International Studies in Religion and Society – Serie

This volume brings together over 25 articles by many of the most important authors who have worked on issues directly related to the theme of religion and globalization. An additional emphasis on culture flags the inclusion of the relation of religion to its wider social context and also permits questioning the boundaries of religion so as to avoid a strong bias in favour of the analysis of institutionalized religion. The key emphasis of the book, however, is the focus specifically on religion, a topic that is still largely ignored in the burgeoning literature on globalization. The articles are divided into five subthemes: theoretical issues; historical approaches to religion and globalization; forms and boundaries of religion; key issues (such as ecology and gender); and regional perspectives.Contributors: Afe Adogame, Elisabeth Arweck, Lori Beaman, Peter Beyer, John Boli, Gary Bouma, Dave Brewington, George Van Campbell, José Casanova, Paul Freston, Nobutaka Inoue, Laurel Kearns, Otto Maduro, Vasilios Makrides, Meredith McGuire, Vincenzo Pace, Rubina Ramji, James T. Richardson, Ole Riis, Roland Robertson, Marie-Andrée Roy, Shandip Saha, John H. Simpson, James V. Spickard, William Stahl, George Thomas, Bryan Turner, Margit Warburg, and Michael Wilkinson.

How is the Christian supposed to act when his or her government misbehaves? Should one suffer and obey the authority, or should one render resistance; and if so, should it be passive or active; and if active, should it be violent or not? This book will not provide the answer to this question, but it will describe and analyse important persons of the 20th century who were placed in a situation where they did not merely "turn the other cheek", but felt that they had to resist a regime; a decision which had consequences for them all. Thus the book provides insight to a central and current question of Christian and indeed religious thinking.

Does religiosity diminish democratic economic and civil tendencies? Do Islamic traditions provoke more hostility to democratic values in comparison to other religious traditions? In Religion, Religiosity, and Democratic Values, Abbas Mehregan undertakes an empirical examination of the effects of individual religiosity, historical religion, institutional democracy, and socioeconomic development on attitudes towards free market economics and confidence in traditional, modern, and post-modern civil society organizations. Using multilevel analysis, Mehregan compares 60 Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and folk-religion societies in these regards. Furthermore, in addition to an empirical comparison of Sunni and Shia Islamic countries, a theoretical investigation of the relationship between Islam and democratic economic and civil values provides a comprehensive insight into the topic.

Globalized Religion and Sexual Identity reflects on the ways religion, gender and sexual identity are framed and regulated in multiple spheres across the globe. Controversies in the public arena regarding religion and sexual identity often construct these categories as inherently oppositional or already in conflict. As state policies regarding sexuality and sexual diversity develop, promoting inclusivity and non-discrimination, it is imperative to develop a more nuanced discussion regarding the relationship of religion/ideology to sexual diversity and sexuality. The goal of this volume is to explore religion and sexual identity from a range of countries across the globe, focusing on the theme of religious/ideological voices in state policies, such as same-sex marriage, identification, and education.Contributors include: Heather Shipley, Rebecca Barrett-Fox, Chiu Man-chung, Kate Power, Amélie Barras, Dia Dabby, Janet R. Jakobsen, Ann Pellegrini, Ana Cristina Leal Moreira Lima, Vera Helena Ferraz de Siqueira, Marcia Bastos de Sá, Riva Lieflander, Shun Hing Chan, Ping Huang, Stephen Hunt, Nina Rosas, Cristina Maria de Castro, Anna Strhan, Nesochi Chinwuba, Pamela Dickey Young, Yvette Taylor, and Ria Snowdon.

The chapters presented in this volume represent a wide variety of Indian diasporic experiences. From indenture labour to the present day immigrations, Indian diasporic narrative is one that offers opportunities to evaluate afresh notions of ethnicity, race, caste, gender and religious diversity. From victim discourse to narratives of optimism and complexities of identity issues, the Indian diaspora has exhibited characteristics that enable us as scholars to construct theoretical views on the diaspora and migration. The cases included in this volume will illumine such theoretical ideas. The readers will certainly be able to appreciate the diversity and the depth of these narratives and gain insight into the social and cultural and religious world of the diaspora.Contributors are: Archana Kumar, Ram Narayan Tiwari, Ashutosh Kumar, Brij Vilash Lal, Inês Lourenço, Prea Persaud, Nalini Moodley, Carolyn V. Prorok, Thembisa Waetjen, Kalpana Hiralal, Sultan Khan, Shanta B Singh, Abdalla Khair Gabralla, Abul Fadl Mohsin Ebrahim, Sharmina Mawani, Anjoom Mukadam, Goolam Vahed, and P. Pratap Kumar.

Issues in Religion and Education, Whose Religion? is a contribution to the dynamic and evolving global debates about the role of religion in public education. This volume provides a cross-section of the debates over religion, its role in public education and the theoretical and political conundrums associated with resolutions. The chapters reflect the contested nature of the role of religion in public education around the world and explore some of the issues mentioned from perspectives reflecting the diverse contexts in which the authors are situated. The differences among the chapters reflect some of the particular ways in which various jurisdictions have come to see the problem and how they have addressed religious diversity in public education in the context of their own histories and politics.Contributors are: Lori G. Beaman, Catherine Byrne, Christine L. Cusack, Adam Dinham, Lauren L. Forbes, Stéphanie Gravel, Bruce Grelle, Mathew Guest, Anna Halafoff, Kim Lam, Solange Lefebvre, Alison Mawhinney, Damon Mayrl, Asha Mukherjee, Heather Shipley, Sonia Sikka, Geir Skeie, Leo Van Arragon and Pamela Dickey Young.

The international "Atheist Bus Campaign" generated news coverage and controversy, and this volume is the first to systematically and thoroughly explore and analyze each manifestation of that campaign. It includes a chapter for each of the countries which enacted – or attempted to enact – localized versions of the original United Kingdom campaign which ran the slogan, "There’s Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life," prominently on public buses. Its novel focus, using a singular micro-level event as a prism for analysis, allows for cross-country comparison of legal and social reactions to each campaign, as well as an understanding of issues pertaining to the historical and contemporary status of religion and the regulation of nonreligion in various national settings.Contributors are Katie Aston, Nikolina Hazdovac Bajić, Lori G. Beaman, Spencer Culham Bullivant, Ryan T. Cragun, Leon Dempsey, Eduardo Dullo, Vanni Gasbarri, Magnus Hedelind, Casey P. Homan, William James Hoverd, Dinka Marinovic Jerolimov, Teuvo Laitila, Hanna Lehtinen, Marcus Mann, Javier Martinez-Torron, Björn Mastiaux, Paula Montero, Alan Nixon, Katja Strehle, Teemu Taira, Steven Tomlins, and Silvia Meseguer Velasco.

In Moral Pressure for Responsible Globalization, Sherrie M. Steiner offers an account of religious diplomacy with the G8, G7 and G20 to evoke new possibilities in an effort to influence globalization to become more equitable and sustainable. Commonly portrayed as ‘out of control’, globalization is considered here as a political process that can be redirected to avoid the tragedy of the global commons.The secularization tradition of religion depicts faith-based public engagement as dangerous. Making use of historical materials from faith-based G-plus System shadow summits (2005-2017), Steiner provides ample information to arrive at an interpretation that significantly differs from traditional accounts. Using broader scope conditions, Steiner considers how human induced environmental changes contribute to religious resurgence under conditions of weakening nation states.

The chapters of Religion, Gender, and Family Violence: When Prayers Are Not Enough have been written from multiple disciplinary perspectives (sociology, religious studies, law) and based on research within diverse religious traditions including Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, as well as new religious movements. Similarities and differences between traditions are highlighted based on empirical research which shows how people actually deal with family violence in different contexts. This book also addresses some of the larger historical and political backgrounds that impact the experiences of family violence amongst ethno-religious minorities. The lives of religious victims and perpetrators of family violence are considered, as well as the responsibilities of religious leaders, congregations and secular professionals in addressing this widespread social problem.Contributors are: Barbara Fisher-Townsend, Pascale Fournier, Catherine Holtmann, Eve Laoun, Yael Machtinger, Farah Malek-Bakouche, Steve McMullin, Nancy Nason-Clark, Susan Nunn, Susan Palmer, Emma Robinson, Jolyne Roy, and Victoria Snyers.

The religious landscape in Asia has long been diverse, with various forms of syncretic traditions and pragmatic practices continuously having been challenged by centrifugal forces of differentiation. This anthology explores representations and managements of religious diversity in Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and diaspora religions originating in these countries, seen through the lenses of history, identity, state, ritual and geography. In addition to presenting empirical cases, the chapters also address theoretical and methodological reflections using Asia as a laboratory for further comparative research of the relevance and use of 'religious diversity'.Contributors are: Donald Baker, Ugo Dessi, Chung Van Hoang, Ayelet Harel-Shalev, Noa Levy, Gideon Elazar, Santosh K. Singh, Yu Tao, Ed Griffith, Satoko Fujiwara, Uwe Skoda, Tudor Silva, Martin Tsang, Marianne Q. Fibiger, Jørn Borup, and Lene Kühle.Religious Diversity in Asia was made possible by a framework grant from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation allowing the grant holder (Jørn Borup) and two colleagues (Marianne Q. Fibiger and Lene Kühle) to host a workshop at Aarhus University and to co-arrange workshops in Delhi and Nagoya. We would like to thank professors Arshad Alam and Michiaki Okuyama for hosting these latter workshops at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Nanzan University, and we would like to thank Professor Chong-Suh Kim for the invitation for Jørn Borup to visit Seoul National University. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all the scholars who participated in the workshops and to all the authors we subsequently invited to contribute to our endeavor to create this academically relevant volume.

Religion is increasingly visible in the contemporary world as a complex phenomenon – requiring multidisciplinary research to do justice to the complexity. Multidisciplinary research is however, though lauded by many, notoriously difficult to bring to fruition.This volume takes on the challenge to bridge the gap. Contributions formulate the challenges many have faced, but few yet analysed and put into the hands of researchers concrete tools with which to set about designing and executing multidisciplinary research on religions, beliefs and religious behaviour. In an era where research funding increasingly expects interdisciplinary collaboration it provides guidance on constructive pathways and pitfalls to avoid.Contributors are: Riho Altnurme, Anders Bäckström, Lori G. Beaman, Karin Borevi, Leon van den Broeke, Valerie DeMarinis, Victoria Enkvist, Jonny Långstedt, Annette Leis-Peters, Anna-Sara Lind, Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon, Cecilia Nahnfeldt, Per-Erik Nilsson, Peter Nynäs, Margit Warburg, and Anne-Laure Zwilling.

Most great religious traditions are global in scope, but they are often used to promote nationalist and isolationist ideas. Why do politicians in Poland and Lithuania stress the strong bond between the Catholic Church and the national identities? And how are ethno-religious conflicts expressed in Norway? In this book, you will find new data and new insights, providing explanations for these and other questions. Fascinating case studies from Europe and China are the basis for analyses on how global interconnectedness sparks both unity and conflict within religious spheres, demonstrating the interplay of local and global influences as well as the dynamics of glocalization.Contributors are: Milda Ališauskienė, Peter B. Andersen, Eileen Barker, Peter Beyer, Irena Borowik, Lisbet Christoffersen, Inger Furseth, Peter Gundelach, Annika Hvithamar, Massimo Introvigne, Hans Raun Iversen, Brian Arly Jacobsen, Niels Kærgaard, Pål Repstad, and Morten Warmind.