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Books > Religion & Spirituality > General > Religious intolerance, persecution & conflict
The Shi'i clergy are amongst the most influential political players
in the Middle East. For decades, scholars and observers have tried
to understand the balance of power between, Shi'i 'quietism' and
'activism'. The book is based on exclusive interviews with
high-profile Shi'i clerics in order to reveal how the Shi'i
clerical elite perceives its role and engages in politics today.
The book focuses on three ground-breaking events in the modern
Middle East: the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the 2003 Iraq
War, and the 2006 July war in Lebanon. By examining the nature and
evolution of a Shi'i clerical network the book finds that, far from
there being strategic differences between 'quitest' and 'activist'
clerics, Shi'i mujtahid statesmen matured, from 1979 in Iran to
2003 Iraq, by way of a pragmatism which led to a strong form of
transnational and associated whole in Lebanon in 2006. In doing so,
the book breaks down the established, and misleading,
dichotomisation of the Shi'i clergy into 'quietists' and
'activists' and discovers that the decision of Shi'i clerical
elites to become politically active or to stay out of politics are
attributable to their ability to adapt to their political
environments.
Foreigners and Their Food explores how Jews, Christians, and
Muslims conceptualize us" and them" through rules about the
preparation of food by adherents of other religions and the act of
eating with such outsiders. David M. Freidenreich analyzes the
significance of food to religious formation, elucidating the ways
ancient and medieval scholars use food restrictions to think about
the other." Freidenreich illuminates the subtly different ways
Jews, Christians, and Muslims perceive themselves, and he
demonstrates how these distinctive self-conceptions shape ideas
about religious foreigners and communal boundaries. This work, the
first to analyze change over time across the legal literatures of
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, makes pathbreaking contributions
to the history of interreligious intolerance and to the comparative
study of religion.
The book recreates a past of Hindus and Muslims living together in
Kashmir. The atmosphere of togetherness is rife. Almost perfect.
The stories also return the reader to the awful conditions of Hindu
refugees as they began to live in the refugee camps in Jammu and
other places of India. The Muslims back home in Kashmir have their
terrible demons to deal with. While Hindus as migrants are cut off
from roots and long for home, Muslims are in a unprecedented mess
caught up in the tangles of violence and counter violence. The
lives of both are in tatters. Only hope seems to be the memory of
togetherness, which may heal.
In the twenty-first century, humanity faces both unprecedented
existential threats and remarkable possibilities for development.
While no one knows how things will unfold by century's end, it is
increasingly clear that religion will play a major role in shaping
the outcomes, for better or worse. In Better Religion, philosopher
and religion scholar John Barton explores how grassroots
interreligious peacebuilding can help ensure the "better." More
specifically, the book argues that for religion's "better" to be
realized, interreligious peacebuilding must honor and directly
engage religious differences. This challenges a common assumption
that religious differences inevitably lead to hostilities, and must
therefore be minimized or functionally neutralized for
collaborative peacebuilding to be possible. Better Religion
explains why such assumptions are misguided, and charts a more
realistic and hopeful way forward. Using a blend of data analysis,
theoretical models, and real-life anecdotes, the book makes sense
of global religious diversity and projects the possibilities of
peacebuilding across even the most irreconcilable of differences.
Written for academic and professional audiences, this "conceptual
primer" will equip readers to understand religion in the
twenty-first century and pursue constructive collaborations for
human flourishing, all for the sake of the world we currently share
and the world we want our grandchildren to inherit.
This book is among the most thorough and comprehensive analysis of
the causes of religious discrimination to date, complete with
detailed illustrations and anecdotes. Jonathan Fox examines the
causes of government-based religious discrimination (GRD) against
771 minorities in 183 countries over the course of twenty-five
years, while offering possible reasons for why some minorities are
discriminated against more than others. Fox illustrates the
complexities inherent in the causes of GRD, which can emerge from
secular ideologies, religious monopolies, anti-cult policies,
security concerns and more. Western democracies tend to
discriminate more than Christian-majority countries in the
developing world, whether they are democratic or not. While the
causes of GRD are ubiquitous, they play out in vastly different
ways across world regions and religious traditions. This book
serves as a method for better understanding this particular form of
discrimination, so that we may have the tools to better combat it
and foster compassion across people of different religions and
cultures.
Exploring what it means to come of age in an era marked by
increasing antisemitism, readers see through the eyes of Jewish Gen
Zers how identities are shaped in response to and in defiance of
antisemitism. Using personal experiences, qualitative research, and
the historic moment in which Generation Z is coming of age, Jewish
educator Samantha Vinokor-Meinrath uses antisemitism from both the
political left and the right to explore identity development among
Jewish Generation Zers. With insights from educators, students,
activists, and more, she holds a lens up to current antisemitism
and its impact on the choices and opinions of the next generation
of Jewish leaders. Chapters cover Holocaust education for the final
generation able to speak directly to Holocaust survivors and learn
their stories firsthand; anti-Zionism as a modern manifestation of
antisemitism; and how the realities of 21st-century America have
shaped the modern Jewish experience, ranging from the synagogue
shooting in Pittsburgh to how Generation Zers use social media and
understand diversity. The core of this book is a collection of
stories: of intersectional identity, of minority affiliations, and
of overcoming adversity in order to flourish and thrive. Provides a
comprehensive deep dive into multifaceted manifestations of modern
antisemitism and their impact on the emerging Jewish identities of
Generation Z Explores the common thread of antisemitism through the
lens of Israel, the Holocaust, social media, and racial justice
during a large national uptick in anti-Jewish hatred Offers
personal and research-based perspectives on how antisemitism
impacts the modern American Jewish experience.
In Sami Nature-Centered Christianity in the European Arctic:
Indigenous Theology beyond Hierarchical Worldmaking, Tore Johnsen
unpacks the theological significance of North Sami indigenous
Christianity, demonstrating how the tension between Sami
nature-centered Christianity and official Norwegian Lutheranism has
broad theological relevance. Focusing on Christian cosmological
orientation, the author argues that this is not fully given within
the Christian faith itself. It is partly shaped by the
religio-philosophical frameworks that various historical receptions
of Christianity were filtered through. The author substantiates
that two different types of Christian cosmological orientation are
negotiated in the North Sami Christian experience: one reflecting a
Sami historical reception of Christianity primarily filtered
through the egalitarian world intuition of the Sami indigenous
tradition; another reflecting official Norwegian Lutheranism,
primarily filtered through a Greek hierarchical world construct
passed down among European intellectual elites. The argument is
developed through thick description of local everyday Christianity
among reindeer herding, river, and sea Sami communities in
Finnmark, Norway; through critical engagement with historical and
contemporary Lutheranism; and through constructive dialogue with
African and Native American theologies. The author suggests that
the egalitarian, multi-relational logic of Sami nature-centered
Christianity points beyond the hierarchical binaries delimiting
much of the theological imagination of dominant Christian
theologies.
Though many scholars and commentators have predicted the death of
religion, the world is more religious today than ever before. And
yet, despite its persistence, religion remains a woefully
understudied phenomenon. With Objective Religion, Baylor University
Press and Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion have joined
forces to present select articles from the Institute's
Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion that not only
highlight the journal's wide-ranging and diverse scope but also
advance the field through a careful arrangement of topics with
ongoing relevance, all treated with scientific objectivity and the
respect warranted by matters of faith. This multivolume project
seeks to advance our understanding both of religion and
spirituality in general and also of particular religious beliefs
and practices. Objective Religion thereby serves as a catalyst for
future studies of religion from diverse disciplines and fields of
inquiry, including sociology, psychology, political science,
demography, economics, philosophy, ethics, history, medicine,
population health, epidemiology, and theology. The articles in this
second volume, Problems, Prosociality, and Progress, examine the
many ways in which religion is linked to prosocial behavior.
Whether through classes, retreats, small groups, mission trips,
church-sponsored volunteer work, or any number of related group
functions, religious participation connects people to multiple
networks of social support that are consequential and meaningful.
These faith-infused, supportive social networks allow people to
build a strong sense of belonging and serve as powerful independent
predictors of beneficial outcomes.
Though many scholars and commentators have predicted the death of
religion, the world is more religious today than ever before. And
yet, despite its persistence, religion remains a woefully
understudied phenomenon. With Objective Religion, Baylor University
Press and Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion have joined
forces to present select articles from the Institute's
Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion that not only
highlight the journal's wide-ranging and diverse scope but also
advance the field through a careful arrangement of topics with
ongoing relevance, all treated with scientific objectivity and the
respect warranted by matters of faith. This multivolume project
seeks to advance our understanding both of religion and
spirituality in general and also of particular religious beliefs
and practices. Objective Religion thereby serves as a catalyst for
future studies of religion from diverse disciplines and fields of
inquiry, including sociology, psychology, political science,
demography, economics, philosophy, ethics, history, medicine,
population health, epidemiology, and theology. The articles in this
second volume, Problems, Prosociality, and Progress, examine the
many ways in which religion is linked to prosocial behavior.
Whether through classes, retreats, small groups, mission trips,
church-sponsored volunteer work, or any number of related group
functions, religious participation connects people to multiple
networks of social support that are consequential and meaningful.
These faith-infused, supportive social networks allow people to
build a strong sense of belonging and serve as powerful independent
predictors of beneficial outcomes.
Facing persecution in early modern England, some Catholics chose
exile over conformity. Some even cast their lot with foreign
monarchs rather than wait for their own rulers to have a change of
heart. This book studies the relationship forged by English exiles
and Philip II of Spain. It shows how these expatriates, known as
the "Spanish Elizabethans," used the most powerful tools at their
disposal-paper, pens, and presses-to incite war against England
during the "messianic" phase of Philip's reign, from the years
leading up to the Grand Armada until the king's death in 1598.
Freddy Cristobal Dominguez looks at English Catholic propaganda
within its international and transnational contexts. He examines a
range of long-neglected polemical texts, demonstrating their
prominence during an important moment of early modern
politico-religious strife and exploring the transnational dynamic
of early modern polemics and the flexible rhetorical approaches
required by exile. He concludes that while these exiles may have
lived on the margins, their books were central to early modern
Spanish politics and are key to understanding the broader narrative
of the Counter-Reformation. Deeply researched and highly original,
Radicals in Exile makes an important contribution to the study of
religious exile in early modern Europe. It will be welcomed by
historians of early modern Iberian and English politics and
religion as well as scholars of book history.
This book is an exploration of the perceptions of the American and
British governments about Islam and Muslims based upon their
experiences over the past two centuries. It provides a response to
the accusation that US and British governments are inherently
anti-Islamic and are seeking the destruction of that faith through
their policy decisions. The book uses primary documents from the US
and British governments to examine the attitudes of politicians and
officials in a variety contexts ranging from the 'War on Terror',
the Iranian Revolution and the 'Trojan Horse' Scandal to the
conversion of Alexander Russell Webb to Islam, Islamic Finance and
Mosque-building. In so doing it provides a wide-angle lens on the
diversity of issues and experiences which have shaped the views of
officials and politicians about Islam.
Given the extremely high cost of overseas military operations
today, the author offers readers scholarly insights as to what
motivates kingdoms, countries, and groups to engage in religious
conflict, beginning with those found in the Hebrew Bible. To do
this, he analyzes three related religions, Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam, to determine their similarities and differences
regarding the killing of people. The areas of conflict analysis
include Fundamentalism, Proselytization, Sacrifice (to include
martyrdom), and Revenge (to include genocide). The insights of
preeminent religious and political scholars are integrated into
this comprehensive analysis of conflict involving religion, leading
to an answer to the ultimate question: Is the killing worth it?
Women and Resistance in the Early Rastafari Movement is a
pioneering study of women's resistance in the emergent Rastafari
movement in colonial Jamaica. As D. A. Dunkley demonstrates,
Rastafari women had to contend not only with the various attempts
made by the government and nonmembers to suppress the movement, but
also with oppression and silencing from among their own ranks.
Dunkley examines the lives and experiences of a group of Rastafari
women between the movement's inception in the 1930s and Jamaica's
independence from Britain in the 1960s, uncovering their sense of
agency and resistance against both male domination and societal
opposition to their Rastafari identity. Countering many years of
scholarship that privilege the stories of Rastafari men, Women and
Resistance in the Early Rastafari Movement reclaims the voices and
narratives of early Rastafari women in the history of the Black
liberation struggle.
Rhetoric, Race, Religion, and the Charleston Shootings: Was Blind
but Now I See is a collection focusing on the Charleston shootings
written by leading scholars in the field who consider the rhetoric
surrounding the shootings. This book offers an appraisal of the
discourses - speeches, editorials, social media posts, visual
images, prayers, songs, silence, demonstrations, and protests -
that constituted, contested, and reconstituted the shootings in
American civic life and cultural memory. It answers recent calls
for local and regional studies and opens new fields of inquiry in
the rhetoric, sociology, and history of mass killings, gun
violence, and race relations-and it does so while forging new
connections between and among on-going scholarly conversations
about rhetoric, race, and religion. Contributors argue that
Charleston was different from other mass shootings in America, and
that this difference was made manifest through what was spoken and
unspoken in its rhetorical aftermath. Scholars of race, religion,
rhetoric, communication, and sociology will find this book
particularly useful.
Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics is a powerful introduction
to the scope of Islamophobia in the United States. Drawing on
examples such as the legacy of Barack Obama, the mainstream media's
portrayal of Muslims, and the justifications given for some of
America's most recent military endeavors, author Nazia Kazi
highlights the vast impact of Islamophobia, connecting this to a
long history of US racism. Kazi shows how American Islamophobia and
racism are at once domestic-occurring within the borders of the
United States-and global-a matter of foreign policy and global
politics. Using Islamophobia as a unique case study, Kazi asks the
reader to consider how war and empire-building relate to racism.
The book sheds light on the diverse experiences of American
Muslims, especially the varying ways they have experienced
Islamophobia, and confronts some of the misguided attempts to
tackle this Islamophobia.
Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics is a powerful introduction
to the scope of Islamophobia in the United States. Drawing on
examples such as the legacy of Barack Obama, the mainstream media's
portrayal of Muslims, and the justifications given for some of
America's most recent military endeavors, author Nazia Kazi
highlights the vast impact of Islamophobia, connecting this to a
long history of US racism. Kazi shows how American Islamophobia and
racism are at once domestic-occurring within the borders of the
United States-and global-a matter of foreign policy and global
politics. Using Islamophobia as a unique case study, Kazi asks the
reader to consider how war and empire-building relate to racism.
The book sheds light on the diverse experiences of American
Muslims, especially the varying ways they have experienced
Islamophobia, and confronts some of the misguided attempts to
tackle this Islamophobia.
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