Religion and Academia Reframed: Connecting Religion, Science, and Society in the Long Sixties


Book Description

The Long Sixties (1955–1973) were a period of economic prosperity, political unrest, sexual liberation, cultural experimentation, and profound religious innovation throughout the Western world. This social effervescence also affected the study of religion by reshaping the relationships between academic and religious institutions and discourses. While the mainstream churches sought to deploy the instruments of the social sciences to understand and manage the changing socioreligious context, prominent scholars regarded the bubbly spirituality of the counterculture as the harbinger of a new era; some of them actively used their academic knowledge to further this revolution. This book discusses the multiple entanglements of religion and science during these turbulent decades through theoretically informed case studies from both sides of the Atlantic.




Encyclopedia of Applied Developmental Science


Book Description

"The most comprehensive, one-stop source for the latest in applied developmental science." —Don Floyd, President and CEO, National 4-H Council The Encyclopedia of Applied Developmental Science is an important and timely contribution to this burgeoning field. This four-volume set is the authoritative source that encompasses the entire range of concepts and topics involved in the study of applied developmental science. Its contents and levels have broad appeal for those interested in how the application of knowledge about human development can be used to enhance the lives of individuals, families, and communities. The breadth of activity in applied developmental science makes adequate representation of its concepts and topics a daunting challenge. To this end, the encyclopedia seeks to answer the following questions: How may information about this field be integrated in a manner accessible, meaningful, and useful to the next generation of the leaders of our nation and world? How may we best convey the knowledge necessary for them to understand the nature of their development and the way that they may contribute positively to their own lives, to their families and communities, and to the designed and natural environments of which they will be stewards? The Encyclopedia of Applied Developmental Science provides the most effective way to address these questions. It includes entries written in an authoritative but not overly technical manner by the broad range of scholars and practitioners involved in applied developmental science. In addition to an alphabetical table of contents, there is a readers′ guide that organizes the entries into 30 content categories to help the reader locate similarly themed entries with ease. The encyclopedia is ideal for libraries serving those with interests in psychology, human development/human ecology, education, sociology, family and consumer sciences, and nursing, as well as social work and other human services disciplines. The entries are written to be accessible to not only professionals, but also to policy makers and other potential consumers of applied developmental science scholarship. This includes young people and their parents, teachers, and counselors. Topics Covered Adolescent Development ADS Training and Education Adult Development Biographies of Applied Developmental Scientists Child Development Civic Engagement Culture and Diversity Development Promoting Interventions Developmental Assessment Developmental Disorders Developmental Processes Developmental Risks Ecology of Human Development Emotional and Social Development Ethics Families Foundations Health Historical Influences Infant Development Organizations Parenting Personality Development Religiosity and Spirituality Research Methodology Schools Social Issues Theory Universities Youth Programs Advisory Board Peter Benson, President, Search Institute Joan Bergstrom, Wheelock College Nancy A. Busch-Rossnagel, Fordham University Roger A. Dixon, University of Alberta Felton "Tony" Earls, Harvard University Robert C. Granger, William T. Grant Foundation Daniel P. Keating, University of Toronto Kim Choo Khoo, National University of Singapore Kaveh Khoshnood, Yale University Bonnie Leadbeater, University of Victoria Rick Little, President & CEO, The ImagineNations Group Gary B. Melton, Clemson University Jari-Erik Nurmi, University of Jyväskylä, Finland Ellen Pinderhughes, Vanderbilt University Avi Sagi-Schwartz, University of Haifa, Israel T.S. Saraswathi, University of Baroda, India Rainer K. Silbereisen, University of Jena, Germany Merrill Singer, Chief of Research, Hispanic Health Council, Inc. Margaret Beale Spencer, University of Pennsylvania Linda Thompson, University of Maryland Richard A. Weinberg, University of Minnesota Hirokazu Yoshikawa, New York University Luis H. Zayas, Washington University, St. Louis Edward Zigler, Yale University




Gods in the Global Village


Book Description

In a world plagued by religious conflict, how can the various religious and secular traditions coexist peacefully on the planet? And, what role does sociology play in helping us understand the state of religious life in a globalizing world? In the Fourth Edition ofGods in the Global Village, author Lester Kurtz continues to address these questions. This text is an engaging, thought-provoking examination of the relationships among the major faith traditions that inform the thinking and ethical standards of most people in the emerging global social order. Thoroughly updated to reflect recent events, the book discusses the role of religion in our daily lives and global politics, and the ways in which religion is both an agent of, and barrier to, social change.




The Anthropology of Catholicism


Book Description

Aimed at a wide audience of readers, The Anthropology of Catholicism is the first companion guide to this burgeoning field within the anthropology of Christianity. Bringing to light Catholicism’s long but comparatively ignored presence within the discipline of anthropology, the book introduces readers to key studies in the field, as well as to current analyses on the present and possible futures of Catholicism globally. This reader provides both ethnographic material and theoretical reflections on Catholicism around the world, demonstrating how a revised anthropology of Catholicism can generate new insights and analytical frameworks that will impact anthropology as well as other disciplines.




Religion and Education


Book Description

This first issue of the Brill Research Perspectives in Religion and Education makes the case for 'religion and education' as a distinct but cross-disciplinary field of inquiry. Authors argue for and outline the particular insights to be gleaned about 'religion and education' on the basis of their commitment to particular methodologies involved in its study, namely the historical, philosophical, sociological and psychological.




Evangelical Worship


Book Description

Say the words "evangelical worship" to anyone in the United States -- even if they are not particularly religious -- and a picture will likely spring to mind unbidden: a mass of white, middle-class worshippers with eyes closed, faces tilted upward, and hands raised to the sky. Yet despite the centrality of this image, many scholars have underestimated evangelical worship as little more than a manipulative effort to arouse devotional exhilaration. It is frequently dismissed as a reiteration of nineteenth-century revivalism or a derivative imitation of secular entertainment -- three Christian rock songs and a spiritual TED talk. But by failing to engage this worship seriously, we miss vital insights into a form of Protestantism that exerts widespread influence in the United States and around the world. Evangelical Worship offers a new way forward in the study of American evangelical Christianity. Weaving together insights from American religious history and liturgical studies, and drawing on extensive fieldwork in seven congregations, Melanie C. Ross brings contemporary evangelical worship to life. She argues that corporate worship is not a peripheral "extra" tacked on to a fully-formed spiritual, political, and cultural movement, but rather the crucible through which congregations forge, argue over, and enact their unique contributions to the American mosaic known as evangelicalism.




Unearthly Powers


Book Description

This ground-breaking study sets out a new understanding of transformations in the interaction between religion and political authority throughout history.




Theory and Method in the Study of Religion


Book Description

Theory and Method are two words that cause considerable consternation in the academic study of religion. Although everyone claims to be aware of and to engage them, the fact of the matter is that they remain poorly understood. Some see the terms as irritants that get in the way of data interpretation and translation. Others may invoke them sporadically to appear in vogue but then return quickly and myopically to their material and with little concern for the larger issues that such terms raise. To contribute to these debates, the present volume reproduces select articles from Method and Theory in the Study of Religion (MTSR) from the first 25 volumes of the journal, and allows a group of younger scholars to introduce and review them, asking if the issues raised are still relevant to the field. Contributors include: Matt Sheedy, Robert A. Segal, James B. Apple, Neil McMullin, Rebekka King, Russell McCutcheon, Craig Martin, Donal Wiebe, Emma Cohen, Robert N. McCauley, E. Thomas Lawson, Steven Engler, Mark Q. Gardiner, Bruce Lincoln, Sarah E. Rollens, Burton Mack, Yasmin Merchant, Herb Bergh, Jennifer Hall, Darlene Juschka, Ella Paldam, and Armin Geertz.




Borders: A Very Short Introduction


Book Description

Compelling and accessible, this Very Short Introduction challenges the perception of borders as passive lines on a map, revealing them instead to be integral forces in the economic, social, political, and environmental processes that shape our lives. Highlighting the historical development and continued relevance of borders, Alexander Diener and Joshua Hagen offer a powerful counterpoint to the idea of an imminent borderless world, underscoring the impact borders have on a range of issues, such as economic development, inter- and intra-state conflict, global terrorism, migration, nationalism, international law, environmental sustainability, and natural resource management. Diener and Hagen demonstrate how and why borders have been, are currently, and will undoubtedly remain hot topics across the social sciences and in the global headlines for years to come. This compact volume will appeal to a broad, interdisciplinary audience of scholars and students, including geographers, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, historians, international relations and law experts, as well as lay readers interested in understanding current events.




The Science of Religion: A Defence


Book Description

Donald Wiebe, Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Trinity College, University of Toronto, has spent much of his academic career arguing for a clear demarcation between Theology and Religious Studies. The Science of Religion: A Defence offers a brilliant overview of Professor Wiebe's contributions on methodology in the academic study of religion, of the development of his thinking over time, and of his intellectual commitment to 'a science of religion'. The work is divided into three parts. The first part identifies pertinent connections between 'religion', 'religious studies', and 'science' and why 'reductionism' in the academic study of religion, when properly applied, can bridge the explanatory gap between the sceptic and the devotee. The second part treats conceptual debates in the academic study of religion, with particular reference to the place of 'belief', 'understanding', and 'meaning' in the modern study of religion. The third part addresses the theological resistance to the scientific study of religion and how that resistance can be overcome. Finally, two new essays are included: a critique on ‘The Preconceptions of a Science of Religion’ by Anthony J. Palma, and an accompanying reply by Donald Wiebe. The Science of Religion: A Defence is an essential resource for both scholarly and non-scholarly audiences alike, and will be of particular interest to both defenders and critics of a scientific study of religion.