The United States is in the middle of an unprecedented spiritual, technological, demographic, political and social transformation-moving from an older, mostly white, mostly Protestant, religion-friendly society to a younger diverse, multiethnic, pluralistic culture, where no one faith group will have the advantage. At the same time, millions of Americans are abandoning organized religion altogether in favour of disorganized disbelief. Reorganized Religion is an in-depth and critical look at why people are leaving American churches and what we lose as a society as it continues. But it also accepts the dismantling of what has come before and try to help readers reinvent the path forward. This book looks at the future of organized religion in America and outline the options facing churches and other faith groups. Will they retreat? Will they become irrelevant? Or will they find a new path forward? Written by veteran religion reporter Bob Smietana, Reorganized Religion is a journalistic look at the state of the American church and its future. It draws on polling data, interviews with experts, and reporting on how faith communities old and new are coping with the changing religious landscape, along with personal stories about how faith is lived in everyday life. It also profiles faith communities and leaders who are finding interesting ways to reimagine what church might look like in the future and discuss various ways we can reinvent this organization so it survives and thrives. The book also reflects the hope that perhaps people of faith can learn to become, if not friends with the larger culture, then at least better neighbours. "A superb examination of the future of Christian institutions.... A must-read for anyone invested in the fate of the American church." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

What is the foundation of work that lasts? As Christians in a hypermobile culture, most of the time we talk about going and doing, about the need for meaningful action, service, and pilgrimage. Here, we listen to a quieter call. We consider the foundation, the roots, the bass note, that place of origin from which the building rises and the fruit blooms and the music soars and all the action comes-the place of stability. This call is rooted in the being of God; the faithfulness, reliability, and unchanging character of God. Drawing from some of the best writings on Benedictine spirituality and from his personal experiences raising a family, pastoring a church, and spending time living with monks, Nathan Oates offers a compelling invitation to find inner peace and stillness right where we are. When faced with decisions to stay or go, we rarely consider a beautiful, challenging third option-embracing the value of stability, which is moving closer to the root. Rather than pulling up our tents or simply enduring, we can choose to press deeper into the core of the question, to lean into the source of life, the real need, the true passion.

The Alleluia Community is a unique Christian community of over three hundred committed charismatic Christians in Augusta, Georgia, who live a covenant and ecumenical lifestyle. Emerging from the Charismatic Renewal Movement of the 1960s, members of Alleluia have maintained a lively charismatic dimension of the Christian tradition with a willingness to make a life-time covenant commitment to each other. Since 1973, this group of people has exhibited heroic virtue, self-sacrifice, humility, deference for one another, and service to others outside their boundaries. They claim to be guided by the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. Their leaders lead with a strong sense of service and Christian love and a willingness to lay down their own agendas. A major feature of these covenant makers is that they strive for daily Christian unity while being committed to one of the twelve-plus various denominations and fellowships. Swenson had the opportunity of living among these people for twenty months. During this time, he used a mixed method approach involving over one hundred interviews and three hundred instruments to create both qualitative and quantitative measures of the lives of these people. To structure their story, he used the dilemmas of the institutionalization of religion from the scholarship of Thomas O'Dea and secularization theory. The data gathered give abundant evidence that these Alleluia faithful have substantively resisted the secular influence so common in Western culture.

What is a rule, if it appears to become confused with life? And what is a human life, if, in every one of its gestures, of its words, and of its silences, it cannot be distinguished from the rule?
It is to these questions that Agamben's new book turns by means of an impassioned reading of the fascinating and massive phenomenon of Western monasticism from Pachomius to St. Francis. The book reconstructs in detail the life of the monks with their obsessive attention to temporal articulation and to the Rule, to ascetic techniques and to liturgy. But Agamben's thesis is that the true novelty of monasticism lies not in the confusion between life and norm, but in the discovery of a new dimension, in which "life" as such, perhaps for the first time, is affirmed in its autonomy, and in which the claim of the "highest poverty" and "use" challenges the law in ways that we must still grapple with today.
How can we think a form-of-life, that is, a human life released from the grip of law, and a use of bodies and of the world that never becomes an appropriation? How can we think life as something not subject to ownership but only for common use?

This book takes a new look at one of the most contentious periods in American history. The battles over schools that surrounded the famous Scopes "monkey" trial in 1925 were about much more than evolution. Fundamentalists fought to maintain cultural control of education. As this book reveals for the first time, the successes and the failures of these fundamentalist campaigns transformed both the fundamentalist movement and the nature of education in America. In turn, those transformations determined many of the positions of the "culture wars" that raged throughout the twentieth century.

This revealing, disturbing, and thoroughly researched book exposes a dark side of faith that most Americans do not know exists or have ignored for a long time--religious child maltreatment. After speaking with dozens of victims, perpetrators, and experts, and reviewing a myriad of court cases and studies, the author explains how religious child maltreatment happens. She then takes an in-depth look at the many forms of child maltreatment found in religious contexts, including biblically-prescribed corporal punishment and beliefs about the necessity of "breaking the wills" of children; scaring kids into faith and other types of emotional maltreatment such as spurning, isolating, and withholding love; pedophilic abuse by religious authorities and the failure of religious organizations to support the victims and punish the perpetrators; and religiously-motivated medical neglect in cases of serious health problems.
In a concluding chapter, Heimlich raises questions about children's rights and proposes changes in societal attitudes and improved legislation to protect children from harm.
While fully acknowledging that religion can be a source of great comfort, strength, and inspiration to many young people, Heimlich makes a compelling case that, regardless of one's religious or secular orientation, maltreatment of children under the cloak of religion can never be justified and should not be tolerated.

This is the first Polish ethnological monograph to present how biblical themes function in folk culture in the context of rituals, customs and iconographic records and is based on ethnographic sources collected in Polish rural communities from central Poland to diasporas in Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine in 1989-96. It shows how biblical plots used to undergo interpretation, at the same time, infiltrating common sense knowledge. The novelty here is the joint analysis of themes from both Testaments, presenting the narrations in accordance to the way the local community perceived its identity. The biblical typology, influencing culture through tradition and liturgy, inspired a symbolic order adjusted to cyclic conceptions of time and space, characteristic of rural culture

Monastic Bodies Discipline and Salvation in Shenoute of Atripe Caroline T. Schroeder "Caroline Schroeder presents the first analysis of the ascetic ideology of one of the most important figures in early Egyptian monasticism, Shenoute of Atripe."--David Brakke, Indiana University "This remarkable study focuses on the leadership style . . . developed by Shenoute of Atripe, the third leader of the elaborate complexes for men and women monastics established in the mid-fourth century in Upper Egypt."--"Journal of Religion" Shenoute of Atripe led the White Monastery, a community of several thousand male and female Coptic monks in Upper Egypt, between approximately 395 and 465 C.E. Shenoute's letters, sermons, and treatises--one of the most detailed bodies of writing to survive from any early monastery--provide an unparalleled resource for the study of early Christian monasticism and asceticism. In "Monastic Bodies," Caroline Schroeder offers an in-depth examination of the asceticism practiced at the White Monastery using diverse sources, including monastic rules, theological treatises, sermons, and material culture. Schroeder details Shenoute's arduous disciplinary code and philosophical structure, including the belief that individual sin corrupted not only the individual body but the entire "corporate body" of the community. Thus the purity of the community ultimately depended upon the integrity of each individual monk. Shenoute's ascetic discourse focused on purity of the body, but he categorized as impure not only activities such as sex but any disobedience and other more general transgressions. Shenoute emphasized the important practices of discipline, or askesis, in achieving this purity. Contextualizing Shenoute within the wider debates about asceticism, sexuality, and heresy that characterized late antiquity, Schroeder compares his views on bodily discipline, monastic punishments, the resurrection of the body, the incarnation of Christ, and monastic authority with those of figures such as Cyril of Alexandria, Paulinus of Nola, and Pachomius. Caroline T. Schroeder teaches at the University of the Pacific. Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion 2007 248 pages 6 x 9 5 illus. ISBN 978-0-8122-3990-4 Cloth $79.95s 52.00 ISBN 978-0-8122-0338-7 Ebook $79.95s 52.00 World Rights Religion, Biography Short copy: An in-depth examination of the asceticism practiced at the White Monastery in Upper Egypt in the fifth century, using diverse sources, including monastic rules, theological treatises, sermons, letters, and material culture.

a oeRulings in Ecclesiastical Matters Since 1946a ]The collection of rulings publishes the administration of justice by governmental courts in the Federal Republic of Germany pertaining to the relationship of church and state, and also regarding further problems which are characterized by the relevance of religious concerns.

When asked by his son why some churches have smoke machines, worship pastor Manuel Luz found himself responding, "Well, technically, you need smoke machines to see the lasers." But when you take down the smokescreen, what do you have left? Where do we encounter the Holy in the midst of all this? Where can we worship with our full selves-heart, soul, mind, and body-in Spirit and truth? Drawing from his own experience leading worship in a large congregation and feeling the pull of performance, Manuel Luz guides us on a journey through worship that takes us far beyond style and deep into our own souls. He calls us back to an honest worship that moves past facades and pulls us inward toward the true self that God is forming within each of us. Each chapter ends with a spiritual practice designed to help us set aside pretense and enter into the very presence of God.

Ist Schwarz eine Farbe oder nur Kontrastgeber? Ist Schwarz ein einziger Farbton oder sind es mehrere? Sind Einstellungen zur Farbe Schwarz kulturell gepragt? Wenn man Schwarz sagt, meint man dann tatsachlich auch Schwarz? Es heisst, Schwarz ist die am wenigsten verstandene aller Farben. Insofern ist es eine besondere Herausforderung, die Sinngebung der Farbe Schwarz in den kulturhistorischen Landschaften der Welt auszuleuchten. Eben dies wird in dieser Studie angestrebt, wobei der Diskussion uber Farbmetaphorik besondere Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird. Hier werden Erkenntnisse der verschiedensten Fachdisziplinen ausgewertet - darunter der Kunstgeschichte, der Anthropologie, der Linguistik, der Forschung uber kulturelle Stereotypen und der Religionsgeschichte - und zu einer Gesamtschau verdichtet. Dieses Buch ist in einem verstandlichen Essaystil geschrieben und spricht damit den allgemein interessierten akademischen Leser an. Daruber hinaus eignet es sich nach seinem Inhalt und der Vielzahl an Quellenverweisen ebenso als Forschungsinstrument fur die verschiedensten Fachvertreter.

Presents a unique contemporary Eucharist that remains similar to the liturgy celebrated in a Celi De community in the early ninth century. Following the classic shape of the Eucharist--Entrance, The Ministry of the Word, The Peace, The Offertory, The Holy Communion, and the Dismissal--this service draws together texts from Scripture, mainstream Irish, Scottish, and Welsh traditions, and contemporary Celtic spirituality to create a remarkably original service that encourages fresh appreciation of the Eucharist. Easily adaptable to formal or informal settings, this book can be used inconjunction with modern lectionary cycles.

"This book is extremely valuable. Shupe et al. have done an excellent job...highly recommended; it is a must-read."--"Criminal Justice Review"

""Bad Pastors" raises all the good questions and provides many hypothetical answers, and for these reasons alone it should be read by all sociologists of religion with an interest in wrongdoings."
--"Sociology of Religion"

Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures, philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars: for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be in the news.

Is there something about religious organizations that fosters such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective.

Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new religious movements. Highlighting similarities between otherforms of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.

Read the Introduction.

Few issues arouse as much passionate debate as the relationship between church and state. Political parties and coalitions have long jockeyed for position in the battle to either keep the two separate, or to unify them in one nation indivisible from God. While the battle has been raging in the political arena, figures from academia, the media, and myriad other vantage points, have commented on the context and constitutionality of laws governing religious expression.

In Law and Religion, Stephen M. Feldman brings together the many perspectives that have shaped policy on this important national issue. In giving voice to the political left and right, as well as to cultural, philosophical, sociological and historical perspectives, the book serves as an even-handed treatment of an issue all too often clouded by biases. Contributors ranging from Stanley Fish to Richard John Neuhaus explore issues extending from religious morality and religious freedom, to fundamentalism, the separation of church and state, religion and public schooling, and liberal political theory. Comprehensive in scope, Law and Religion will stand as an important reference for anyone seeking to further understand this complex and highly emotional topic.

Good and evil, clean and unclean, rich and poor, self and other. The nature and function of such binary oppositions have long intrigued scholars in such fields as philosophy, linguistics, classics, and anthropology. From the opening chapters of Genesis, in which God separates day from night, and Adam and Eve partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, dyadic pairs proliferate throughout the Hebrew Bible. In this groundbreaking work melding critical exegesis and contemporary theory, Saul M. Olyan considers the prevalence of polarities in biblical discourse and expounds their significance for the social and religious institutions of ancient Israel. Extant biblical narrative and legal texts reveal a set of socially constructed and culturally privileged binary oppositions, Olyan argues, which instigate and perpetuate hierarchical social relations in ritual settings such as the sanctuary.

Focusing on four binary pairs--holy/common, Israelite/alien, clean/unclean, and whole/blemished--Olyan shows how these privileged oppositions were used to restrict access to cultic spaces, such as the temple or the Passover table. These ritual sites, therefore, became the primary contexts for creating and recreating unequal social relations. Olyan also uncovers a pattern of challenge to the established hierarchies by nonprivileged groups. Converging with contemporary issues of power, marginalization, and privileging, Olyan's painstaking yet lucid study abounds with implications for anthropology, classics, critical theory, and feminist studies.

Traces of Glory is the first in a three-volume collection of prayers and other resources based on the new Common Worship Lectionary used in many parts of the Anglican Communion, and very similar to lectionaries in use in the United States. Written in the Celtic style for which the author is known, and linked to the Sunday readings, these prayers and intercessions may be used by congregations for the Prayers of the People, as well as by individuals seeking to supplement their own devotions.

Gain insight into the importance of advocacy for the disabled within various religious and secular organizations You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Romans 13:9) Through the years, religious organizations have worked to fulfill this biblical mandate. Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections chronicles the progress of different ministries' advocacy for the disabled since 1950 as they worked toward fulfilling this mission. This enlightening history of several religious organizations' efforts charts the trends in advocacy while offering readers insight into ways to assist people with disabilities both within religious organizations and in society. Issues are explored by drawing upon numerous documents, communications, and in-depth reviews of the advocates' work. This book draws together in a single volume the stories of various religious organizations and their struggles to advocate for the disabled. Because of society's tendency to isolate and fear them, special needs individuals such as the mentally and physically disabled have long found it difficult to be accepted, understood, or to receive proper care. However, ministries strive to be advocates for all of their members and their needs, including education, treatment, and appropriate legislation. Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections recounts the steps organizations have taken to focus on ending isolation and fear through inclusion and appropriate care of members with various disabilities. These historical accounts examine the depth, breadth, and on-going need for disability advocacy in religious organizations. Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections discusses the advocacy backgrounds of: the World Council of Churches the National Council of Churches National Catholic Partnership on Disability National Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry American mainline Protestant denominationsthe American Baptist Convention, Disciples of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ the Christian Reformed Church American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) Religion and Spirituality Division Bethesda Lutheran homes and Services, Inc. the Christian Council on Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) Friendship Ministries Joni and Friends the Mennonite advocacy for persons with disabilities the Religion and Disability Program of the National Organization on Disability Disability Advocacy Among Religious Organizations: Histories and Reflections is valuable reading for clergy and laypeople in disability advocacy in religious organizations, educators, students, seminary students preparing for ministries, and religious historians.

What is a rule, if it appears to become confused with life? And what is a human life, if, in every one of its gestures, of its words, and of its silences, it cannot be distinguished from the rule?
It is to these questions that Agamben's new book turns by means of an impassioned reading of the fascinating and massive phenomenon of Western monasticism from Pachomius to St. Francis. The book reconstructs in detail the life of the monks with their obsessive attention to temporal articulation and to the Rule, to ascetic techniques and to liturgy. But Agamben's thesis is that the true novelty of monasticism lies not in the confusion between life and norm, but in the discovery of a new dimension, in which "life" as such, perhaps for the first time, is affirmed in its autonomy, and in which the claim of the "highest poverty" and "use" challenges the law in ways that we must still grapple with today.
How can we think a form-of-life, that is, a human life released from the grip of law, and a use of bodies and of the world that never becomes an appropriation? How can we think life as something not subject to ownership but only for common use?

Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved and well-known saints in the Catholic church. In this biography, G. K. Chesterton relays the unique and inspirational life of the humble saint. Starting life as a wealthy young man full of life and spirit, Francis soon joined the war between Assisi and Perugia and returned, ill and downtrodden. He ended up joining the papal forces and after witnessing a poor man begging for alms his spirit was renewed and he was inspired to start a new life of humble poverty. Though not yet officially part of the Catholic papacy, Francis soon amassed a following in Assisi and traveled to Rome to get approval from Pope Innocent III to form what is known today as the Franciscan Order. The Order devotes themselves to living in poverty yet giving generously to the needy. Today, Saint Francis is the patron saint of animals and ecology, having showed his love for all of God's creation early in his life. This new edition of the biography of Saint Francis will be an inspiration for all readers, secular and religious alike.

This is the standard Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church together with The Psalter or Psalms of David according to use in the Episcopal Church in the United States as authorized in 1979.