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.

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

The common goal of the contributors is to illuminate sexuality as a crucial site of conflict and dissent both within and between religious traditions. Thus, we have a collection of ten essays on themes emerging from the social scientific study of religion and sexuality in an array of cultural contexts. Together the essays examine four themes: 1) fecundism as an ideology of reproduction, 2) sexual identity and the life cycle, 3) binary sexual categories, and 4) relations of power and domination.

Our global ecological crisis demands that we question the rationality of the culture that has caused it: western modernity's free market capitalism. Philip Goodchild develops arguments from Nietzsche, Adorno, Horkheimer and Marx, to suggest that our love of Western modernity is an expression of a piety in which capitalism becomes a global religion, in practice, if not always in belief. This book presents a philosophical alternative that demands attention from philosophers, critical theorists, philosophers of religion, theologians and those in ecological politics.

Our global ecological crisis demands that we question the rationality of the culture that has caused it: western modernity's free market capitalism. Philip Goodchild develops arguments from Nietzsche, Adorno, Horkheimer and Marx, to suggest that our love of Western modernity is an expression of a piety in which capitalism becomes a global religion, in practice, if not always in belief. This book presents a philosophical alternative that demands attention from philosophers, critical theorists, philosophers of religion, theologians and those in ecological politics.

'This is a deep and intense book, written with empathy for everything involved, and is of vital global, social significance.' - Revd Mary Sellers, Church Times

'Gosling's work is clearly and passionately written, betraying careful scholarship in science and religious studies. It should help to clarify the role of religious traditions in increasing ecological awareness, and, it is to be hoped, in promoting some resolution of the social and environmental problems our world faces' - THES

'The book is a must in any serious library dealing with ecology in India and Southeast Asia' - G. Gispert-Sauch, VJTR

'... a book which should allow Hinduism and Buddhism, and activists from India and Thailand, to challenge those of us from "religions of the book".' - Andrew Wingate, Theology

This volume brings together twelve articles by Patricia Crone dealing with pre-Islamic and Islamic religion, law and political thought. The first section focuses on the centuries before Islam, with studies on Mazdakism in Iran and on Islam as the key factor behind the outbreak of Iconoclasm in Byzantium. The second group of studies looks at problems in legal history, including the codification of the Qur'an, while the third investigates questions of political thought, amongst them a study of early Muslim anarchists, and an examination of the authorship of a work ascribed to al-Ghazali.

The Gentle and Lowly Journal is an ideal companion for anyone desiring to reflect on the biblical truths found in Gentle and Lowly and record their thoughts and prayers as they go.

Most people in the United States today no longer live their lives under the guidance of local institutionalized religious leadership, such as rabbis, ministers, and priests; rather, liberals and conservatives alike have taken charge of their own religious or spiritual practices. This shift, along with other social and cultural changes, has opened up a perhaps surprising space for chaplains--spiritual professionals who usually work with the endorsement of a religious community but do that work away from its immediate hierarchy, ministering in a secular institution, such as a prison, the military, or an airport, to an ever-changing group of clients of widely varying faiths and beliefs. In A Ministry of Presence, Winnifred Fallers Sullivan explores how chaplaincy works in the United States--and in particular how it sits uneasily at the intersection of law and religion, spiritual care, and government regulation. Responsible for ministering to the wandering souls of the globalized economy, the chaplain works with a clientele often unmarked by a specific religious identity, and does so on behalf of a secular institution, like a hospital. Sullivan's examination of the sometimes heroic but often deeply ambiguous work yields fascinating insights into contemporary spiritual life, the politics of religious freedom, and the never-ending negotiation of religion's place in American institutional life.

This Gentle and Lowly set pairs a copy of the bestselling book with a companion journal. The journal has 23 sections corresponding to book chapters, along with key Bible texts, theology quotes, book excerpts, and space for notes.

Encouraging a broad, compassionate, humanistic approach to spirituality, this book shows how patients' spiritual needs can be communicated well within interdisciplinary teams, leading to better patient wellbeing. This book describes the art of charting patients' spiritual perspectives in an open way that will help physicians and nurses to better direct medical care. It includes practical information on how to distil spiritual needs into pragmatic language, helping to demystify spiritual experience. Drawing on his extensive practical experience, the author also suggests key points to emphasise that will enrich chart notes for medical records, including brief, relative narratives, trusting one's own impressions, reflecting holistically on the patient's life, patient attitudes towards treatment and recovery, and describing families' opinions on the health care situation of their loved one. The book shows healthcare professionals of all disciplines how to engage in a shared responsibility for the spiritual care of their patients.

This study guide by Dane Ortlund helps readers reflect further on the biblical truths found in Gentle and Lowly through discussion questions organized into 10 helpful lessons. Designed for individual and small-group use.

The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling provides a clear, practical guide to working with congregants in a range of settings and illustrates the skills and core principles needed for effective pastoral counseling. The material is drawn from Jewish life and rabbinic pastoral counseling, but the fundamental principles in these pages apply to all faith traditions and to a wide variety of counselling relationships. Drawing on relational psychodynamic ideas but writing in a very accessible style, Friedman and Yehuda cover when, how and why counseling may be sought, how to set up sessions, conduct the work in those sessions and deal with difficult situations, maintain confidentiality, conduct groupwork and approach traumatic and emotive subjects. They guide the reader through the foundational principles and topics of pastoral counseling and illustrate the journey with accessible and lively vignettes. By using real life examples accompanied by guided questions, the authors help readers to learn practical techniques as well as gain greater self-awareness of their own strengths and vulnerabilities. With a host of examples from pastoral and clinical experience, this book will be invaluable to anyone offering counselling to both the Jewish community and those of other faiths. The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling will appeal to psychoanalysts, particularly those working with Jewish clients, counselors, psychotherapists, psychoanalysts and rabbis offering pastoral counseling, as well as clergy of other faiths such as ministers, priests, imams and lay chaplains.

The moral imperatives and value systems of religions are indispensable for mobilizing the sensibilities of people toward the goals of sustainability: to shape the trajectories of social-ecological change to enhance ecosystem resilience and human well-being.

The "Routledge Handbook of Religion and Ecology" provides the most comprehensive and authoritative overview of the field. It encourages both appreciative and critical angles regarding religious traditions, communities, attitude, and practices. It presents contrasting ways of thinking about "religion" and about "ecology" and about ways of connecting the two terms.

Written by a team of leading international experts, the "Handbook" discusses dynamics of change within religious traditions as well as their roles in responding to global challenges such as climate change, water, conservation, food and population. It explores the interpretations of indigenous traditions regarding modern environmental problems drawing on such concepts as lifeway and indigenous knowledge. This volume uniquely intersects the field of religion and ecology with new directions within the humanities and the sciences. The sections on environmental humanities and environmental sciences explore the history and significance of other key areas and disciplines of environmental studies in which religion and ecology can be fruitfully located as a dialogue partner for environmental solutions.

This interdisciplinary volume is an essential reference for scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities and for all those looking to understand the significance of religion in environmental studies and policy.

'A delightful book from a gentle, generous spirit.' - SIMON RUSSELL BEALE 'Philosophical speculation, country lore, rock music, spiritual exploration, erudite and beautifully written, this collection of reflections and meditations is a surprise and a delight. The kind of shot in the arm the Church of England badly needs - and is so rarely to be found.' - SALLEY VICKERS During the unprecedented circumstances of Spring 2020, Colin Heber Percy began writing a daily newsletter of reflections and uplifting stories to stay in touch with his parishioners. Word spread, and soon his bulletins were being eagerly consumed by readers around the country and beyond. In this thought-provoking and invigorating book, Heber-Percy draws upon a kaleidoscopic knowledge of nature, philosophy, poetry and music, as well as religious writings, and interlaces them with amusing and touching vignettes from his Wiltshire parish. As he follows the changing seasons, Heber-Percy moves from the seemingly small and mundane to ponder big life questions - can you find heaven in a Londis shop, why is the Bible not like the Highway Code, what on earth we are all doing here - while gently offering up wisdom and sustenance for all, regardless of faith and creed.

A Handbook of Chaplaincy Studies explores fundamental issues and critical questions in chaplaincy, spanning key areas of health care, the prison service, education and military chaplaincy. Leading authors and practitioners in the field present critical insight into the challenges and opportunities facing those providing professional spiritual care. From young men and women in the military and in custody, to the bedside of those experiencing life's greatest traumas, this critical examination of the role played by the chaplain offers a fresh and informed understanding about faith and diversity in an increasingly secular society. An invaluable compendium of case-studies, academic reflection and critical enquiry, this handbook offers a fresh understanding of traditional, contemporary and innovative forms of spiritual practice as they are witnessed in the public sphere. Providing a wide-ranging appraisal of chaplaincy in an era of religious complexity and emergent spiritualities, this pioneering book is a major contribution to a relatively underdeveloped field and sets out how the phenomenon of chaplaincy can be better understood and its practice more robust and informed.

Global health-related efforts today are usually shaped by two very different ideological approaches. They either reflect a human rights-based approach to health and equity, often associated with public health, medicine, or economic development activities; or they express religious or humanitarian "aid," usually motivated by personal beliefs about charity, philanthropy, missional dynamics, and/or a ministry of "mercy." The underlying differences between these two approaches can create tensions and even outright hostility that affects and may even undermine the best intentions of those involved. In Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights, Susan R. Holman-a scholar in both religion and the history of medicine-challenges this stereotypical polarization through stories designed to help shape a new lens on global health, one that envisions a multidisciplinary integration of respect for religion and culture with an equal respect for and engagement with human rights and social justice. The book's six chapters range broadly, from pilgrimage texts in the Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions, to the effect of ministry and public policy on the 19th century poorhouse; the story of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as it shaped economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights; a "religious health assets" approach based in Southern Africa; and the complex dynamics of gift exchange in the modern faith-based focus on charity, community, and the common good. The book will appeal to readers interested in global health, faith-based aid, public policy, humanitarian response, liberation theology, charity, gift exchange, and a good story.

Much has been written on the relationship between violence and religious militancy, but there has been less research on constructive methods of confronting religious violence. This book represents an innovative attempt to integrate the study of religion with the study of conflict resolution. Marc Gopin offers an analysis of contemporary religious violence as a reaction to the pressures of modernity and the increasing economic integration of the world. He contends that religion is one of the most salient phenomena that will cause massive violence in the next century. He also argues, however, that religion can play a critical role in constructing a global community of shared moral commitments and vision - a community that can limit conflict to its nonviolent, constructive variety.

If we see ourselves as Earth, rather than Earth as existing for us, our perspective is transformed. A variety of religious, philosophical, cultural, and political self-perceptions that dominate our sense of human identity are deeply challenged by this shift in perspective. John Locke's doctrine of Earth as human 'property' has been central to current presuppositions about our selves: justified on the grounds of our possessing unique, divinely bestowed, rational abilities. But today, the effects of that doctrine on Earth's resource base and on its other-than-human creatures directly challenge such assumptions. At the same time contemporary scientific findings about the evolution of Earthly life demonstrate that while we belong to Earth and nowhere else, Earth does not belong to us. Exploring this role reversal raises fundamental questions about current theological, philosophical, scientific, and economic presuppositions that underpin the 'business as usual' viewpoint and human-centered aims of contemporary policies and lifestyles. It takes us beyond hierarchical Christian and philosophical doctrines toward a deeper, Earth-focused and peace-based understanding of what it means to be human today.

This resource, written by late counselor David Powlison, seeks to gracefully and humbly encourage pastors to think of counseling as a relational and pastoral task focused on the care and cure of the souls of God's people.

In the past 10 years spirituality and spiritual care have been much debated in professional healthcare literature, highlighting the need for a recognised definition of spiritual care to enable appropriate assessment of, and response to, spiritual issues. This accessible and highly relevant book surveys the numerous statements, guidelines and standards highlighted by these discussions, and equips healthcare professionals with the knowledge, skills and competence to provide the essence of spiritual care within their professional practice. Practical and evidence-based, this manual proves that delivery of good, professional spiritual care can build on intuitive human skills, and can be taught, learned, assessed and quantified. It gives readers the opportunity to move on from uncertainties about their role in the delivery of spiritual care by allowing them to asses and improve their understanding, skills and clinical practice in this area of care. Spiritual Care for Healthcare Professionals clearly grounds spiritual care in clinical practice. It is highly recommended for supporting academic study and encouraging healthcare practitioners to reflect on their practice and develop skills in spiritual assessment and care. Aimed at all healthcare professionals, it can be used by individual practitioners for continuing professional development as well as by academic staff developing educational programmes.