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Secularisation: New Historical Perspectives unveils an exciting range of case studies exploring emerging research in secularisation with an international outlook. Inspired by scholarship conducted by the Religious History Association, this collected volume questions the paradigm of secularisation by exploring its historical manifestations and making projections as to the future divide between religious life and the secular world. A must-read for anyone interested in events and personalities that shaped the religious landscape of the present, this volume contains meticulous historical research. It also presents a strong focus on the Southern Hemisphere, which is often largely absent in discus...
Does religion cause terrorism? This volume presents a range of theories and case studies that address this important issue.
The label 'Suicide Cults' has been applied to a wide variety of different alternative religions, from Jonestown to the Solar Temple to Heaven's Gate. Additionally, observers have asked if such group suicides are in any way comparable to Islamist suicide terrorism, or to historical incidents of mass suicide, such as the mass suicide of the ancient community of Masada. Organizationally and ideologically diverse, it turns out that the primary shared trait of these various groups is a common stereotype of religion as an irrational force that pushes fanatics to undertake acts of suicidal violence. Offering a valuable perspective on New Religious Movements and on religion and violence, Sacred Suicide brings together contributions from a diverse range of international scholars of sociology, religious studies and criminology.
The Spirit of Colin McCahon provides a vivid historical contextualisation of New Zealand’s premier modern artist, clearly explaining his esoteric religious themes and symbols. Via a framework of visual rhetoric, this book explores the social factors that formed McCahon’s religious and environmental beliefs, and justifications as to why his audience often missed the intended point of spiritual his discourse – or chose to ignore it. The Spirit of Colin McCahon tracks the intricate process by which the artist’s body of work turned from optimism to misery, and explains the many communicative techniques he employed in order to arrest suspicion towards his Christian prophecy. More broadly,...
Combining sociological, historical and comparative approaches, this book examines one of the most striking aspects of South Korea, specifically the emergence of Protestant Christianity as the largest contemporary religion in the country. What is extraordinary about the religion’s “success” is that its growth has been achieved in 130 years since 1884 and that it took place in a country with a rich oriental tradition, replete with shamanism, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. The text critically demonstrates the socio-anthropological perceptive of the Korean Peninsula, making it a great resource for scholars and students of sociology, contemporary culture, history, religion, colonialism, and geopolitics.
• Presents many of the microeconomic and macroeconomic theories and schools of thought not generally covered in mainstream principles of economics textbooks • Each chapter starts with a short "refresher" of standard neoclassical economic modelling before demonstrating how that model is distorted by people, problems and events in the real world to provide students with a more realistic picture of how the economy works • Updates throughout and new material on populism, racism, inequality, climate change and the covid-19 pandemic • Now has online supplements: quiz questions for students and PowerPoint slides for instructors
First volume exploring spiritual tourism as a phenomenon in Western cultures of travel, discussing the relationship between contemporary tourism and secular approaches to religious practices.
Through a Glass Darkly: Reflections on the Sacred is a collection of research articles on the influence of religion on music, literature and art. The book was edited by Frances Di Lauro with an introduction by Victoria Barker.
The Handbook of Scientology brings together a collection of fresh studies of the most persistently controversial of all contemporary New Religions. In recent years, increasing scholarly attention has been directed at the Church of Scientology, resulting in a small tsunami of new scholarship. We have finally reached a point in time where a book on Scientology need not restrict itself to basics. Thus, for example, the historical chapters in the present volume are not really aimed at providing elementary facts on Scientology’s background, but, rather, focus on understanding how the Church of Scientology developed over the years. In short, the Handbook of Scientology will provide a wealth of n...
This volume explores the religious transformation of each nation in modern Asia. When the Asian people, who were not only diverse in culture and history, but also active in performing local traditions and religions, experienced a socio-political change under the wave of Western colonialism, the religious climate was also altered from a transnational perspective. Part One explores the nationals of China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, focusing on the manifestations of Japanese religion, Chinese foreign policy, the British educational system in Hong Kong in relation to Tibetan Buddhism, the Korean women of Catholicism, and the Scottish impact in late nineteenth century Korea. Part Two approaches South Asia through the topics of astrology, the works of a Gujarātī saint, and Himalayan Buddhism. The third part is focused on the conflicts between ‘indigenous religions and colonialism,’ ‘Buddhism and Christianity,’ ‘Islam and imperialism,’ and ‘Hinduism and Christianity’ in Southeast Asia.