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What is the place of religion in modern political systems? This volume addresses that question by focusing on ten countries across several geographic areas: Western and East-Central Europe, North America, the Middle East and South Asia. These countries are comparable in the sense that they are committed to constitutional rule, have embraced a more or less secular culture, and have formal guarantees of freedom of religion. Yet in all the cases examined here religion impinges on the political system in the form of legal establishment, semi-legitimation, subvention, and/or selective institutional arrangements and its role is reflected in cultural norms, electoral behaviour and public policies. The relationship between religion and politics comes in many varieties in differing countries, yet all are faced with three major challenges: modernity, democracy and the increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-religious nature of their societies.
The theme of conversion constitutes a privileged point to study the framework linking an individual to the sociocultural contexts in which he or she is included. Changes in personal biographies and sociocultural change are interwoven when we speak of conversion: values, speech, norms, behaviors, beliefs, lifestyles, interests--everything is open to potential debate when an individual "converts." Conversion is especially developed here through a connection with the dynamics of pluralism, which appears to be the most peculiar cultural characteristic of our era: what does it mean to speak of "conversion" in a time in which it seems that the presumption of only one "true" truth no longer exists, while instead many different truths live together, each with its own judgment criteria.
For several years now, Russia has been trying to justify her neo-imperialist policies towards Ukraine, promoting the vision of a common “Orthodox civilization,” in reference to the religious and cultural spheres. The Russian Orthodox Church is an important element of “soft power,” whose help the Kremlin authorities are seeking in conducting their policies towards the so-called “near-abroad.” Ukraine comprises an exceptionally important place in this sphere. This book analyzes the role of religion and Eastern Christian communities in Ukrainian social and political life, and the political, social, cultural and civilizational conditions for the development of religious life in Ukrai...
German unification and the political and economic transformations in central Europe signal profound political changes that pose many questions. This book offers a cautiously optimistic set of answers to these questions.
"More than forty chapters detail our current astronomical, compositional, geological, and geophysical knowledge of asteroids, as well as their unique physical processes and interrelationships with comets and meteorites"--Provided by publisher.
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In the past, museums often changed the meaning of icons or statues of deities from sacred to aesthetic, or used them to declare the superiority of Western society, or simply as cultural and historical evidence. The last generation has seen faith groups demanding to control 'their' objects, and curators recognising that objects can only be understood within their original religious context. In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the role religion plays in museums, with major exhibitions highlighting the religious as well as the historical nature of objects.Using examples from all over the world, Religious Objects in Museums is the first book to examine how religious objects are transformed when they enter the museum, and how they affect curators and visitors. It examines the full range of meanings that religious objects may bear - as scientific specimen, sacred icon, work of art, or historical record. Showing how objects may be used to argue a point, tell a story or promote a cause, may be worshipped, ignored, or seen as dangerous or unlucky, this highly accessible book is an essential introduction to the subject.