Current interest in the relation of religion and politics is intense in both the US and Germany. Yet observers are regularly struck by fundamental divergences between approaches to and conceptualisations of this field on either side of the Atlantic. This volume, containing contributions by German and American authors from various disciplinary backgrounds, seeks to offer some clarification by elucidating traditional and newly emerging differences between, but also common challenges to, these societies in issues such as pluralism of values, religious education, the role of religious minorities, the relation of religion and elite formation, and religious aspects of voting patterns.

The Old Testament is integrally bound to the history and culture of Ancient Israeland the Ancient Middle East. This collection of essays primarily employs approaches from the fields of literary history andarcheology. It makes an important contribution to cultural and religious historical aspects of kingship and prophecy. It also casts a new light on questions regarding institutional education and worship practices, on the possibilities and limitations of religious historical comparison, and on Biblical interpretation in a Judeo-Christian context.