The rising importance of community organizing in the US and more recently in Britain has coincided with the developing significance of social movements and identity politics, debates about citizenship, social capital, civil society, and religion in the public sphere. At a time when participation in formal political process and membership of faith groups have both declined dramatically, community organizing has provided a new opportunity for small community groups, marginalized urban communities, and people of faith to engage in effective political action through the developments of inter-faith and cross-cultural coalitions of groups. In spite of its renewed popularity, little critical attention has been paid to community organizing.

This book places community organizing within debates about the role of religion in the public sphere and the rise of public theology in recent years. The book explores the history, methodology, and achievements of community organizing, engaging in a series of conversations with key community organizers in the US and Britain. This volume breaks new ground by beginning to articulate a cross-cultural and inter-faith Theology for Community Organizing that arises from fresh readings of Liberation Theology.

Understanding Muslim Chaplaincy provides a lens through which to explore critical questions relating to contemporary religion in public life, and the institutionalisation of Islam in particular. Providing a rich description of the personnel, practice, and politics of contemporary Muslim chaplaincy, the authors consider the extent to which Muslim chaplaincy might be distinctive in Britain relative to the work of Muslim chaplains in the USA and other countries. This book will make a major contribution to international debate about the place of religion in public life and institutions. This book derives from research that has depended on exclusive access to a wide range of public institutions and personnel who largely work 'behind closed doors'. By making public the work of these chaplains and critically examining the impact of their work within and beyond their institutions, this book offers a groundbreaking study in the field of contemporary religion that will stimulate discussion for many years to come about Islam and Muslims in Western societies.

Historically, European churches have played a large part in the provision of welfare. Responsibility, however, has gradually shifted to the state - a shift that forms an integral part of the process of secularization and one that has been readily accepted by European populations. But what happens when the state itself begins to recede - a process that is occurring in most, if not all, European societies for a wide variety of reasons? The implications for welfare are considerable, not least for the role of the churches which begin to resume the responsibilities previously shed but in new and different ways. This book looks at the connections between religion and welfare in Europe, exploring in detail eight European societies - Finland, Norway, Sweden, England, Germany, France, Italy and Greece. The different theological traditions, different church-state relationships and different welfare regimes are all examined. The analysis is based on first hand empirical research which considers not only the changing situation on the ground, but attitudes towards this within a range of different constituencies - the churches, local government and the general public. Particular attention is paid to the significance of gender in both the process of change and in attitudes towards this. Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe: Volume 1 represents comparative research at its best and highlights key policy implications for the future. A companion book, Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe: Volume 2 explores thematically the changing nature of religion and welfare and the new relationships that are emerging between the religious and the secular, and between church and state in the 21st century.

This is a major anthropological study of contemporary Tibetan Buddhist monasticism and tantric ritual in the Ladakh region of North-West India and of the role of tantric ritual in the formation and maintenance of traditional forms of state structure and political consciousness in Tibet. Containing detailed descriptions and analyses of monastic ritual, the work builds up a picture of Tibetan tantric traditions as they interact with more localised understandings of bodily identity and territorial cosmology, to produce a substantial re-interpretation of the place of monks as ritual performers and peripheral householders in Ladakh. The work also examines the central and indispensable role of incarnate lamas, such as the Dalai Lama, in the religious life of Tibetan Buddhists.

This book explores the position of Islamic theology and jurisprudence towards people with disabilities. It investigates how early and modern Muslim scholars tried to reconcile their existence with the concept of a merciful God, and also looks at how people with disabilities might live a dignified and productive life within an Islamic context.

In his analysis of Islamic Theology, Ghaly pays attention to how theologians, philosophers and Sufis reflected on the purposes behind the existence of this phenomenon, and how to reconcile the existence of disability with specific divine attributes and an All-Merciful God. Simultaneously exploring the perspective of Muslim jurists, the book focuses on how people with disabilities can lead a dignified life in the financial and non-financial sense, in an extensive analysis of topics such as the human dignity of people with disabilities and the role of Greek physiognomy, their employability, medical treatment, social life with main focus on marriage-related issues, financial life and means of living.

Investigating the topic of disability from early and modern Islamic perspectives, the author provides an analysis of Muslim discussions on various bioethical questions. As such, this book will be of great relevance to current heated debates on human rights of people with disabilities, as well as providing a valuable resource for courses on Multicultural bioethics, Islamic theology, Islamic law and medical anthropology.

Highly respected counselor guides those who suffered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse as a child to move beyond the lasting impact of that abuse to a healthier future.

The deep pain of childhood abuse--whether physical or emotional, whether a child was neglected or wished nothing more than to be left alone--doesn't just go away. There's simply no just getting over it. Even if no physical scars remain as evidence of the victim's suffering, the deep wounds on their minds, hearts, and souls are still there. But it is possible to become whole and happy.

Author of the successful Healing the Scars of Emotional Abuse, Dr. Gregory Jantz now helps readers understand the effects of childhood abuse on their emotional, intellectual, physical, relational, and spiritual health. He then outlines the steps to lasting healing, including grieving what was lost, learning to balance emotions with intentionality, regaining a positive relationship with one's own body and mind, and coming to an understanding of God not as a frightening authority figure like the abuser or an accusing judge, but as a loving creator, redeemer, and friend.

How do we respond to the silent appeal in the dark eyes of the child in the charity catalogue, or the blanketed figure in the cold shop-doorway? Should we share the gospel with them, or a bowl of soup? Throughout history, men and women such as Wilberforce, Shaftesbury, Carey and Booth have recognized a call to help the needy. Others have argued that our first task is evangelism, that Christians should not meddle in politics, that social action is a distraction. Do we serve Christ through preaching his Word, or should we use words only when necessary? Tim Chester argues passionately that evangelism and social action are inseparable as two arms of the church's mission. He presents a biblical case for truly evangelical social action that is shaped and inspired by the gospel. He urges conservatives not to marginalize those who uphold the cause of the oppressed, and those involved in social action not to neglect the preaching of the Word. 'Consistent, mission-minded evangelicals have always refused to choose between a commitment to gospel proclamation and an active concern for the poor. Tim Chester digs deep into the Bible to show us why both are vital, and what it means to be Christ's people in a world of need.' Keith Walker, Director of SIM-UK/N, Europe 'A must-read for those looking for a way to integrate word and deed mission to advance God's purposes in our needy world.' Tom Sine, author of Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best For Your Life Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church-planting initiative in Sheffield, England. He was previously Research and Policy Director for Tearfund UK. He is the author of a number of books, including The Message of Prayer (IVP, The Bible Speaks Today series).

Promoting Islam as a defender of human rights is laden with difficulties. Advocates of human rights will readily point out numerous humanitarian failures carried out in the name of Islam. In "The Rights of God", Irene Oh looks at human rights and Islam as a religious issue rather than a political or legal one and draws on three revered Islamic scholars to offer a broad range of perspectives that challenge our assumptions about the role of religion in human rights. The theoretical shift from the conception of morality based in natural duty and law to one of rights has created tensions that hinder a fruitful exchange between human rights theorists and religious thinkers. Does the static identification of human rights with lists of specific rights, such as those found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, make sense given the cultural, historical, and religious diversity of the societies in which these rights are to be respected and implemented? In examining human rights issues of the contemporary Islamic world, Oh illustrates how the value of religious scholarship cannot be overestimated. Oh analyzes the commentaries of Abul A'la Maududi, Sayyid Qutb, and Abdolkarim Soroush - all prominent and often controversial Islamic thinkers - on the topics of political participation, religious toleration, and freedom of conscience. While Maududi and Qutb represent traditional Islam, and Soroush a more reform and Western-friendly approach, all three contend that Islam is indeed capable of accommodating and advocating human rights. Whereas disentangling politics and culture from religion is never easy, Oh shows that the attempt must be made in order to understand and overcome the historical obstacles that prevent genuine dialogue from taking place across religious and cultural boundaries.

This is the history of the relationship between mass produced visual media and religion in the United States. It is a journey from the 1780s to the present - from early evangelical tracts to teenage witches and televangelists, and from illustrated books to contemporary cinema.

David Morgan explores the cultural marketplace of public representation, showing how American religionists have made special use of visual media to instruct the public, to practice devotion and ritual, and to form children and converts. Examples include:

• studying Jesus as an American idol
• Jewish kitchens and Christian Parlors
• Billy Sunday and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Uncle Tom's Cabin and the anti-slavery movement.

This unique perspective reveals the importance of visual media to the construction and practice of sectarian and national community in a nation of immigrants old and new, and the tensions between the assimilation and the preservation of ethnic and racial identities. As well as the contribution of visual media to the religious life of Christians and Jews, Morgan shows how images have informed the perceptions and practices of other religions in America, including New Age, Buddhist and Hindu spirituality, and Mormonism, Native American Religions and the Occult.

The examination of the relationship of economic activity to other important aspects of human life and social behavior has inspired some of the most interesting and provocative social-scientific research in the past one hundred years. This book of original essays by leading thinkers across many disciplines offers new insights into enduring questions about how modern and modernizing market economies are both shaped by and shapers of morality, values, and religion.

Part 1, "Markets and Morals," offers eight contributors who provide analyses of the various ways in which the market operates in relation to morality. An empirical presentation of moral values and market attitudes is given. Other essays take aim at how markets serve and disserve moral interests: Economic growth has moral consequences; the manipulation of markets exposes a moral underside; the nature of market failure has implications for understanding moral vulnerability; preference change has moral implications. In other chapters, a broad consideration of the positive moral effects of market economies is offered along with historical essays on the role that intellectuals have played in debates about the positive and negative effects of commercial life and on the ways in which the American idea of the pursuit of happiness reveals much about the morality of economic life.

In Part 2, "Markets and Religion," nine contributors address both the historical and contemporary emergence of religious factors in the growth and transformation of global capitalism. Major religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are examined for their contributions to answering questions about the nature and function of economic life in light of religious ideas and ideals. Several essays present original approaches to the importance of religious values to modern forms of consumption and to the political economy of reconciliation and forgiveness in nations coming to terms with past conflict. Finally, the influence of non-Western ideas, in particular Chinese religions and Buddhism on economic thought and practice, is assessed as part of the globalizing impact of religion on economic life generally.

"Jonathan B. Imber" is Class of 1949 Professor in Ethics and Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College. He is editor-in-chief of "Society." "Peter L. Berger" is University Professor of Sociology and Theology at Boston University and director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs.

'Justice in the City' argues, based on the Rabbinic textual tradition, especially the Babylonian Talmud, and utilizing French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas' framework of interpersonal ethics, that a just city should be a community of obligation. That is, in a community thus conceived, the privilege of citizenship is the assumption of the obligations of the city towards Others who are not always in view-workers, the poor, the homeless. These Others form a constitutive part of the city. The second part of the book is a close analysis of homelessness, labor and restorative justice from within the theory that was developed. This title will be useful for scholars and students in Jewish Studies, especially rabbinic literature and Jewish thought, but also for those interested in contemporary urban issues.

Discussion of the way in which law engages with religious difference often takes place within the context of a single jurisdiction. Religion and Law: An Introduction, presents a comprehensive text for students, drawing on examples from across key Anglophone jurisdictions - the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, as well as international law, to explore a broad range of issues. Aimed at a non-legal readership, this book introduces the use of legal sources and focuses on factual situations as much as legal doctrine. Key issues arising from interaction of the religious individual and the State are discussed, as well as the religious organisation or community and the State. The interaction is explored through case studies of areas as diverse as the legal regulation of religious drug use, sacred spaces and sacred places, and claims of clergy misconduct. Taking a broad, non-jurisdictional approach to the key issues, in particular providing insights differing from the dominant US experiences and paradigms, this student-friendly textbook includes a clearly structured bibliography and clear guidance on how to approach relevant legal materials.

This book is an international comparative study of the British, German and French military chaplains during the First World War. It describes their role, position and daily work within the army and how the often conflicting expectations of the church, the state, the military and the soldiers effected these. This study seeks to explain similarities and differences between the chaplaincies by looking at how the pre-war relations between church, state and society influenced the work of these army chaplains.

Learn to treat a variety of diagnostic disorders through various psychospiritual treatment models! Increasing numbers of people are moving beyond psychological therapy to seek alternative spiritual perspectives to medical and mental health care such as yoga and meditation. The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders provides the latest theoretical perspectives and practical applications by recognized experts in positive and integrative psychotherapy. Leading clinicians examine and re-examine their therapeutic worldviews and attitudes to focus on the right problems to solve-for the whole person. This essential Handbook is a window on the quiet revolution now sweeping the field of psychology, that of locating the whole human being in the center of the therapeutic process. The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders helps you effectively treat the whole person by providing a practical introduction to some of the worldviews and most effective practices like yoga, meditation, and humanological therapy used by psychospiritually oriented therapists. Helpful illustrations of body positions used in yoga and meditation plus photographs, tables, figures, and detailed case studies illustrate the process. The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders will show you: the importance of a therapist's worldview for effective therapeutic outcome new perspectives on alternative treatments for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, and sexual dysfunction how yoga and mindfulness meditation can be used in psychotherapy the use and integration of meditation therapies in emergency situations the therapeutic integration of other alternative treatments, such as Kundalini yoga each contributor's case studies as illustration of effective treatment The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders is an invaluable resource for those interested in treating patients with a therapeutic process that is effective, adaptable, and wholly transformational.

Learn to treat a variety of diagnostic disorders through various psychospiritual treatment models! Increasing numbers of people are moving beyond psychological therapy to seek alternative spiritual perspectives to medical and mental health care such as yoga and meditation. The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders provides the latest theoretical perspectives and practical applications by recognized experts in positive and integrative psychotherapy. Leading clinicians examine and re-examine their therapeutic worldviews and attitudes to focus on the right problems to solve-for the whole person. This essential Handbook is a window on the quiet revolution now sweeping the field of psychology, that of locating the whole human being in the center of the therapeutic process. The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders helps you effectively treat the whole person by providing a practical introduction to some of the worldviews and most effective practices like yoga, meditation, and humanological therapy used by psychospiritually oriented therapists. Helpful illustrations of body positions used in yoga and meditation plus photographs, tables, figures, and detailed case studies illustrate the process. The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders will show you: the importance of a therapist's worldview for effective therapeutic outcome new perspectives on alternative treatments for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, and sexual dysfunction how yoga and mindfulness meditation can be used in psychotherapy the use and integration of meditation therapies in emergency situations the therapeutic integration of other alternative treatments, such as Kundalini yoga each contributor's case studies as illustration of effective treatment The Psychospiritual Clinician's Handbook: Alternative Methods for Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders is an invaluable resource for those interested in treating patients with a therapeutic process that is effective, adaptable, and wholly transformational.

"God is mystery," writes Norvene Vest in the Introduction to Tending the Holy, "and every form of religion is an effort to respond faithfully to the mystery of God by whatever name. The Divine breaks through into human experience in many ways, and humans respond variously to the awesome experience of God." And those various responses are what the contributors to Tending the Holy document. In this provocative and cutting-edge collection readers are given the opportunity to see what spiritual direction looks like--and what questions are asked--through a variety of lenses. From an examination of the spiritual direction relationship in the Evangelical Christian tradition, to Buddhism and Hindu ones, to the better-known ones of the Benedictines, Carmelites, and Ignatians, and finally, to the contemporary lenses of feminism, Generation X, the institutional perspective, and even one based on the natural world and the spirituality of St. Francis, this collection explores unexplored territory. Tending the Holy is an important resource for spiritual directors and pastoral counselors.

Contributors include: Shaykha Fariha al-Jerrahi (New York); Ven. Tejadhammo Bhikku (Sangha Lodge Buddhist Monastery, Australia); Chrisopher Key Chapple (Loyola Marymount University); Rabbi Zari Weiss (Seattle, Washington); Sr. Marian Cowan, CSJ (Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis, Missouri); Lisa Myers (La Canada, California); Dr. Michael Plattig (University of the Capuchins, Germany); Sister Katherine Howard, OSB (St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, Minnesota); John H. Mostyn, CBC (Rome); The Rev. Dr. John Mabry ( San Francisco); Norvene Vest (Altadena, California), and The Rev. Dr. H. Paul Santmire (Watertown, Massachusetts).

The Spiritual Directors International Series This book is part of a special series produced by Morehouse Publishing in cooperation with Spiritual Directors International (SDI), a global network of some 6,000 spiritual directors and members."

A religious meditation on borders-physical and spiritual-an elemental and humanist phenomenon for everyone. If Barbara Brown Taylor and Steven Covey ever wrote a book together, this might be the book! Living Compass is a church-based faith and wellness program designed for individuals and small groups. Readers engage in a 10-week, self-guided wellness retreat, consisting of daily ten-minute readings, plus small, meaningful action steps designed for getting "your life, your relationships, and your work headed in a new direction," according to the author. Deeply spiritual and exceedingly practical, this book joins the national Living Compass network, which includes a website, workshop series, wellness resources (including a free Living Well with Living Compass app), social media, and soon, a new multi-million-dollar wellness center to be located in the offices of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Structured holistic wellness program for individuals and groups based on a highly successful retreat model developed by priest-psychologist. Builds on the national network of Living Compass workshops, presentations, and publications, and soon, a multi-million faith and wellness center in Chicago. Each chapter includes questions for reflection.

The author calls upon the world's religions to assist in combating the destructive trends of our time, mobilizing a virtual "alliance of religion and ecology" against unlimited economic growth, rampant consumption, and unrestrained globalisation. World religions have begun to move from a preoccupation with God-human relations and human-human relations to encompass human-earth relations. They are now entering their planetary or (Gaian) phase. In its new alliance with ecology, religion should move from isolated orthodoxy to interrelated dialogue, revivify its rituals and symbols in light of environmental crisis, align its moral authority with liberation rather than oppression, favour a this-worldly rather that other-worldly soteriology, and advance from anthropocentric to anthropocosmic ethics.

Compare worldwide religious regulations involving gay sex and masculinity! Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods: An Exploration into the Religious Significance of Male Homosexuality in World Perspective is an eye-opening look at the traditions of particular religions and their edicts concerning gay sex. This book examines the origins of holy directives involving homosexualitywhether forbidden, tolerated, or mandatoryand establishes a link between theology, sex roles, and the sensitive issue of masculinity. This text draws a parallel between homosexuality and the idea of religion, suggesting that gay rights can be understood as a freedom of religion issue. While most readers are familiar with the traditional Islamic, Christian, and Hebrew prohibitions against sex between two males, this book also reveals other historic religions from around the world that neither opposed nor looked down on homosexuality. Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods argues that masculinity is the universal theme that formed historical interpretationwarriors and men of high status could not be sexually receptive or feminine and still be called men. This intriguing text shows how the modern homophile movements are in effect redefining masculinity to obliterate the stigma of being a sexually receptive man. Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods examines the significance of homosexuality in such religions as: the Sambians of New Guinea the Taoists of Ancient China Plato and the later Stoics Islamic Sufism Native American culture Hebrew Scriptures early Christianity Buddhism Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods is an enlightening book that honors homosexual claims to moral integrity and appreciates religion and religious figures without rancor. Easy-to-read and free of technical language, this volume is for anyone who has an academic, professional, or personal interest in theology and homosexuality. The author is available for speaking engagements and can be contacted at [email protected]

Compare worldwide religious regulations involving gay sex and masculinity! Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods: An Exploration into the Religious Significance of Male Homosexuality in World Perspective is an eye-opening look at the traditions of particular religions and their edicts concerning gay sex. This book examines the origins of holy directives involving homosexualitywhether forbidden, tolerated, or mandatoryand establishes a link between theology, sex roles, and the sensitive issue of masculinity. This text draws a parallel between homosexuality and the idea of religion, suggesting that gay rights can be understood as a freedom of religion issue. While most readers are familiar with the traditional Islamic, Christian, and Hebrew prohibitions against sex between two males, this book also reveals other historic religions from around the world that neither opposed nor looked down on homosexuality. Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods argues that masculinity is the universal theme that formed historical interpretationwarriors and men of high status could not be sexually receptive or feminine and still be called men. This intriguing text shows how the modern homophile movements are in effect redefining masculinity to obliterate the stigma of being a sexually receptive man. Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods examines the significance of homosexuality in such religions as: the Sambians of New Guinea the Taoists of Ancient China Plato and the later Stoics Islamic Sufism Native American culture Hebrew Scriptures early Christianity Buddhism Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods is an enlightening book that honors homosexual claims to moral integrity and appreciates religion and religious figures without rancor. Easy-to-read and free of technical language, this volume is for anyone who has an academic, professional, or personal interest in theology and homosexuality. The author is available for speaking engagements and can be contacted at [email protected]

Contents:
Preface and acknowledgements Introduction: Religion in an age of environmental crisis Introduction to the second edition: Good news/bad news Part I: The moment of seeing: Selections from nature writers linking nature and spirit Part II: How have traditional religions viewed nature? Part III: Ecotheology in an age of environmental crisis: Transforming tradition Part IV: Ecotheology in an age of environmental crisis: Ecofeminist spirituality Part V: Ecotheology in an age of environmental crisis: Spiritual deep ecology Part VI: Religious practice for a sacred earth Part VII: Ecology, religion and society Suggestions for further reading Websites on religion and the environment Environmental organisations About the contributors

An essential feature of successful counselling is the ability to listen and respond well to the information being given in an interview. In this book, the author shows how this ability may take away the need for leading and advising, creating a counselling encounter that is constructive and helpful. Leaders, whether clerical or lay, teachers or managers, doctors or social workers, frequently see their role as one of communication, but in the excitement of communicating, forget that theirs are not the only important voices. The primary purpose of this book is to emphasize the necessity of learning to listen as well as to speak, and to respond to what is said and what is omitted.

Citizenship is high on the agenda of education systems in many of the world's democracies. As yet, however, discussions of citizenship education have neglected issues of religious diversity and how the study of religions can contribute to our understanding of citizenship. International Perspectives on Citizenship, Education and Religious Diversity brings together an international range of contributions from religious studies scholars and educators specialising in the study of religions. Together, these illustrate and explore the key questions for educational theory and pedagogy raised by drawing issues of religious diversity into citizenship education.
The chapters address and extend debates over the nature of citizenship in late modernity, highlighting local and global dimensions of citizenship in relation to issues of national, religious, ethnic and cultural identity. As well as emphasising the role religious education has to play in citizenship education, this book also covers wider issues such as state-supported faith schools and cultural diversity in relation to common citizenship. The authors argue that critical, yet reflective, approaches to religious education have a distinctive and valuable contribution to make to citizenship education. Issues addressed within the study of religions are related to new forms of global and cultural citizenship, as well as citizenship within the nation state. Ultimately, this stimulating and original collection highlights the challenges and possibilities for teaching and learning about religion, religions and religious diversity within an inclusive educational practice.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203218795