This acclaimed work surveys the varied course of religious life in modern America. Beginning with the close of the Victorian Age, it moves through the shifting power of Protestantism and American Catholicism and into the intense period of immigration and pluralism that has characterized our nation's religious experience.

Drawing on multiple interconnected scriptural and spiritual sources, the Jewish tradition of ethical reflection is intricate and nuanced. This book presents scholarly Jewish perspectives on suffering, healing, life, and death, and it compares them with contemporary Christian and secular views.

The Jewish perspectives presented in this book are mainly those of orthodox scholars, with the responses representing primarily Christian-Catholic points of view. Readers unfamiliar with the Jewish tradition will find here a practical introduction to its major voices, from Spinoza to Jewish religious law. The contributors explore such issues as active and passive euthanasia, abortion, assisted reproduction, genetic screening, and health care delivery.

Offering a thoughtful and thought-provoking dialogue between Jewish and Christian scholars, Jewish and Catholic Bioethics is an important contribution to ecumenical understanding in the realm of health care.

Arguably the single most important element in Abrahamic cross-confessional relations has been an ongoing mutual interest in perennial spiritual and ethical exemplars of one another's communities. Ranging from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages, Crossing Confessional Boundaries explores the complex roles played by saints, sages, and Friends of God in the communal and intercommunal lives of Christians, Muslims, and Jews across the Mediterranean world, from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East to the Balkans. By examining these stories in their broad institutional, social, and cultural contexts, Crossing Confessional Boundaries reveals unique theological insights into the interlocking histories of the Abrahamic faiths.

Contents:
Preface I. Comparing Islam and Judaism in Particular. A. Why Compare Religions and Why Compare their Laws? B. The Nonotheist Religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam C. Which Judaism, Which Islam, and Why? D. Category Formations: Comparing Incomparables 1. Shared Structure 2. Shared Disproportionate Categories a. Where They Say Much the Same Thing about the Same Topic b. Where They Say Different Things about the Same Topic 3. Unique Categories: Areas Where They Do Not Intersect
II. The Authoritative Documents of Judaism and Islam A. Where Do We Look for the Law? B. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah: Scripture, the Mishnah and the Talmuds 1. Scripture: The Written Torah 2. Mishnah: The Oral Torah 3. The Talmuds C. Islamic Counterparts 1. Scripture: The Qur'an 2. Tradition: The Sunna 3. Fiqh D. Conclusions
III. The Intellectual Sources of the Law A. How Do the Authorities of the Law Reason? B. Islam: Consensus, Reasoning, Exceptions 1. Consensus (Ijma') 2. Reasoning (ijtihad) 3. Exceptions C. Judaic Counterparts: Exegesis, Logic, Argument, Dialectics 1. Exegesis: Midrash Halakhah 2. The Mishnah's Applied Logic of Hierarchical Classification 3. The Argument of Analogy and Contrast 4. The Talmud's Dialectics D. Conclusions
IV. The Working of the Law: Institutions A. Institutional Authority B. The Israelite Court in the Legal Narrative of Islam 1. Legitimacy 2. Courts' Jurisdiction 3. Evidence 4. Punishments D. Conclusions
V. The Working of the Law: Personnel A. Bases of Authority B. Islam 1. Legal Scholars (Fuqaha') 2. Judges 3. Muftis C.Judaism: The sage D. Conclusions
VI. Disproportions A. Temple Law and Sacrifice 1. Temple Law and Sacrifice in Judaism 2. Sacrifice in Islam B. Slave Laws in Islam and Judaism 1. Slave Laws in Islam 2. Slave Laws in Judaism C. Sacred Time/Sabbath in Judaism and Sacred Time/Pilgrimage Islam 1. Judaism: Sacred Time/Sabbath 2. Islam: Sacred Time/Pilgrimage D. Conclusions
VII. Unique Categories A. The Unique Category B. Enlandisement (Judaism) C. Jihad (Islam) D. The Sage and Torah Study in Judaism E. Khilafah and the Legal Scholars in Islam F. History, Time, and Paradigm in Judaism G. History in Islam
VIII. Epilogue A. Comparisons Up Close B. Judaism and Islam: Comparisons in the Context of World Religions
Index

Comparing Religions Through Law offers a ground- breaking study which compares these two religions through shared dominant structures. In the case of Judaism and Islam the dominant structure is law.
Comparing Religions Through Law presents an innovative and sometimes controversial study of the comparisons and contrasts between the two religions and offers an example of how comparative religious studies can provide grounds for mutual understanding.

Mystical Science and Practical Religion examines the religious discourse employed by Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh applied science professionals and students, mainly engineers and Information Technology (IT) workers. Although applied scientists, especially immigrants to the United States, have shown high rates of religiosity, there have been few studies of this subject. Based on interviews with forty-five professionals and students, Cimino finds that although they are from different faiths, these applied scientists share a common discourse that blends religion and science. They each view their religions as the "most scientific." Their work and study reshapes how they practice and conceptualize their faiths, though not in the expected directions of secularization and fundamentalism. This book provides a unique look at how the much contested fields of science and religion interact in real life.

The discursive study of religion is a growing field that attracts increasing numbers of students and researchers from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds. This volume is the first systematic presentation of the research into religion and discourse. Written by experts from various disciplines, each chapter offers an integrative overview of theory, method, and contextual studies by focusing on a specific approach, interdisciplinary relationship, controversy, or theme in the field. Taking the discursive dimension in the production of knowledge seriously, the book also provides a critical analysis of academic practice and explores new forms of scholarly communication, including open peer-review. The collected volume will appeal to scholars and postgraduate students across a variety of disciplines, including religious studies, history of religion, sociology of religion, discourse studies, cultural studies, and area studies.

Are we the world's good neighbor or a global bully? This timely book provides us with an opportunity to pause and reflect on what may be the most pressing issue of our day: What are America's global responsibilities as the only remaining superpower? What should we be doing with our resources, energy, talent, and strength? What shouldn’t we be doing? "Those of us who live with spiritual convictions, or who worship in religious communities, sometimes have the opportunity to hear from the pulpit, from the bima, in the prayer hall, in the zendo, or elsewhere what one spiritual leader believes on these issues. This book is for those of us who want a variety of opinions, for those of us who want to understand the issues more deeply and make up our own minds." —from the Introduction Spiritual Perspectives on America’s Role as Superpower invites you to explore these essential questions with sixteen of today’s most profound religious and spiritual teachers. Coming from a wide variety of faiths, including Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Vedantist, and interfaith traditions, this intriguing volume’s contributors bring a crucial point of view to the already-intense national debate centering on America’s place in the world: that of spirituality. An invaluable resource for those wishing to better understand varied spiritual viewpoints on America’s role as superpower, these thought-provoking original essays provide a lucid introduction to the historical, moral, and theological aspects of this controversial issue.

The claim has repeatedly been made, and has often been contested, that a single transcendent being is present or active in all of the world's major religions. In this view, names such as "God," "Allah," "nirvana," "Vishnu," and "Brahman" all refer to the same transcendent reality. Absent from the debate and here provided is a serious study of such claims in the light of the most pertinent philosophical literature, namely that concerning questions of identity and individuation. Of necessity, the terms that the claims employ are very general and abstract: the world's religions, it is said, all refer to the same "thing," "being," or "reality." Although analogy, rightly understood, can back the transcendent extension of descriptive expressions such as "wise," "good," and "powerful," it cannot do likewise for expressions such as "one," "same," and "many." So pluralists' identity claims appear empty. Hallett scrutinizes the soundness of this critique, its broad implications, and the possibility of replacing empty identity claims with suitable parables or comparisons.

This volume identifies a myriad of obstacles standing in the way of dialogue both within churches and between churches and then move on to discuss how these obstacles might be dissolved or circumvented. The contributors explore all the ways through which ecclesial dialogue can be re-energized and adapted for a new century.

The essays collected here, prepared by a think tank of the Elijah Interfaith Academy, address the subject of religious leadership. The subject is of broad relevance in the training of religious leaders and in the practice of religious leadership. It is also germane to religious thought as such, where reflections on religious leadership occupy an important place. What does it mean to be a religious leader in today's world? To what degree are the challenges that confront religious leadership the perennial challenges that have arrested the attention of the faithful and their leaders for generations, and to what degree do we encounter today challenges that are unique to our day and age? One dimension is surely unique and that is the very ability to explore these issues from an interreligious perspective and to consider challenges, opportunities and strategies across religious traditions. Some challenges confront leaders of all traditions, and therefore unite them. Studying the theme across six faith traditions-Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, and Buddhism-we recognize the common challenges to present day religious leadership. Chapters examine the nature of religious leadership in each tradition in relation to the goals of the tradition. They then present a typology of leadership in each of the traditions. These provide the background to a review of both systemic and contemporary challenges to religious leadership, and allow us to consider points of connection and intersection between the different faith traditions. This leads us to a reflection on religious leadership for the future, including the role of interfaith engagement in the profile of the ideal future religious leader.

This Companion provides a comprehensive overview of American Catholicism's historical development and distinctive features. The essays - all specially commissioned for this volume - highlight the inner diversity of American Catholicism and trace the impact of American Catholics on all aspects of society, including education, social welfare, politics, and intellectual life. The volume also addresses topics of contemporary concern, such as gender and sexuality, arts and culture, social activism, and the experiences of Black, Latinx, Asian-American, and cultural Catholics. Taken together, the essays in this Companion provide context for understanding American Catholicism as it is currently experienced, and help to situate present-day developments and debates within their longer trajectory.

This book brings together academic scholars from across various religious traditions to reflect on the beauty they find in traditions other than their own. They examine these aspects and reflect on how they inform and constructively assist with rethinking their own religious worldviews and practices. Each scholar investigates the various implications, questions, insights, and challenges that are generated in the process of doing so. Traditions discussed include Asatru Heathenism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Evangelical Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, LDS Mormon Christianity, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Sikhism, Sufism, Western Buddhism, and Zen Mahayana Buddhism. Instead of focusing only or primarily on the theory and practice of interreligious dialogue, this book presents living examples of learning from other religious traditions, identities, and persons.

Taking a comparative approach which considers characters that are shared across the narrative traditions of early Indian religions (Brahmanical Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism) Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative explores key religious and social ideals, as well as points of contact, dialogue and contention between different worldviews. The book focuses on three types of character - gods, heroes and kings - that are of particular importance to early South Asian narrative traditions because of their relevance to the concerns of the day, such as the role of deities, the qualities of a true hero or good ruler and the tension between worldly responsibilities and the pursuit of liberation. Characters (incuding character roles and lineages of characters) that are shared between traditions reveal both a common narrative heritage and important differences in worldview and ideology that are developed in interaction with other worldviews and ideologies of the day. As such, this study sheds light on an important period of Indian religious history, and will be essential reading for scholars and postgraduate students working on early South Asian religious or narrative traditions (Jain, Buddhist and Hindu) as well as being of interest more widely in the fields of Religious Studies, Classical Indology, Asian Studies and Literary Studies.

The author provides a detailed portrait of the Spiritual Baptist Faith and Orisha Work, two religions that share a common basis in the traditional religion of the Yoruba in West Africa. Specifically, the author studies the phenomenon of spirit possession, an integral aspect of worship in both religions. In the Spiritual Baptist Faith, a person who is possessed by the Holy Spirit retains his or her own identity, while in Orisha Work, those who are possessed by the orishas (spirits), become the spirits. Both types of possession are based on the Yoruba concept of self in which identity is dependent on the spirit which animates a physical body. This common basis of religions enables the respective populations to interact extensively and explains why an individual can experience both types of spiritual possession.

This volume draws on an interdisciplinary team of authors to advance the study of the religious dimensions of communication and the linguistic aspects of religion. Contributions cover: poetry, iconicity, and iconoclasm in religious language; semiotic ideologies in traditional religions and in secularism; and the role of materiality and writing in religious communication. This volume will provoke new approaches to language and religion.

Interreligious Friendships after Nostra Aetate explores the ways in which personal relationships are essential for theology. Catholic theologians tell the personal stories of their interreligious friendships and explore the significance of their friendships for their own life and work.

This edited volume deploys digital ethnography in varied contexts to explore the cultural roles of mobile apps that focus on religious practice and communities, as well as those used for religious purposes (whether or not they were originally developed for that purpose). Combining analyses of local contexts with insights and methods from the global subfield of digital anthropology, the contributors here recognize the complex ways that in-app and on-ground worlds interact in a wide range of communities and traditions. While some of the case studies emphasize the cultural significance of use in local contexts and relationships to pre-existing knowledge networks and/or non-digital relationships of power, others explore the globalizing and democratizing influences of mobile apps as communication technologies. From Catholic confession apps to Jewish Kaddish assistance apps and Muslim halal food apps, readers will see how religious-themed mobile apps create complex sites for potential new forms of religious expression, worship, discussion, and practices.

As Christian spaces and agents assumed prominent positions in civic life, the end of the long span of the fourth century was marked by large-scale religious change. Churches had overtaken once-thriving pagan temples, old civic priesthoods were replaced by prominent bishops, and the rituals of the city were directed toward the Christian God. Such changes were particularly pronounced in the newly established city of Constantinople, where elites from various groups contended to control civic and imperial religion. Rebecca Stephens Falcasantos argues that imperial Christianity was in fact a manifestation of traditional Roman religious structures. In particular, she explores how deeply established habits of ritual engagement in shared social spaces-ones that resonated with imperial ideology and appealed to the memories of previous generations-constructed meaning to create a new imperial religious identity. By examining three dynamics-ritual performance, rhetoric around violence, and the preservation and curation of civic memory-she distinguishes the role of Christian practice in transforming the civic and cultic landscapes of the late antique polis.

This book explores manifestations of creativity in the religious domain. Specifically, the contributions focus on the nexus of the sacred and the creative, and the mechanisms of syncretism and (re)invention of tradition by which this manifestations occur. The text is divided into two sections. In the first, empirical cases of spirituality characterized by syncretistic processes are highlighted; in the second, examples which can be traced back to forms of the (re)invention of tradition are examined. The authors document possible forms of adaptations and religious enculturation. In the second, the authors demonstrate that spiritual traditions, whether ancient or historically fictitious, are suitable for reframing in the context of critical interpretative frameworks related to cultural expectations which challenge them and call their continuity into question.

This is a book about religious transformation in South Asia in the nineteenth century, perhaps the most important period of religious change in the history of the region. By looking at some outstanding individuals from different religions the book sheds light on the questions that lie at the heart of later nationalist discourse, questions like: Who is a Hindu? Who is a Buddhist? What is the relationship between the religious communities of South Asia?

'Secularization' has been hotly debated since it was first subjected to critical attention in the mid-sixties by David Martin, before he sketched a 'General Theory' in 1969. 'On Secularization' presents David Martin's reassessment of the key issues: with particular regard to the special situation of religion in Western Europe, and questions in the global context including Pentecostalism in Latin America and Africa. Concluding with examinations of Pluralism, Christian Language, and Christianity and Politics, this book offers students and other readers of social theory and sociology of religion an invaluable reappraisal of Christianity and Secularization. It represents the most comprehensive sociology of contemporary Christianity, set in historical depth.

For good or ill, most, if not all, of the great institutions which have formed the framework of society have had their roots in the idea of Deity as a beneficent providential order of transcendental reality. In being handed down through countless generations the beliefs, concepts and customs have assumed a great variety of new outward forms in the process of transmission and development. To determine their true meaning and function as a cohesive force and as an expression of ultimate reality, the comparative and historical methods can be employed with considerable advantage. This book, first published in 1950, provides a valuable comparative study of religion.

This book offers a philosophical approach to religion that acknowledges both the diversity of religions and the many and varied dimensions of the religious life. Rather than restricting itself to Christian theism, it covers a wide range of religious traditions, examining their beliefs in the context of the actual practice of the religious life. After outlining the aims of religion, the book focuses on claims to knowledge. What kinds of knowledge do religions purport to offer? In what idiom is it couched? From what sources do devotees draw their claims to knowledge? Are these sources reliable? Rather than trying to settle age-old questions about religious belief, the book offers its readers a set of criteria with which they can make informed decisions in matters of faith.

The attacks of September 11, 2001 instantly heightened the American public's sensitivity toward matters of religious difference. Many Americans realized not only that non-Muslims need to learn more about Islam, but also that Muslims must better understand and articulate their own faith to themselves and others. In this volume, Jane Idleman Smith examines the current American Christian-Muslim dialogue, contextualized both through the history of Islam and of the contemporary West. As we approach the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Smith dares to ask what progress has been made through this dialogue, what happens when that dialogue fails, and what direction it will take in the years to come.
Smith examines the recent theological writings of both Catholics and Protestants about dialogue and pluralism, and shows that since 9/11 a few Muslim scholars in the West have also begun to write about these issues. Now, she argues, many Christians and Muslims are expressing their desire to move beyond theological discussion into what is often called the "dialogue of engagement." As evidence, she points to initiatives among young people, women, and African Americans as they attempt to find ways to work together in local projects of justice and community service. Throughout the book, one hears the personal voices of these Muslim and Christian participants in the American interfaith dialogue.
While many of the encounters between Islam and Christianity over the past 14 centuries have been peaceful, Americans know little about the history of religious interaction beyond the Crusades or the fear Europe felt in the face of the invasions of the Turks. This volume is intended to educate Americans about thegreat diversity of Muslims in this country while illustrating how Christians and Muslims are coming together, not only to talk to each other, but to work together for the common good.