Religion and the State
A Comparative Sociology
Published on 15. December 2011
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-85728-798-4 (ISBN)
Description
With a clear statement of the theoretical issues in the debates about secularization and post-secularism, 'Religion and the State: A Comparative Sociology' considers a number of major case studies - from China, Europe, Singapore and South Asia - in order to understand the rise of public religions in the modern state. By distinguishing between political secularization - the separation of state and religion - and social secularization - the transformation of the everyday practice of religion - this volume offers an integrating framework within which to analyze these different societies.
Reviews / Votes
'Insightful and wide-ranging [...] The present volume is particularly noteworthy for both breadth and depth. It does not only provide data from Europe, the US, the formerly Communist parts of Europe, China, India, Singapore, Israel, Turkey, Australia, and so on. It uses these data to think more deeply about how religions and states interact in the late modern world. [...] In short, this volume is rich and worth attention.' -James V. Spickard, 'Journal of Contemporary Religion' 'Insightful and wide-ranging [...] The present volume is particularly noteworthy for both breadth and depth. It does not only provide data from Europe, the US, the formerly Communist parts of Europe, China, India, Singapore, Israel, Turkey, Australia, and so on. It uses these data to think more deeply about how religions and states interact in the late modern world. [...] In short, this volume is rich and worth attention.' -James V. Spickard, 'Journal of Contemporary Religion' 'Edited by three sociologists and comprised of essays from a distinguished group of social scientists, 'Religion and the State' considers the uniquely modern frictions between politics, economics, and traditional faiths. Far from a simplistic exploration of secularisation [...] The tensions of religious liberty and religious conviction are familiar, yet the authors of this volume consistently urge us to stop seeing the secular and the religious as distinct realms. [...] A giant step toward greater sophistication is found through evidence provided here.' -Gerardo Marti, 'LSE Review of Books' blog 'This volume offers a mosaic of case studies that challenge classical visions of religion and call for new methodology and concepts that will allow a better grasp of the role of religion(s) in contemporary societies and its interactions with the state. Though most of the authors are sociologists, the problems discussed in this volume address a wider audience, including scholars, specialists and graduates who study religion from the perspectives of law, politics, history and culture.' -Daniela Kalkandjieva, 'Politics, Religion & Ideology' '[A]n extraordinary voyage into Anglo-European social theory and research.' -Arthur W. Frank, 'Canadian Journal of Sociology'More details
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/2011
1st Edition
Anthem Press
€96.99
Available for download
Persons
Jack Barbalet is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Adam Possamai is Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Western Sydney and President of the Research Committee on Religion at the International Sociological Association.
Bryan S. Turner is the Presidential Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, University of Western Sydney.
Adam Possamai is Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Western Sydney and President of the Research Committee on Religion at the International Sociological Association.
Bryan S. Turner is the Presidential Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, University of Western Sydney.
Content
Introduction: States, Consumption and Managing Religion; PART I: FROM DEPRIVITIZATION TO SECURITIZATION; 1. Religion in Liberal and Authoritarian States; 2. Religion in Prisons and in Partnership with the State; 3. The Secularization Thesis and the Secular State: Reflections with Special Attention to Debates in Australia; 4. Secularism, Religion and the Status Quo; 5. Managing China's Muslim Minorities: Migration, Labor and the Rise of Ethnoreligious Consciousness among Uyghurs in Urban Xinjiang; 6. The Tension Between State and Religion in American Foreign Policy; 7. Church, State and Society in Post-communist Europe; PART II: FROM PIETISM TO CONSUMERISM; 8. Chinese Religion, Market Society and the State; 9. Hindu Normalization, Nationalism and Consumer Mobilization; 10. Clash of Secularity and Religiosity: The Staging of Secularism and Islam through the Icons of Atatuerk and the Veil in Turkey; 11. Gramsci, Jediism, the Standardization of Popular Religion and the State; PART III: CONCLUDING COMMENTS; 12. Concerning the Current Recompositions of Religion and of Politics; 13. Public Religions and the State: A Comparative Perspective