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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Religious life & practice
In this volume, contributors consider the ways that Jewish
communities and users of new media negotiate their uses of digital
technologies in light of issues related to religious identity,
community and authority. Digital Judaism presents a broad analysis
of how and why various Jewish groups negotiate with digital culture
in particular ways, situating such observations within a wider
discourse of how Jewish groups throughout history have utilized
communication technologies to maintain their Jewish identities
across time and space. Chapters address issues related to the
negotiation of authority between online users and offline religious
leaders and institutions not only within ultra-Orthodox
communities, but also within the broader Jewish religious culture,
taking into account how Jewish engagement with media in Israel and
the diaspora raises a number of important issues related to Jewish
community and identity. Featuring recent scholarship by leading and
emerging scholars of Judaism and media, Digital Judaism is an
invaluable resource for researchers in new media, religion and
digital culture.
This book is the first to provide a complete overview of Islamic
extremism in Kuwait. It traces the development of Islamist
fundamentalist groups in Kuwait, both Shiite and Sunni, from the
beginning of the twentieth century. It outlines the nature and
origins of the many different groups, considers their ideology and
organization, shows how their activities are intertwined with the
wider economy, society and politics to the extent that they are now
a strong part of society, and discusses their armed activities,
including terrorist activities. Although focusing on Kuwait, it
includes overage of the activities of Islamist groups in other Gulf
States. It also discusses the relation between Ruling Families with
Islamist political groups, thereby demonstrating that the
intertwining of Islamic ideology and armed activities with politics
is not a new development in the region.
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From FOX News anchor and
author Harris Faulkner comes a collection of powerful, true-life
stories of resilience, healing, rescue, and protection. We need
reminders of God's power now more than ever. We often think about
prayer as a wish list, with God as Santa Claus. The reality is that
the power of prayer reminds us not only how small we are, but also
how big God is. Prayer is hope put into action. And prayer works.
From the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti to the
theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, believers testify to how God
inspired hope even when all seemed lost. Two teenagers who were
saved from treacherous seas by a vessel named Amen now give thanks
for the rescue that changed their lives. A woman's near-death
experience with COVID-19 turned out to be the crisis freeing her
from despair. Others speak to how prayer helped them navigate
family trauma, overcome abuse, and cope with mental illness and
depression. Historical accounts of miracles testify to God's power
throughout time, and Faulkner recounts the role of faith and prayer
in her own life and the life of her father. Along with these
stories of God's presence, the book includes an exclusive packet of
newly written prayers. Created to reflect the current times, this
prayer booklet will provide a road map for putting the lessons of
these stories into action. Faith Still Moves Mountains reminds us
that God's light always shines through the darkness. Through these
testimonies, we learn prayer isn't just a ritual, it's a vital
spiritual strategy in a world that wants us to give up the fight.
* Shares Tom's profound teachings on life, death, and unconditional
love gained through his near-death experiences and direct encounter
with the Light * Includes more than 160 true and remarkable stories
about Tom completing his mission to spread God's Unconditional Love
* Details Tom's death experiences and how in 2007, when he felt he
had fulfilled his mission from God, he consciously left life on
Earth In the early evening of May 23, 1978, while making repairs
under his pick-up truck full of firewood, the heavy truck crashed
down on Tom Sawyer, crushing his chest flat. A 33-year-old
Olympic-trained bike racer and mechanic, Tom was clinically dead.
Fifteen minutes later, he came back to life, recounting his strange
experience of going through a tunnel, having his life review, and
meeting the Light. Spiritually energized by this experience and
endowed with supernatural abilities, Tom demonstrated repeatedly
that the reality we believe in is an illusion, that walls are not
necessarily barriers, severe health challenges can be healed in a
moment, and it is possible to walk on water. During his death
experience, Tom was charged by God with a three-part mission: teach
that death does not exist, prevent nuclear war, and promote the
Order of Melchizedek, in which he became a highly respected
teacher. Through more than 160 remarkable stories, Rev. Daniel
Chesbro and Rev. James B. Erickson share Tom's profound and
enlightening insights on life, death, and Unconditional Love. The
most complete and in-depth account of the life and teachings of Tom
Sawyer, this book reveals Tom as a modern-day messenger of God who
returned to life a powerful conduit of Unconditional Love,
compelled to create positive change for humanity.
Within contemporary Western European academic, media, and
socio-political spheres, Muslims are predominantly seen through the
lens of increased religiosity. This religiosity is often seen as
problematic, especially in the context of securitised discourses of
Islamist terrorism. Yet, there are clear indications that a growing
number of people who grew up in Muslim families no longer subscribe
to Islam or call themselves religious at all. Drawing on fieldwork
in the UK and the Netherlands, this study examines the experiences
of people moving out of Islam. It rigorously questions the
antagonistic nature of the debate between 'the religious' and 'the
secular', or who is in and who is out, and argues for recognition
of the ambiguity that most of us live in. Revealing many complex
forms of moving out, this study adds much-needed nuance to
understandings of secularity and Muslim identities in Europe.
An engaging introduction to one of the most visible, controversial
and least understood emblems of Islam The Islamic veil in all its
forms - from the headscarf to the full body garment - is one of the
most visible signs of Islam as a religion. It is also one of its
most controversial and misunderstood traditions among both Muslims
and non-Muslims. In an environment of increasing conservatism in
Euro-American Muslim-majority societies, in a world where a woman's
right to wear the headscarf has become a flashpoint for issues of
all sorts, and at a time when racial and religious profiling has
become commonplace, it is our political and social responsibility
to gain a deeper understanding of veiling. This concise,
easy-to-read and even-handed introduction is organised around three
main topics: the historical, religious and cultural background;
contemporary debates about the veil; and the varied, shifting
meanings the veil has had for Muslim women over the past century.
This book provides a rigorously researched, critically comparative
introduction to yoga. Is This Yoga? Concepts, Histories, and the
Complexities of Contemporary Practice recognizes the importance of
contemporary understandings of yoga and, at the same time, provides
historical context and complexity to modern and pre-modern
definitions of yogic ideas and practices. Approaching yoga as a
vast web of concepts, traditions, social interests, and embodied
practices, it raises questions of knowledge, identity, and power
across time and space, including the dynamics of "East" and "West."
The text is divided into three main sections: thematic concepts;
histories; and topics in modern practice. This accessible guide is
essential reading for undergraduate students approaching the topic
for the first time, as well as yoga teachers, teacher training
programs, casual and devoted practitioners, and interested
non-practitioners.
This book provides a rigorously researched, critically comparative
introduction to yoga. Is This Yoga? Concepts, Histories, and the
Complexities of Contemporary Practice recognizes the importance of
contemporary understandings of yoga and, at the same time, provides
historical context and complexity to modern and pre-modern
definitions of yogic ideas and practices. Approaching yoga as a
vast web of concepts, traditions, social interests, and embodied
practices, it raises questions of knowledge, identity, and power
across time and space, including the dynamics of "East" and "West."
The text is divided into three main sections: thematic concepts;
histories; and topics in modern practice. This accessible guide is
essential reading for undergraduate students approaching the topic
for the first time, as well as yoga teachers, teacher training
programs, casual and devoted practitioners, and interested
non-practitioners.
With over a quarter of a million copies sold, "Mindfulness in Plain
English" is one of the most influential books in the burgeoning
field of mindfulness and a timeless classic introduction to
meditation. This is a book that people read, love, and share - a
book that people talk about, write about, reflect on, and return to
over and over again.
Bhante Gunaratana is also the author of "Eight Mindful Steps to
Happiness," "Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English," "The Four
Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English," and his memoir
"Journey to Mindfulness."
A groundbreaking reframing of religious pilgrimage Pious
processions. Sites of miraculous healing. Journeys to far-away
sacred places. These are what are usually called to mind when we
think of religious pilgrimage. Yet while pilgrimage can include
journeying to the heart of sacred shrines, it can also occur in
apparently mundane places. Indeed, not everyone has the resources
or mobility to take part in religiously inspired movement to
foreign lands, and some find meaning in religious movement closer
to home and outside of officially sanctioned practices. Powers of
Pilgrimage argues that we must question the universality of Western
assumptions of what religion is and where it should be located,
including the notion that "genuine" pilgrimage needs to be
associated with discrete, formally recognized forms of religiosity.
This necessary volume makes the case for expanding our gaze to
reconsider the salience, scope, and scale of contemporary forms of
pilgrimage and pilgrimage-related activity. It shows that we need
to reflect on how pilgrimage sites, journeys, rituals, stories, and
metaphors are entangled with each other and with wider aspects of
people's lives, ranging from an action as trivial as a stroll down
the street to the magnitude of forced migration to another country
or continent. Offering a new theoretical lexicon and framework for
exploring human pilgrimage, Powers of Pilgrimage presents a broad
overview of how we can understand pilgrimage activity and proposes
that it should be understood not solely as going to, staying at,
and leaving a sacred place, but also as occurring in ordinary
times, places, and practices.
First Published in 1996. Religious conversion is an immensely
complex phenomenon. The term comprises such diverse experiences as
increased devotion within the same religious structure, a shift
from no religious commitment to a devout religious life, or a
change from one religion to another. This study focuses on the
conversion experiences of 70 native British converts to Islam. It
addresses the following questions - why do people become Muslims,
what are the backgrounds of the converts, what are the patterns of
conversion to Islam, and how far are existing conversion theories
applicable to the group under study. The full range of social and
psychological forces at work in the conversion experience are
examined with reference to the converts, whose whole life history -
childhood, adolescent experiences and the conversion process itself
- were examined in detail. Chapter 1 deals with the history and
present situation of both life-long Muslims and converts living in
Britain. Chapter 2 focuses on childhood and adolescent experiences
reviewing the psychological and sociological theories of conversion
and attempts to find out how far these theories are applicable to
the converts to Islam. Chapter 3 examines the backgrounds of the
converts regarding religion. It then analyzes the immediate
antecedents of the conversion as well as the conversion process,
focussing on version motifs. A conversion process model is also
developed in this chapter. Chapter 4 looks at the post-conversion
period to find out what changes the converts underwent. It also
examines the relationship between converts, their parents and
society at large. Chapter 5 reveals the findings on conversion
through Sufism. Comparisons between conversion through Sufism and
through new religious movements in the West are also made. This
study should be an important addition to the study of religious
conversion, as conversion to Islam either from outside or within
Islam is widely neglected in the literature.
In this study, E. Frances King explores how people first learn to
relate to the images and artefacts of religious belief within their
domestic environments. As a sense of religious belonging is
instilled on a daily basis in the home, it also becomes emotionally
linked to family, community, and homeland, resulting in two
different genealogies - one to do with faith and one to do with
motherland - that become entangled.
Effortless Mindfulness promotes genuine mental health through the
direct experience of awakened presence-an effortlessly embodied,
fearless understanding of and interaction with the way things truly
are. The book offers a uniquely modern Buddhist psychological
understanding of mental health disorders through a scholarly,
clinically relevant presentation of Theravada, Mahayana and
Vajrayana Buddhist teachings and practices. Written specifically
for Western psychotherapeutic professionals, the book brings
together traditional Buddhist theory and contemporary
psychoneurobiosocial research to describe the conditioned and
unconditioned mind, and its in-depth exploration of Buddhist
psychology includes complete instructions for psychotherapists in
authentic, yet clinically appropriate Buddhist
mindfulness/heartfulness practices and Buddhist-psychological
inquiry skills. The book also features interviews with an esteemed
collection of Buddhist teachers, scholars, meditation researchers
and Buddhist-inspired clinicians.
This book argues that the standard arguments for and against the
claim that certain Hindu texts and traditions attribute direct
moral standing to animals and plants are unconvincing. It presents
careful, extensive, and original interpretations of passages from
the Manusmrti (law), the Mahabharata (literature), and the
Yogasutra (philosophy), and argues that these texts attribute
direct moral standing to animals and plants for at least three
reasons: they are sentient, they are alive, and they possess a
range of other relevant attributes and abilities. This book is of
interest to scholars of Hinduism and the environment, religion and
the environment, Hindu and/or Buddhist philosophy more broadly, and
environmental ethics.
Effortless Mindfulness promotes genuine mental health through the
direct experience of awakened presence-an effortlessly embodied,
fearless understanding of and interaction with the way things truly
are. The book offers a uniquely modern Buddhist psychological
understanding of mental health disorders through a scholarly,
clinically relevant presentation of Theravada, Mahayana and
Vajrayana Buddhist teachings and practices. Written specifically
for Western psychotherapeutic professionals, the book brings
together traditional Buddhist theory and contemporary
psychoneurobiosocial research to describe the conditioned and
unconditioned mind, and its in-depth exploration of Buddhist
psychology includes complete instructions for psychotherapists in
authentic, yet clinically appropriate Buddhist
mindfulness/heartfulness practices and Buddhist-psychological
inquiry skills. The book also features interviews with an esteemed
collection of Buddhist teachers, scholars, meditation researchers
and Buddhist-inspired clinicians.
"In this thoughtful and provocative book Philip Barnes challenges
religious educators to re-think their field, and proposes a new,
post-liberal model of religious education to help them do so. His
model both confronts prejudice and intolerance and also allows the
voices of different religions to be heard and critically explored.
While Education, Religion and Diversity is directed to a British
audience the issues it raises and the alternative it proposes are
important for those educators in the United States who believe that
the public schools have an important role in teaching students
about religion." Walter Feinberg, Professor Emeritus of Education
Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign. "Philip Barnes offers a penetrating and lucid
analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of modern religious
education in Britain. He considers a range of epistemological and
methodological issues and identifies two contrasting models of
religious education that have been influential, what he calls a
liberal and a postmodern model. After a detailed review and
criticism of both, he outlines his own new post-liberal model of
religious education, one that is compatible with both confessional
and non-confessional forms of religious education, yet takes
religious diversity and religious truth claims seriously. Essential
reading for all religious educators and those concerned with the
role of religion in schools." Bernd Schroeder, Professor of
Practical Theology and Religious Education, University of
Goettingen. "What place, if any, does religious education have in
the schools of an increasingly diverse society? This lucid and
authoritative book makes an incisive contribution to this crucial
debate." Roger Trigg is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy,
University of Warwick, and Senior Research Fellow, Ian Ramsey
Centre, Oxford. The challenge of diversity is central to education
in modern liberal, democratic states, and religious education is
often the point where these differences become both most acute and
where it is believed, of all curriculum subjects, resolutions are
most likely to be found. Education, Religion and Diversity
identifies and explores the commitments and convictions that have
guided post-confessional religious education and concludes
controversially that the subject as currently theorised and
practised is incapable of challenging religious intolerance and of
developing respectful relationships between people from different
communities and groups within society. It is argued that despite
the rhetoric of success, which religious education is obliged to
rehearse in order to perpetuate its status in the curriculum and to
ensure political support, a fundamentally new model of religious
education is required to meet the challenge of diversity to
education and to society. A new framework for religious education
is developed which offers the potential for the subject to make a
genuine contribution to the creation of a responsible, respectful
society. Education, Religion and Diversity is a wide-ranging,
provocative exploration of religious education in modern liberal
democracies. It is essential reading for those concerned with the
role of religion in education and for religious and theological
educators who want to think critically about the aims and character
of religious education.
"In this thoughtful and provocative book Philip Barnes challenges
religious educators to re-think their field, and proposes a new,
post-liberal model of religious education to help them do so. His
model both confronts prejudice and intolerance and also allows the
voices of different religions to be heard and critically explored.
While Education, Religion and Diversity is directed to a British
audience the issues it raises and the alternative it proposes are
important for those educators in the United States who believe that
the public schools have an important role in teaching students
about religion." Walter Feinberg, Professor Emeritus of Education
Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign. "Philip Barnes offers a penetrating and lucid
analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of modern religious
education in Britain. He considers a range of epistemological and
methodological issues and identifies two contrasting models of
religious education that have been influential, what he calls a
liberal and a postmodern model. After a detailed review and
criticism of both, he outlines his own new post-liberal model of
religious education, one that is compatible with both confessional
and non-confessional forms of religious education, yet takes
religious diversity and religious truth claims seriously. Essential
reading for all religious educators and those concerned with the
role of religion in schools." Bernd Schroeder, Professor of
Practical Theology and Religious Education, University of
Goettingen. "What place, if any, does religious education have in
the schools of an increasingly diverse society? This lucid and
authoritative book makes an incisive contribution to this crucial
debate." Roger Trigg is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy,
University of Warwick, and Senior Research Fellow, Ian Ramsey
Centre, Oxford. The challenge of diversity is central to education
in modern liberal, democratic states, and religious education is
often the point where these differences become both most acute and
where it is believed, of all curriculum subjects, resolutions are
most likely to be found. Education, Religion and Diversity
identifies and explores the commitments and convictions that have
guided post-confessional religious education and concludes
controversially that the subject as currently theorised and
practised is incapable of challenging religious intolerance and of
developing respectful relationships between people from different
communities and groups within society. It is argued that despite
the rhetoric of success, which religious education is obliged to
rehearse in order to perpetuate its status in the curriculum and to
ensure political support, a fundamentally new model of religious
education is required to meet the challenge of diversity to
education and to society. A new framework for religious education
is developed which offers the potential for the subject to make a
genuine contribution to the creation of a responsible, respectful
society. Education, Religion and Diversity is a wide-ranging,
provocative exploration of religious education in modern liberal
democracies. It is essential reading for those concerned with the
role of religion in education and for religious and theological
educators who want to think critically about the aims and character
of religious education.
This book presents Islam as a lived religion through observation
and discussion of how Muslims from a variety of countries,
traditions and views practice their religion. It conveys the
experiences of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds
and demonstrates the dynamic and heterogeneous world of Islam. The
fascinating case studies range from Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and
Lebanon to the UK, USA, Australia and Indonesia, and cover topics
such as music, art, education, law, gender and sexuality. Together
they will help students understand how research into religious
practice is carried out, and what issues and challenges arise.
This book presents Islam as a lived religion through observation
and discussion of how Muslims from a variety of countries,
traditions and views practice their religion. It conveys the
experiences of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds
and demonstrates the dynamic and heterogeneous world of Islam. The
fascinating case studies range from Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and
Lebanon to the UK, USA, Australia and Indonesia, and cover topics
such as music, art, education, law, gender and sexuality. Together
they will help students understand how research into religious
practice is carried out, and what issues and challenges arise.
There are many misconceptions and concerns regarding Islamic
societies and how Muslim countries have failed to come up with
their own localised solutions to socio-economic problems in dealing
with poverty alleviation and societal development. This book
explores why there is so much disconnect between spirituality and
enterprise development in the world today, and how a part of the
Islamic world, in fact located in Pakistan, can be part of the
solution rather than being central to the problem. This book builds
upon Ronnie Lessem and Alexander Schieffer's theory of 'integral
dynamics' which works through a fourfold rhythm of the GENE. Set
against a mono-cultural perspective, the authors highlight the
ever-increasing and deepening divide between Western and Islamic
cultures. Through the course of the book, the authors use the
transformational GENE (Grounding, Emergence, Navigation, Effect)
rhythm developed by Lessem and Schieffer to take readers through
the 4C (Call, Context, Co-creation and Contribution) process,
articulated to CAREing-4-Society. They ground their call in
Akhuwat's community of Akhuwateers (donors, beneficiaries,
borrowers, volunteers and replicators), to explore alternative
models of spiritually based finance through an emerging
SOUL-idarity paradigm. Furthermore, through these models and
Akhuwat's CARE (Community, Awareness, Research, Embodiment)
process, they put forward that encouraging community activism,
raising awareness around Islamic practices of Qard-e-Hasan,
institutionalising their innovative research, and finally
transforming and educating the community, will provide an
alternative to microfinance for poverty alleviation. Showcasing an
unconventional spiritual-financial solution, deeply immersed in
spirituality and infused with local moral values and traditions,
this book demonstrates how poverty can be alleviated in countries
around the world, specifically, in developing Muslim countries.
The way people encounter ideas of Hinduism online is often shaped
by global discourses of religion, pervasive Orientalism and
(post)colonial scholarship. This book addresses a gap in the
scholarly debate around defining Hinduism by demonstrating the role
of online discourses in generating and projecting images of Hindu
religion and culture. This study surveys a wide range of
propaganda, websites and social media in which definitions of
Hinduism are debated. In particular, it focuses on the role of
Hindu nationalism in the presentation and management of Hinduism in
the electronic public sphere. Hindu nationalist parties and
individuals are highly invested in discussions and presentations of
Hinduism online, and actively shape discourses through a variety of
strategies. Analysing Hindu nationalist propaganda, cyber activist
movements and social media presence, as well as exploring
methodological strategies that are useful to the field of religion
and media in general, the book concludes by showing how these
discourses function in the wider Hindu diaspora. Building on
religion and media research by highlighting mechanical and
hermeneutic issues of the Internet and how it affects how we
encounter Hinduism online, this book will be of significant
interest to scholars of religious studies, Hindu studies and
digital media.
First published in 2013. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &
Francis, an informa company.
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