Download or read book Reason Community and Religious Tradition written by Scott Matthews and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2001: Reason, Community and Religious Tradition examines key questions about the relationship of rationality to its contexts by tracing the early history of the so-called 'ontological' argument. The book follows Anselm's Proslogion from its origins in the private, devotional context of an eleventh-century monastery to its reception in the public and adversarial contexts of the friars' schools in the thirteenth century. Using unpublished manuscript evidence from the Dominican and Franciscan schools at Oxford, Paris and Bologna in the thirteenth century, Matthews argues that the debate over Anselm's argument embodied the broader religious differences between the Franciscan and Dominican communities. By comparing the most famous figures of the period with their lesser-known contemporaries, Matthews argues that the Friars thought as communities and developed as traditions as they developed their arguments. This book will interest anyone concerned with the nature of rationality, and its relationship to communities and traditions, and what this entails for rational debate across cultural divides. In particular, it offers a fresh perspective on traditional approaches to the rationality of religion and religious belief.
Download or read book Reason Community and Religious Tradition written by Scott Matthews and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2001 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reason, Community and Religious Tradition examines key questions about the relationship of rationality to its contexts by tracing the early history of the so-called 'ontological' argument. The book follows Anselm's Proslogion from its origins in the private, devotional context of an eleventh-century monastery to its reception in the public and adversarial contexts of the friars' schools in the thirteenth century. Using unpublished manuscript evidence from the Dominican and Franciscan schools at Oxford, Paris and Bologna in the thirteenth century, Matthews argues that the debate over Anselm's argument embodied the broader religious differences between the Franciscan and Dominican communities. This book will interest anyone concerned with the nature of rationality, and its relationship to communities and traditions, and what this entails for rational debate across cultural divides. In particular, it offers a fresh perspective on traditional approaches to the rationality of religion and religious belief.
Download or read book Religion and Families written by Loren D. Marks and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first multidisciplinary text to address the growing scholarly connection between religion and family life. The latest literature from family studies, psychology, sociology, and religion is reviewed along with narratives drawn from interviews with 200 racially, religiously, and regionally diverse families which bring the concepts to life. Written in a thought-provoking, accessible, and sometimes humorous style by two of the leading researchers in the field, the book reflects the authors’ firsthand experience in teaching today’s students about religion’s impact on families. Prior to writing the book, the authors read the sacred texts of many faiths, interviewed religious leaders, and attended religious services for a wide array of faiths. The result is an accurate and engaging account of why and how families are impacted by their religion. The pedagogical features of the text include boldfaced key terms defined in the glossary, text boxes, chapter conclusions, summary points, and review questions. Religion and Families: Examines several denominations within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Reviews findings from racially and ethnically diverse families, from traditional and diverse family forms, and examines gender and life-course issues. Addresses the impact of one’s religious involvement on longevity, divorce rates, and parenting styles. Considers demographic, family-, couple-, and individual-level data that relate to prayer and other sacred practices. Presents a balanced treatment of the latest research and a new model for studying family and religion. Explores the "whys," "hows," and processes at work in the religion-family connection. The book opens with a discussion of why religion and family connections matter. Chapter 2 defines religion and presents a new conceptualization of religion. Empirical research connections between religion and marriage, divorce, family, and parent-child relationships are explored in chapters 3 through 6. The interface between religion and the family in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are reviewed in chapters 7, 8, and 9. Chapter 10 explores the unique challenges that religion presents for diverse family forms. Prayer as a coping mechanism for life’s challenges such as death and disability are explored in chapter 11. Chapter 12 examines forgiveness in the context of marriages and families. The book concludes with a review of the book’s most important themes and findings. Intended as a text for undergraduate courses in family and religion, the psychology or sociology of the family, the psychology or sociology of religion, pastoral/biblical counseling, or family and youth ministry, taught in human development and family studies, psychology, sociology, religion, social work, pastoral counseling, and sometimes philosophy. This book also appeals to family therapists and counselors.
Download or read book Education Politics and Religion written by James Arthur and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-06-28 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years a number of popular books have savaged religion arguing it is a dangerous delusion that poisons human societies and relationships. This is but the most recent manifestation of a secularising agenda that has been sweeping contemporary democratic societies since the Enlightenment. This book pushes back against that agenda, examining its key assumptions and arguing that the exclusion of religious people and ideas from education and the public square is both undemocratic and unwise. For the most part the book draws arguments and examples from Christianity, the religious tradition of the authors, but it recognises that many religions share the concerns and possibilities examined. The book examines contemporary expressions of the secularising agenda in Western democracies with particular focus on how that is played out in education. It demonstrates how republican theory understood within a faith perspective provides a shared understanding and substantive basis for education within a Western democracy. It explores the historical connections and disconnections between religion and civic life in the West from ancient to contemporary times and examines religiously based civic action and pedagogical approaches contending both have the potential to contribute greatly to democracy. It will be of value to any who are interested in exploring how democracies can include the voices of all their citizens: the religious and the secular.
Download or read book Religion and Social Problems written by Titus Hjelm and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-01-21 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although students and scholars of social problems have often acknowledged the role of religion, no thorough examinations of the relation between the two have emerged. This book fills this gap by providing a definitive work on the impact of religion on social problems, religion as a solution to social problems, and religion as a social problem in itself.
Download or read book Celibacy and Religious Traditions written by Carl Olson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-12-07 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If sexuality is inherently social, the same thing can be said about celibacy. An understanding of celibacy, argues Carl Olson, can be a useful way to view the significance of the human body within a social context. The purpose of this book is to examine how the practice of celibacy differs cross-culturally as well as historically within a particular religious tradition. The essays (all previously unpublished) will demonstrate that celibacy is a complex religious phenomenon. The control of sexual desire can be used to divorce oneself from a basic human biological drive, to separate oneself from what is perceived as impure, or to distance oneself from a transient world. Within different religious traditions there can be found the practice of temporary celibacy, commitment to long-term permanent celibacy, and outright condemnations of it. By maintaining a state of virginity, members of some religious traditions imitate divine models; other traditions do not admit the possibility of emulating such paradigms. Whether or not a religious tradition encourages or discourages it, the practice of celibacy gives us insight into its worldview, social values, gender relations, ethics, religious roles, and understanding of the physical body. Celibacy can contribute to the creation of a certain status and play a role in the construction of identity, while serving as a source of charisma. In some religious traditions, it is possible to renounce sex and gain sacred status and economic support from society. Each essay in the collection will be written by an expert in a particular religious tradition. Each will address such questions as: Why do some members of a religious community decide to maintain a celibate style of religious life? Is celibacy a prerequisite for religious office or status? Are there different contexts within a given religious tradition for the practice of celibacy? What does the choice of celibacy tell us about the human body in a particular religious culture? What is the symbolic significance of celibacy? What is its connection to the acquisition of power? What are its physical or spiritual benefits? The first collection of its kind, this book will be a valuable resource for courses in world religions, as well as a contribution to our understanding of this very widespread but puzzling human phenomenon.
Download or read book Religion written by Christian Smith and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-02 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking new theory of religion Religion remains an important influence in the world today, yet the social sciences are still not adequately equipped to understand and explain it. This book builds on recent developments in science, theory, and philosophy to advance an innovative theory of religion that goes beyond the problematic theoretical paradigms of the past. Drawing on the philosophy of critical realism and personalist social theory, Christian Smith answers key questions about the nature, powers, workings, appeal, and future of religion. He defines religion in a way that resolves myriad problems and ambiguities in past accounts, explains the kinds of causal influences religion exerts in the world, and examines the key cognitive process that makes religion possible. Smith explores why humans are religious in the first place—uniquely so as a species—and offers an account of secularization and religious innovation and persistence that breaks the logjam in which so many religion scholars have been stuck for so long. Certain to stimulate debate and inspire promising new avenues of scholarship, Religion features a wealth of illustrations and examples that help to make its concepts accessible to readers. This superbly written book brings sound theoretical thinking to a perennially thorny subject, and a new vitality and focus to its study.
Download or read book Religion and Politics in Russia written by Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer and published by M.E. Sharpe. This book was released on 2009-11-09 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Russia is not only vast, it is also culturally diverse, the core of an empire that spanned Eurasia. In addition to the majority Russian Orthodox and various other Christian groups, the Russian Federation includes large communities of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and members of other religious groups, some with ancient historical roots. All are in a state of ferment, and securing formal state recognition for specific communities is often daunting. This collection provides entry into the diversity of Russia's religious communities. Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer's introduction to the volume illuminates major political, social, and cultural-anthropological trends. The book is organized by religious tradition or identity, with further thematic perspectives on each set of readings. The authors include ethnologists, sociologists, political analysts, and religious leaders from many regions of the Federation. They analyze the changing dynamics of religion and politics within each community and in the context of the current drive to recentralize both political and religious authority in Moscow. Topical coverage extends from reassertions of Russian Orthodoxy to activities of Christian and Muslim missionaries to the revival of many other religions, including indigenous shamanic ones.
Download or read book Radhasoami Tradition written by David Lane and published by . This book was released on 2023-03-22 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Radhasoami Tradition is an important contribution to several scholarly literatures: on Southeast Asian studies; the sociology of religion, and the sociology of politics. Dr. Lane has gathered a truly impressive array of data on the process of choosing a new guru in the Radhasoami tradition. No serious scholar of Indian religion can ignore Lane's work. The data he has collected will be the building blocks for all future research on this area. To this data, David has applied a very insightful, original conceptual framework combining elements of Weberian theory on the transmission of charisma, of phenomenological theory on the sociology of experience, and the theories of "ideological work" developed by Bennett Berger. The result is the kind of scholarship that deeply respects the authenticity of the religious experience of the Radhasoami community while at the same time making it possible to understand that experience in the context of cultural processes and organizational dynamics common to many different religious communities. --Professor Madsen, Co-author of Habits of the Heart The Radhasoami Tradition is one of the best works I have read in many years in the field of modern religion and society. Its great strength, I feel, is its understanding of the concept of authority in the Radhasoami tradition and in religious communities in India in general. At no greater time is this concept tested and honed than in the process of succession from one spiritual master to another. These are often difficult moments for the Radhasoami communities, and for this reason inside knowledge about guru succession is very difficult to obtain. Dr. Lane not only has this information, he has it in abundance. He is able to work with this vast knowledge of Radhasoami history and make useful sociological observations on the basis of it. --Professor Juergensmeyer, Author of Radhasoami Reality The Radhasoami Tradition is a masterful work. Dr. Lane demonstrates the dynamics and history of Indian religious movements in the Hindu tradition and provides a basis for comparative analysis. Building on the classics in the sociology of religion and new studies of religious movements, Dr. Lane skillfully show how religious traditions are maintained in the midst of change, conflict, and negotiation. --Professor Jules-Rosette, Author of The New Religions of Africa
Download or read book Reason and God written by John Edwin Smith and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book In Defense of Religious Liberty written by David Novak and published by Intercollegiate Studies Institute. This book was released on 2009 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Novak works his way through the sources of Jewish revelation and the many strands of philosophy to inquire whether a civil society can reasonably claim to be founded in a manner that withstands absolutist tyrannies. He notes that it is not within politics itself that the foundation of political good sense is found. It is found in the prior relation of citizens to God which a polity accepts as good but not of its own making. It is a most valuable effort to have these ideas spelled out so clearly and forcefully." -- James V. Schall, S.J. Georgetown University "This is the serious and thoughtful conservative work on law and religion that people who are not conservatives should read, and grapple with. Such people will find Novak''s arguments by turns illuminating and exasperating, and they will fight with the book, as I did, but they will learn a great deal in the process, and the sort of respectful engagement with opposing positions for which Novak has always stood in his career is what he richly deserves to get." -- Martha C. Nussbaum Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, Law, Philosophy, and Divinity, University of Chicago "Through the analysis of the books of Genesis and Exodus, Novak confronts the central claim of secularists that religion is somehow an enemy to human rights. . . . It is Novak''s great achievement to lay out the necessity for a secular policy to acknowledge the need for religious belief, even as he challenges secularists to return to return to their own premises." --Touchstone "Perhaps the most striking and distinctive aspect of In Defense of Religious Liberty is Novak''s consistent, almost dogged, insistence that religion is not private, personal, or individual. . . . This work is a powerful and provocative defense of what Thomas Jefferson called our nation''s boldest experiment in religious libery." -- First Things "Novak continues his monumental effort to demonstrate the relevance of Jewish texts and traditions for contemporary political thought...He deserves a wider audience for his argument for the liberty of religious communities to influence the public square...Novak relies upon a concept of natural law in which philosophy and the Jewish tradition are able to meet...He constructs a stunning defense of religious liberty, albeit one that ultimately reads the tradition from a thoroughly modern perspective." --The Review of Politics "A thought provoking examination of religion and democracy...In fact, the primacy of divine lawis the best foundation for a secular and multicultural democracy, Novak concludes." --Catholic Library World In Defense of Religious Liberty contains David Novak''s vigorous--and paradoxical--argument that the primacy of divine law is the best foundation for a secular, multicultural democracy. Novak presents his claim, which will astound both liberal and conservative advocates of democracy, in political, philosophical, and theological terms. He shows how the universal norms of divine law are knowable as natural law, that they are the best formulations of the human rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that their assertion includes an explicit recognition of God as cosmic lawgiver. Furthermore, Novak maintains that the seemingly disparate ideas of divine command, natural law, and human rights can be integrated into one overall political theory. Novak reveals this integration at work in the classical texts of his own Jewish tradition, as well as in the canonical philosophical tradition of the West, from Plato to the Stoics to Grotius to Kant. He also convincingly makes the case that those who reject any legitimate role for religion in discussions of public morality inevitably substitute arbitrary human power for divine command, arbitrary positive law for natural law, and arbitrary governmental entitlements for human rights that exist prior to the establishment of the state. Novak concludes that religious traditions like Judaism, precisely because they incorporate the doctrines of God the cosmic lawgiver, natural law, and human rights, provide the most coherent ontological foundation for democracy in today''s world.
Download or read book Islam and Muslim Psyche written by Muhammad Nawaz Ph. D. and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the dawn of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula during the seventh century, a new civilization was born. It represented a culture of enlightenment emulating a universal human brotherhood, a life of peace with justice and truth, and a constant striving to eradicate oppression, bigotry and inequalities among human beings. The acquisition of knowledge or the quest for truth became a noble pursuit with an unyielding spirit of inquiry to unravel the secrets of the universe. The main purpose of the book is to highlight the endeavors of the Muslim scholars who kept the light of erudition aflame for centuries during the Middle Ages and beyond until the beginning of the European Renaissance. They were the torch bearers of reason, scientific thinking and creative expression. Their erudite contributions encompassed a great variety of disciplines as they wrote multi-volume works of original nature. They also assimilated notable works of the scholars of Greece, India and other countries and disseminated them through translations and commentaries. The impact of the Islamic civilization during its centuries of glory and enlightenment could be felt in its social and political institutions. Following the edicts of Islam, political authority was generally exercised with prudence being mindful of the demands of impartial justice, public welfare, and a strict code of legal protections for the people of non-Muslim affiliations. A recurrent theme of the book is that peace on earth could be established only by a fervent commitment to justice by every nation of the world. The book also calls to attention the concordance between Islam and modernity with the presumption that the Islamic doctrine can besuccessfully adapted to the exigencies of the changing times. The concluding sections of the book contain a narrative of the state of Muslim nations of the world presently faced with internal dissentions and a negative portrayal of Islam in the West. The lag of knowledge and predominance of extremism in some of the Muslim countries have precarious effects on their future. It is high time for Muslims to reclaim their intellectual heritage and pursue the path of reason and enlightenment both in their religious beliefs and their vision of the world community with a venerable place for them.
Download or read book Responses to the Enlightenment written by William Sweet and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the time of the Enlightenment in Western Europe, discussions of faith and reason have often pitted the believer against the skeptic, the theist against the atheist, and the person of one faith against the person of no professed faith. But the relation of reason to faith has been a matter of debate among believers as well. There are those who hold that religious faith can be proven or supported by rational argument. Others say that to try to give reasons and arguments does violence to religious faith, or opens it to misunderstanding and doubt, or trivializes it. Responses to the Enlightenment: An Exchange on Foundations, Faith, and Community is a dialogue between Hendrik Hart and William Sweet, two philosophers who identify themselves as Christians, and who seek to respond to the challenges of the Enlightenment and its legacy. The authors approach the relation of faith to reason, however, in very different ways: Hart from the perspective of the Calvinian tradition and postmodern philosophy, Sweet from the Catholic tradition and analytic philosophy. Among the topics discussed are the nature of religious faith and of reason, liberalism and orthodoxy in religion, the relation of religious experience and rationality, and building community in a religiously and culturally pluralistic world. This exchange presents two distinctive perspectives to some of the major challenges of the reason to religious belief, but seeks to find common ground between them.
Download or read book Black Natural Law written by Vincent W. Lloyd and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black Natural Law offers a new way of understanding the African American political tradition. Iconoclastically attacking left (including James Baldwin and Audre Lorde), right (including Clarence Thomas and Ben Carson), and center (Barack Obama), Vincent William Lloyd charges that many Black leaders today embrace secular, white modes of political engagement, abandoning the deep connections between religious, philosophical, and political ideas that once animated Black politics. By telling the stories of Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Martin Luther King, Jr., Lloyd shows how appeals to a higher law, or God's law, have long fueled Black political engagement. Such appeals do not seek to implement divine directives on earth; rather, they pose a challenge to the wisdom of the world, and they mobilize communities for collective action. Black natural law is deeply democratic: while charismatic leaders may provide the occasion for reflection and mobilization, all are capable of discerning the higher law using our human capacities for reason and emotion. At a time when continuing racial injustice poses a deep moral challenge, the most powerful intellectual resources in the struggle for justice have been abandoned. Black Natural Law recovers a rich tradition, and it examines just how this tradition was forgotten. A Black intellectual class emerged that was disconnected from social movement organizing and beholden to white interests. Appeals to higher law became politically impotent: overly rational or overly sentimental. Recovering the Black natural law tradition provides a powerful resource for confronting police violence, mass incarceration, and today's gross racial inequities. Black Natural Law will change the way we understand natural law, a topic central to the Western ethical and political tradition. While drawing particularly on African American resources, Black Natural Law speaks to all who seek politics animated by justice.
Download or read book Reason Faith and Tradition written by Martin C. Albl and published by Saint Mary's Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is religious belief reasonable? Specifically, is the doctrine of the Catholic faith consistent with reason? Drawing on Catholic and Christian theological traditions, Martin Albl engages readers in theological thinking on various topics including the Trinity, Christology, ecclesiology, human nature, sin, salvation, revelation, and eschatology. Clear and focused, the text links traditional teaching with contemporary issues to show the relevance of faith to contemporary issues. A glossary, cross-referencing system, text and discussion questions, and footnotes with information about Internet resources provide more in-depth information. --Publisher description.
Download or read book Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures written by Mary Baker Eddy and published by BEYOND BOOKS HUB. This book was released on 2024-02-12 with total page 3 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science and Health, With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy is a seminal work that serves as the foundational text of Christian Science, offering profound insights into the nature of spirituality, healing, and the relationship between God and humanity. Originally published in the late 19th century, this book presents Eddy's theological perspectives and teachings, emphasizing the power of spiritual understanding in achieving physical and mental well-being.
Download or read book African Religions written by Jacob K. Olupona and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book connects traditional religions to the thriving religious activity in Africa today.
