Originally published in 1982, The Shaman and the Magician draws on the author's wide experience of occultism, western magic and anthropological knowledge of shamanism, to explore the interesting parallels between traditional shamanism and the more visionary aspects of magic in modern western society. In both cases, as the author shows, the magician encounters profound god-energies of the spirit, and it is up to the individual to interpret these experiences in psychological or mythological terms. The book demonstrates that both shamanism and magic offer techniques of approaching the visionary sources of our culture.

During the early modern period Oman held a key position in the trade routes whereby the Muslim world dominated indigenous trade in the Indian Ocean. In the second half of the eighteenth century, Oman broke free from foreign political control and became the dominant economic and naval force in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf. This was a golden age for Omanis, when their economic power and political prestige were at their height. This study, first published in 1986, presents a detailed, comprehensive history of this important period, and includes tribal politics, the role of religion, and Oman's relations with neighbouring areas such as Persia and East Africa. The era ends with the political and maritime pressures exerted on Oman by Britain and France, and the territorial pressures exerted by the Wahhabi Arabians.

Originally published in 1974 Intimacy and Ritual is a sympathetic study of spiritualist activities and their relation to the practitioners' secular lives. The book, in particular, looks at the therapeutic function of spiritualism. Based on the author's fieldwork as a 'participant observer' among spiritualists in a South Wales town, the research covers spiritualists services and meetings as well as interviews with spiritualists in their own homes. The book gives an accurate account of spiritualist doctrines and beliefs about the spirit world. The book postulates that spirit possession always relates to illness and shows how this is often the physical counterpart of social malaise. Throughout the study, spiritualism is seen in terms of the coping techniques and the rewards which it offers its members. The book shows that spiritualism is more highly regarded as a problem-solving source than the formal care-giving organizations, such as psychiatrist hospitals and the social work agencies. Healing activities are interpreted as a symbolic enactment of male and female roles ideally conceived, and spiritualist messages offer symbols and explanations of illness and misfortune.

Designed for use with the Oxford A Level Religious Studies for OCR Student Books or as a standalone tool for independent study, this Revision Guide offers a structured approach to practising and embedding key skills throughout AS and A Level Study. 1. RECAP key content from the Student Book, condensed into concise points. 2. APPLY your knowledge with targeted revision activities that develop the AO1 (knowledge) and AO2 (evaluation) skills that you will need for the exam. 3. REVIEW your progress with exam practice for all topics, complete with mark schemes, annotated sample answers and guidance for improving exam technique. With all the essential content condensed and made memorable, guided activities to develop your evaluative skills, sample answers annotated with examiner contents and 60 practice questions with mark schemes in a single guide, students can feel confident and prepared.

This anthology brings the key writings on translation in Arabic in the pre-modern era, extending from the earliest times (sixth century CE) until the end of World War I, to a global English-speaking audience. The texts are arranged chronologically and organized by two historical periods: the Classical Period, and the Nahda Period. Each text is preceded by an introduction about the selected text and author, placing the work in context, and discussing its significance. The texts are complemented with a theoretical commentary, discussing the significance for the contemporary period and modern theory. A general introduction covers the historical context, main trends, research interests, and main findings and conclusions. The two appendices provide statistical data of the corpus on which the anthology is based, more than 500 texts of varying lengths extending throughout the entire period of study. This collection contributes to the development of a more inclusive and global history of translation and interpreting. Translated, edited, and analyzed by leading scholars, this anthology is an invaluable resource for researchers, students, and translators interested in translation studies, Arab/Islamic history, and Arabic language and literature, as well as Islamic theology, linguistics, and the history of science.

State and Sufism in Iraq is the first comprehensive study of the Iraqi Ba'th regime's (r. 1968-2003) entanglement with Sufis and of Sunni Sufi Islam in Iraq from the late Ottoman period until 2003 and beyond. For far too long, the secular and authoritarian Ba'th regime has been reduced to the dictator Saddam Husayn and portrayed as antireligious. Its growing political employment of Islam during the 1990s, in turn, has been interpreted either as an abstract Ba'thist-nationalist Islam or as an ideological U-turn from secularism to a form of Islamism that ultimately contributed to the spread of Islamist terrorism after 2003. Broadening the narrow focus on Saddam Husayn, this book analyses other leading regime figures, their close entanglement with Sufis, and Ba'th religious politics of a state-sponsored revival of Sufi Islam and Iraq's broad and distinct Sufi culture. It is the story of a secular regime's search for "moderate" Islam in order to overcome the challenges of radical Islamism and sectarianism in Iraq. The book's two-pronged interdisciplinary approach that deals equally with politics and Sufi Islam in Iraq makes it a valuable contribution to scholars and students in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Religious Anthropology and Sociology, Political Science, and International Relations.

Brings together scholars, critics, and artists who are exploring the rich place of the sacred and the transcendent in contemporary art and visual culture. Sets the theoretical frameworks and interpretive strategies for exploring the reemergence of religion in the making, exhibiting, and discussion of contemporary art. Includes a breadth of case studies, covering themes such as ritual, abstraction, mythology, the body, popular culture, science, liturgy, and social justice, among others.

First published in 1949, Ancient Roman Religion is an introduction to some of the most outstanding features of the complicated religion, or rather series of religions, which flourished in Rome between the earliest recoverable ages of her long history and the close of the classical epoch. This book will be of interest students of religion, literature and history.

The relationships between religion, spirituality, health, biomedical institutions, complementary, and alternative healing systems are widely discussed today. While many of these debates revolve around the biomedical legitimacy of religious modes of healing, the market for them continues to grow. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Medicine, and Health is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising over thirty-five chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into five parts: Healing practices with religious roots and frames Religious actors in and around the medical field Organizing infrastructures of religion and medicine: pluralism and competition Boundary-making between religion and medicine Religion and epidemics Within these sections, central issues, debates and problems are examined, including health and healing, religiosity, spirituality, biomedicine, medicalization, complementary medicine, medical therapy, efficacy, agency, and the nexus of body, mind, and spirit. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Medicine, and Health is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as sociology, anthropology, and medicine.

This text presents a new critical theory addressing religious diversity, Christian religious privilege, and Christian hegemony in the United States. It meets a growing and urgent need in our society-the need to bring together religiously diverse ways of thinking and being in the world, and eventually to transform our society through intentional pluralism. The primary goal of Critical Religious Pluralism Theory (CRPT) is to acknowledge the central roles of religious privilege, oppression, hegemony, and marginalization in maintaining inequality between Christians and non-Christians (including the nonreligious) in the United States. Following analysis of current literature on religious, secular, and spiritual identities within higher education, and in-depth discussion of critical theories on other identity elements, the text presents seven tenets of CRPT alongside seven practical guidelines for utilizing the theory to combat the very inequalities it exposes. For the first time, a critical theory will address directly the social impacts of religious diversity and its inherent benefits and complications in the United States. Critical Religious Pluralism in Higher Education will appeal to scholars, researchers, and graduate students in higher education, as well as critical theorists from other disciplines.

Sacrifice and Sharing in the Philippine Highlands

India-South Asia Interface raises the fundamental question: How does one make sense of South Asia? Conventional wisdom defines it primarily in terms of regional and international politics. The failures of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are emblematic of that wisdom. Marking a departure from such approaches, Partha Ghosh makes the case that more than merely a political construct South Asia must be understood as a shared social consciousness. Through chapters that explore topics such as threats to democracy, religion and politics, the place of Kashmir, different conceptions of regionalism, the roles of America and China, and the issue of refugees and migrants, he demonstrates that there is no escape from reinventing the region from a people's perspective. Only this way can South Asia retrieve its soul and replace its cynicism and despair with expectation and hope. Based primarily on Ghosh's research articles and newspaper columns written over the last five years, the volume can be viewed as an intimate statement of his understanding of the region; an understanding that has matured through decades-long interactions with the region's academics, politicians, and the so-called 'man on the street'. In some sense, the volume is also a semi-autobiographical treatise, which spells out Ghosh's systematic evolution as a confirmed South Asianist. The region's destiny ought to be wrested, he therefore argues, from the hands of its political leaders and returned to the common men and women of the region. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

This book explores relations between state, religion and law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Historically, multi-religiousness has been a constant feature of the Bosnian polity, from its creation in 12th century until modern times. Since the middle of the 19th Century, Catholics have tended to self-identify as Croats, Orthodox Christians as Serbs, and Muslims as Bosniaks. Moreover, in a region that has undergone significant recent transformation, from the communist to the liberal political system, Bosnia and Herzegovina represents a very interesting case for the study of the relationship between state and religion. This book includes a short overview of historical aspects of these relations and a detailed analysis of the existing constitutional and legal framework on freedom of religion and relations between the state and religious communities. It assesses the actual implementation in practice, including the relevant national courts' case-law. The work covers both the developments of new legal standards, while also identifying the main obstacles in their implementation. At a time when the region is again the subject of much interest, this book will be essential reading for those working in the areas of Law and Religion, Constitutional Law and Transitional Justice.

Siena is often referred to as the 'City of the Virgin' and the 'City of the Palio'. The special devotion of the Sienese to the Virgin began in the thirteenth century and in times of danger the Sienese have regularly rededicated their city to the Madonna, who is also celebrated in the twice-yearly festival of the Palio. Siena, Civil Religion and the Sienese examines Sienese devotion to the Virgin from the medieval period until the present day. Exploring how the Palio has become the principal means of sustaining and celebrating Sienese culture, values and identity - including popular devotion to the Virgin - Parsons shows how this festival stands in continuity with the earlier civil religion of medieval and renaissance Siena. Drawing on insights from recent discussion of the role of civil religion in medieval and renaissance Italy, the USA and modern Britain, this book explores how civil religion sustains the Sienese sense of their history, identity and uniqueness through a variety of beliefs, rituals, ceremonies and symbols. Highly illustrated and including a full bibliography, this book breaks new ground in interpreting Sienese devotion to the Virgin and to the Palio in terms of 'civil religion'.

One of the predominantly Orthodox countries that has never experienced communism is Greece, a country uniquely situated to offer insights about contemporary trends and developments in Orthodox Christianity. This volume offers a comprehensive treatment of the role Orthodox Christianity plays at the dawn of the twenty-first century Greece from social scientific and cultural-historical perspectives. This book breaks new ground by examining in depth the multifaceted changes that took place in the relationship between Orthodox Christianity and politics, ethnicity, gender, and popular culture. Its intention is two-fold: on the one hand, it aims at revisiting some earlier stereotypes, widespread both in academic and others circles, about the Greek Orthodox Church, its cultural specificity and its social presence, such as its alleged intrinsic non-pluralistic attitude toward non-Orthodox Others. On the other hand, it attempts to show how this fairly traditional religious system underwent significant changes in recent years affecting its public role and image, particularly as it became more and more exposed to the challenges of globalization and multiculturalism.

This is the story of how the Protestants in the GDR struggled to survive while striving to put their theology into practice and remaining true to their vision of what the role of the church should be - a 'church for others' as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it. Having taken the reader from the foundation of the GDR, through the peaceful revolution, to the unification of Germany, the story ends with some reflections on the church's past as well as on the challenges it faces in present-day Europe. Protestants in Communist East Germany makes a unique contribution to existing literature by drawing not only on written sources but on a series of first-hand interviews with theologians, pastors and lay people of different ages whose experiences, views and analyses bring the story to life. The East German church's relationship to the state will probably always remain controversial and the vision for a different socialism in the GDR espoused by those involved in the peaceful revolution may now be considered illusory. Nevertheless, many of the issues raised by the Protestants in the GDR remain as vital challenges to the churches in Europe today. Foreword by Paul Oestreicher.

People often overlook the uncanny nature of homecomings, writing off the experience of finding oneself at home in a strange place or realizing that places from our past have grown strange. This book challenges our assumptions about the value of home, arguing for the ethical value of our feeling displaced and homeless in the 21st century. Home is explored in places ranging from digital keyboards to literary texts, and investigates how we mediate our homecomings aesthetically through cultural artifacts (art, movies, television shows) and conceptual structures (philosophy, theology, ethics, narratives). In questioning the place of home in human lives and the struggles involved with defining, defending, naming and returning to homes, the volume collects and extends ideas about home and homecomings that will inform traditional problems in novel ways.

This insightful text challenges popular belief that faith-based Islamic schools isolate Muslim learners, impose dogmatic religious views, and disregard academic excellence. This book attempts to paint a starkly different picture. Grounded in the premise that not all Islamic schools are the same, the historical narratives illustrate varied visions and approaches to Islamic schooling that showcase a richness of educational thought and aspiration. A History of Islamic Schooling in North America traces the growth and evolution of elementary and secondary private Islamic schools in Canada and the United States. Intersecting narratives between schools established by indigenous African American Muslims as early as the 1930s with those established by immigrant Muslim communities in the 1970s demonstrate how and why Islamic Education is in a constant, ongoing process of evolution, renewal, and adaptation. Drawing on the voices, perspectives, and narratives of pioneers and visionaries who established the earliest Islamic schools, chapters articulate why Islamic schools were established, what distinguishes them from one another, and why they continue to be important. This book will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academics, teaching professionals in the fields of Islamic education, religious studies, multicultural education curriculum studies, and faith-based teacher education.

By exploring how the religious beliefs, scientific knowledge, and social surroundings of African-American sufferers of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) impacts their understanding of the condition, this book develops a new model of effective adult learning. Presenting the findings of rigorous qualitative research undertaken with five individuals with T2DM, this volume considers how individuals' educational background, their personal experiences, and their relationship with African-American theism have impacted on their efforts to understand and manage the disease. Identification of the social and spiritual dynamics which govern adults' acceptance of a chronic condition such as diabetes, and their ability to manage the illness according to modern medical principles, informs the development of a new theory of adult learning known as permeated learning. This model, which extends beyond transformative learning to recognize the influence of social constructs specific to African-American communities, will have broad application to adult education and the management of chronic diseases. This scholarly text will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academics, and policymakers in the field of adult education, African-American education, transformative learning, lifelong learning, and multicultural education.

This book explores the recent trend toward the transformation of religious symbols and practices into culture in Western democracies. Analyses of three legal cases involving religion in the public sphere are used to illuminate this trend: a municipal council chamber; a town hall; and town board meetings. Each case involves a different national context-Canada, France and the United States-and each illustrates something interesting about the shape-shifting nature of religion, specifically its flexibility and dexterity in the face of the secular, the religious and the plural. Despite the differences in national contexts, in each instance religion is transformed into culture or heritage by the courts to justify or excuse its presence and to distance the state from the possibility that it is violating legal norms of distance from religion. The cultural practice or symbol is represented as a shared national value or activity. Transforming the 'Other' into 'Us' through reconstitution is also possible. Finally, anxiety about the 'Other' becomes part of the story of rendering religion as culture, resulting in the impugning of anyone who dares to question the putative shared culture. The book will be essential reading for students, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of sociology of religion, religious studies, socio-legal studies, law and public policy, constitutional law, religion and politics, and cultural studies.

This volume combines insights from secular sexuality education, trauma studies, and embodiment to explore effective strategies for teaching sexuality and religion in colleges, universities, and seminaries. Contributors to this volume address a variety of sexuality-related issues including reproductive rights, military prostitution, gender, fidelity, queerness, sexual trauma, and veiling from the perspective of multiple religious faiths. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars present pedagogy and classroom strategies appropriate for secular and religious institutional contexts. By foregrounding a combination of "perspective transformation" and "embodied learning" as a means of increasing students' appreciation for the varied social, psychological, theological and cultural contexts in which attitudes to sexuality develop, the volume posits sexuality as a critical element of teaching about religion in higher education. This book will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, academics, and libraries in the fields of Religious Studies, Religious Education, Gender & Sexuality, Religion & Education, and Sociology of Religion.

Paganistan - a moniker adapted by the Twin Cities Contemporary Pagan community - is the title of a history and ethnography of a regionally unique, urban, and vibrant community in Minnesota. The story of the community traces the formation of some of the earliest organizations and churches in the US, the influence of publication houses and bookstores, the marketplace, and the local University, on the growth and sustenance of a distinct Pagan community identity, as well as discussions of the patterns of diversifying and cohesion that occur as a result of societal pressure, politics, and generational growth within it. As the first ever study of this long-lived community, this book sets out to document Paganistan as another aspect of the increasing prevalence of Paganism in the US and contributes to the discussion of the formation of new American religious communities. Revealing how canonical theories about community formation in anthropology do not always fit comfortably nor accurately describe how a vibrant Pagan community creates and sustains itself, this book will be of interest to scholars of religion and new religious movements worldwide, and offers a valuable contribution to discussions within both urban anthropology and sociology.

Su-un and His World of Symbols explores the image which Choe Che-u (Su-un), the founder of Donghak (Eastern Learning) Korea's first indigenous religion, had of himself as a religious leader and human being. Su-un gave his life so that he could share his symbols, his scriptures and the foundational principals of his religion with all people, regardless of their status, gender, age or education. His egalitarian creed challenged the major religious traditions in Korea, and Korean society as a whole, to reflect on the innate dignity of each individual, and to reform their social, ethical and religious practices to accord with the reality of the Divine presence in the 'sacred refuge' that lies within. Exploring the two symbols which Su-un created and used to disseminate his religion, and the two books of Scripture which he composed, this book breaks new ground by presenting the only major work in English which attempts to ascertain the image Su-un had of himself as the prototype of a new kind of religious leader in Korea, and by extension, East Asia.

What does religion mean to the individual? How are people religious and what do their beliefs, practices and identities mean to them? The individual's place within studies of religion has tended to be overlooked recently in favour of macro analyses. Religion and the Individual draws together authors from around the world to explore belief, practice and identity. Using original case studies and other work firmly placed in the empirical, contributors discuss what religious belief means to the individual. They examine how people embody what religion means to them through practice, considering the different meanings that people attach to religion and the social expressions of their personal understandings and the ways in which religion shapes how people see themselves in relation to others. This work is cross-cultural, with contributions from Asia, Europe and North America.

This book addresses the issue of public religion and its implications in Chinese society. Zhibin Xie explores various normative considerations concerning the appropriate role of religion in public political life in a democratic culture. Besides drawing on the theoretical discourse on religion in the public sphere from Western academics, it holds that the issue of religion in Chinese politics should be addressed by paying attention to characteristics of religious diversity and its political context in China. This leads to a position of "liberal-constrained public religion" in China, which encourages religious contribution to the public sphere as a substantial component of religious liberty in China on the one hand and proposes some constraints both upon government and religions for regulating religious political discourse on the other.