religions; and the oft-repeated bromide that "religion" is a sui generis phenomenon. McCutcheon skillfully analyzes the ideological basis for and service of the sui generis argument, demonstrating that it has been used to constitute the field's object of study in a form that is ahistoric, apolitical, fetishized, and sacrosanct. As such, he charges, it has helped to create departments, jobs, and publication outlets for those who are comfortable with such a suspect construction, while establishing a disciplinary ethos of astounding theoretical naivete and a body of scholarship to match. Surveying the textbooks available for introductory courses in comparative religion, the author finds that they uniformly adopt the sui generis line and all that comes with it. As a result, he argues, they are not just uncritical (which helps keep them popular among the audiences for which they are intended, but badly disserve), but actively inhibit the emergence of critical perspectives and capacities. And on the geo-political scale, he contends, the study of religion as an ahistorical category participates in a larger system of political domination and economic and cultural imperialism.

"Religion" in Theory and Practice

Author: Russell T. McCutcheon

Publisher: Equinox Publishing (UK)

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781781796825

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"Religion" in Theory and Practice follows on from McCutcheon's 2014 Equinox book Entanglements: Marking Place in the Field of Religion by offering both an overview of the current state of theory in the academic study of religion as well as examining a variety of practical sites where critical scholarship is implemented but also challenged. Although addressed to early career scholars--taking one reviewer of Entanglements seriously by adding to the meager genre of books directed toward these important readers--the volume should also be of interest to anyone curious about why many in the study of religion continue to assume that their object of study needs special attention. The first section outlines McCutcheon's broader and more recent thoughts on the current state of the field (such as the claims, by some, that the field is now "post-theory") while the second section applies the first at a variety of discrete sites within the profession. These include how we approach teaching the introductory course, the work carried out in professional associations and conferences, the ongoing problem of contingent labor and what faculty might be able to do about it, the challenge of talking about what a theoretically-engaged scholar of religion actually does, and the varied audiences and readers who we can now try to reach with our work. Drawing on previously published, but revised, material for four of the ten chapters, the volume invites readers to step back from their own individual, specialized work so as to consider some of the wider structures in which the wider field exists and where all of our work is carried out.

Making Religion
Making Religion

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-03-11

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 9004309187

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Discursive approaches to the study of religion have received a lot of attention recently. Making Religion brings together leading theorists in the field who explore the theoretical and practical dimensions of the analysis of religious discourse. The volume provides an overview of current debates in the field, extends and improves upon contemporary theories and methodologies, and contributes to the discipline more broadly by flagging the importance of this emerging field of research. The combination of theoretical reflection and practical application of discourse analysis as a tool to study religion opens up new perspectives for future research. Contributors are: Helge Årsheim, Stephanie Garling, Adrian Hermann, Titus Hjelm, Mitsutoshi Horii, George Ioannides, Jay Johnston, Reiner Keller, Jens Köhrsen, Marcus Moberg, Heinrich Wilhelm Schäfer, Leif-Hagen Seibert, Adrián Tovar Simoncic, Kocku von Stuckrad, Teemu Taira, and Frans Wijsen.

What Happens When We Practice Religion?
What Happens When We Practice Religion?

Author: Robert Wuthnow

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-05-19

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0691198594

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He favors the use of a broad range of analytic tools drawn from multiple disciplines and approaches to the study of religion.) The five chapters of this book describe the central concepts and arguments now advancing the study of religious practice. Chapter 1, entitled "Theories", discusses the theoretical contributions associated with the aforementioned shift in religious studies to the investigation of religious practice. Chapter 2, "Situations", discusses how religious activities and experiences are shaped by the physical and temporal spaces in which social action occurs. Chapter 3, "Intentions", takes on an important topic that has proven difficult to study from a social science perspective. "Feelings" are the focus of Chapter 4, and the role of "Bodies" is addressed in Chapter 5. .

The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion
The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion

Author: Russell T. McCutcheon

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 1999-03-07

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 0826481469

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Thirty classic and contemporary readings - from such writers as Kant, Hume, Schleiermacher, and Otto, to Ninian Smart, Mircea Eliade, Karen McCarthy-Brown, and Wendy Doniger.

Religions in Practice
Religions in Practice

Author: John Richard Bowen

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780205418145

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The third edition of this widely popular book offers a unique perspective on how people engage in everyday religious practices, such as prayer, sacrifice, pilgrimage, and dress, as well as investigates major issues of gender, nation-states, and laws with respect to religion. No other book examines the full spectrum of religions from small-scale societies to full-blown "world religious movements." The in-depth treatment of Islam and Christianity is of particular interest to students, and is easily expanded to include field projects directly related to material covered in the text. As one reviewer writes, "In our post 9/11 era, it is great to have a book whose author has done fieldwork in Indonesia and is so knowledgeable about Islam. " The third edition includes new material on the anthropology of war, expanded coverage of American religions and an exploration of how non-practitioners of organized religion turn to alternative beliefs, such as health food, tarot cards and psychics.

Faith in Theory and Practice
Faith in Theory and Practice

Author: Elizabeth S. Radcliffe

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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Two views of theistic faith are presented in this book. Some contributors see faith as a set of beliefs about God and seek substantiation for those beliefs. Others perceive faith less as a set of beliefs than as a special way of living in relationship to God. The connection between these two views is an intriguing theme winding through the collection and explicitly addressed by Michael A. Brown in the closing essay.