Download or read book Religion and Progressive Activism written by Ruth Braunstein and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2017-06-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New stories about religiously motivated progressive activism challenge common understandings of the American political landscape. To many mainstream-media saturated Americans, the terms “progressive” and “religious” may not seem to go hand-in-hand. As religion is usually tied to conservatism, an important way in which religion and politics intersect is being overlooked. Religion and Progressive Activism focuses on this significant intersection, revealing that progressive religious activists are a driving force in American public life, involved in almost every political issue or area of public concern. This volume brings together leading experts who dissect and analyze the inner worlds and public strategies of progressive religious activists from the local to the transnational level. It provides insight into documented trends, reviews overlooked case studies, and assesses the varied ways in which progressive religion forces us to deconstruct common political binaries such as right/left and progress/tradition. In a coherent and accessible way, this book engages and rethinks long accepted theories of religion, of social movements, and of the role of faith in democratic politics and civic life. Moreover, by challenging common perceptions of religiously motivated activism, it offers a more grounded and nuanced understanding of religion and the American political landscape.
Download or read book Prophetic Activism written by Helene Slessarev-Jamir and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2011-06-13 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the links between conservative Christians and politics have been drawn strongly in recent years, coming to embody what many think of as religious activism, the profoundly religious nature of community organizing and other more left-leaning justice work has been largely overlooked. Prophetic Activism is the first broad comparative examination of progressive religious activism in the United States. Set up as a counter-narrative to religious conservatism, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of the richness and diversity of contemporary religious activism. Helene Slessarev-Jamir offers five case studies of major progressive religious justice movements that have their roots in liberative interpretations of Scripture: congregational community organizing; worker justice; immigrant rights work; peace-making and reconciliation; and global anti-poverty and debt relief. Drawing on intensive interviews with activists at all levels of this work—from pastors and congregational leaders to local organizers and the executive directors of the national networks—she uncovers the ways in which they construct an ethical framework for their work. In addition to looking at predominantly Christian organizations, the book also highlights the growth of progressive activism among Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists who are engaged in reinterpreting their religious texts to support new forms of activism. Religion and Social Transformation series
Download or read book Progressive Religious written by Robert Patrick Jones and published by Robert P. Jones. This book was released on 2008 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In recent years, Americans have become frustrated with the troubled relationship between religion and politics: an exclusive claim on faith and values from the right and a radical divorce of faith from politics on the left. Now a new group of religious leaders is re-envisioning religion in public life and blazing a trail that goes beyond partisan politics to work for a more just and inclusive society. Progressive & Religious draws on nearly one hundred in-depth interviews with Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist leaders to tell the story of this dynamic, emerging movement." "Robert P. Jones explains how progressive religious leaders are tapping the deep connections between religion and social justice to work on issues like poverty and workers' rights, the environment, health care, pluralism, and human rights."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Catholic Social Activism written by Sharon Erickson Nepstad and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2019-08-27 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of Catholic social thought Many Americans assume that the Catholic Church is inherently conservative, based on its stances on abortion, contraception, and divorce. Yet there is a longstanding tradition of progressive Catholic movements in the United States that have addressed a variety of issues from labor, war, immigration, and environmental protection, to human rights, women’s rights, exploitive development practices, and bellicose foreign policies. These Catholic social movements have helped to shift the Church from an institution that had historically supported incumbent governments and political elites to a Church that has increasingly sided with the vulnerable and oppressed. This book provides a concise history of progressively oriented Catholic Social Thought, which conveys the Catholic Church’s position on a variety of social justice concerns. Sharon Erickson Nepstad introduces key papal encyclicals and other church documents, showing how lay Catholics in the United States have put these ideas into practice through a creative and sometimes provocative political engagement. Nepstad also explores how these progressive movements have pressured the religious hierarchy to respond to pressing social issues, such as women’s ordination, conscription, and the morality of nuclear deterrence policies. Catholic Social Activism vividly depicts how these progressive movements have helped to shape the religious landscape of the United States, and how they have provoked controversy and debate among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
Download or read book Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice written by Brantley W. Gasaway and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2014 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice
Download or read book Prophetic Activism written by Helene Slessarev-Jamir and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the links between conservative Christians and politics have been drawn strongly in recent years, coming to embody what many think of as religious activism, the profoundly religious nature of community organizing and other more left-leaning justice work has been largely overlooked. Prophetic Activism is the first broad comparative examination of progressive religious activism in the United States. Set up as a counter-narrative to religious conservatism, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of the richness and diversity of contemporary religious activism. Helene Slessarev-Jamir offers five case studies of major progressive religious justice movements that have their roots in liberative interpretations of Scripture: congregational community organizing; worker justice; immigrant rights work; peace-making and reconciliation; and global anti-poverty and debt relief. Drawing on intensive interviews with activists at all levels of this workOCofrom pastors and congregational leaders to local organizers and the executive directors of the national networksOCoshe uncovers the ways in which they construct an ethical framework for their work. In addition to looking at predominantly Christian organizations, the book also highlights the growth of progressive activism among Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists who are engaged in reinterpreting their religious texts to support new forms of activism. Religion and Social Transformation series"
Download or read book American Prophets written by Jack Jenkins and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-04-21 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of the country’s most respected religion reporters, a paradigm-shifting discussion of how the Religious Left is actually the moral compass that has long steered America’s political debates, including today. Since the ascendancy of the Religious Right in the 1970s, common wisdom holds that it is a coalition of fundamentalist powerbrokers who are the “moral majority,” setting the standard for conservative Christian values and working to preserve the status quo. But, as national religion reporter Jack Jenkins contends, the country is also driven by a vibrant, long-standing moral force from the left. Constituting an amorphous group of interfaith activists that goes by many names and takes many forms, this coalition has operated since America’s founding — praying, protesting, and marching for common goals that have moved society forward. Throughout our history, the Religious Left has embodied and championed the progressive values at the heart of American democracy—abolition, labor reform, civil rights, environmental preservation. Drawing on his years of reporting, Jenkins examines the re-emergence of progressive faith-based activism, detailing its origins and contrasting its goals with those of the Religious Right. Today’s rapidly expanding interfaith coalition — which includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and other faiths — has become a force within the larger “resistance” movement. Jenkins profiles Washington political insiders—including former White House staffers and faith outreach directors for the campaigns of Barack Obama, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton—as well as a new generation of progressive faith leaders at the forefront today, including: Rev. William Barber II, leader of North Carolina’s Moral Mondays and co-chair of the nationwide Poor People’s campaign Linda Sarsour, co-chair of the Women’s March Rev. Traci Blackmon, a pastor near Ferguson, Missouri who works to lift up black liberation efforts across the country Sister Simone Campbell, head of the Catholic social justice lobby and the “Nuns on the Bus” tour organizer Native American “water protectors” who demonstrated against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop An exciting reevaluation of America’s moral center and an inspiring portrait of progressive faith-in-action, American Prophets will change the way we think about the intersection of politics and religion.
Download or read book Religion Humility and Democracy in a Divided America written by Ruth Braunstein and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2019-08-05 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strong religious convictions motivate citizens to engage in American public life, and are viewed as a source of closed-mindedness and a driver of political polarization. This book combines theoretical reflections on this tension, empirical studies examine how a range of religious actors balance conviction with humility in their political work.
Download or read book Catholic Social Activism written by Sharon Erickson Nepstad and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many Americans assume that the Catholic Church is inherently conservative, based on its stances on abortion, contraception, and divorce. Yet there is a longstanding tradition of progressive Catholic movements in the United States that have addressed a variety of issues from labor, war, immigration, and environmental protection, to human rights, women's rights, exploitive development practices, and bellicose foreign policies. These Catholic social movements have helped to shift the Church from an institution that had historically supported incumbent governments and political elites to a Church that has increasingly sided with the vulnerable and oppressed. This book provides a concise history of progressively oriented Catholic Social Thought, which conveys the Catholic Church's position on a variety of social justice concerns. Sharon Erickson Nepstad introduces key papal encyclicals and other church documents, showing how lay Catholics in the United States have put these ideas into practice through a creative and sometimes provocative political engagement. Nepstad also explores how these progressive movements have pressured the religious hierarchy to respond to pressing social issues, such as women's ordination, conscription, and the morality of nuclear deterrence policies.0'Catholic Social Activism' vividly depicts how these progressive movements have helped to shape the religious landscape of the United States, and how they have provoked controversy and debate among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
Download or read book What Motivates Cultural Progressives written by Associate Professor of Sociology George Yancey and published by . This book was released on 2022-07 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public activism has grown significantly during the 21st century as a cornerstone of the democratic process. But activism, regardless of its ideological roots, is often interpreted through the lens of the culture wars—pitting social movements with opposing ideals against one another. For too long, as George Yancey and David Williamson argue, progressive activists, one side of these culture wars, have been seldom studied and virtually never critiqued in public conversation. Yancey and Williamson describe and analyze the multifaceted cultural progressive movement and its place within the larger American society. What they uncover is a collective identity informed by staunch opposition to cultural conservatives--both political and religious--that is motivated by the progressive activist's preference for absolute rationality. Further, Yancey and Williamson argue that, despite great resistance to conservatives purportedly nonrational appeals, progressive activists are found to use irrational techniques when seeking to establish their movement and position their cause as socially legitimate. In the contemporary heated political climate the often-surprising and likely controversial findings of What Motivates Cultural Progressives? will prove essential, thought-provoking reading for understanding the growing concern over the influence of activism.
Download or read book Divine Rebels written by Deena Guzder and published by Chicago Review Press. This book was released on 2011-05 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an effort to reclaim the fundamental principles of Christianity, moving it away from religious right-wing politics and towards the teachings of Jesus, the American Christian activists profiled in this book agitate for a society free from racism, patriarchy, bigotry, retribution, ecocide, torture, poverty, and militarism. These activists view their faith as a personal commitment with public implications; their world consists of people of religious faith protecting the weak and safeguarding the sacred. Recounting social justice activists on the frontlines of the Christian Left since the 1950s--including Daniel Berrigan, Roy Bourgeois, and SueZann Bosler--this book articulates their faith-based alternative to the mainstream conservative religious agenda and liberal cynicism and describes a long-standing American tradition, which began with the nation's earliest Quaker abolitionists.
Download or read book Religious Feminist Activist written by Laurel Zwissler and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2018-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Religious, Feminist, Activist, Laurel Zwissler investigates the political and religious identities of women who understand their social-justice activism as religiously motivated. Placing these women in historical context as faith-based activists for social change, this book discusses what their activities reveal about the public significance of religion in the pluralistic context of North America and in our increasingly globalized world. Zwissler's ethnographic interviews with feminist Catholics, Pagans, and United Church Protestants reveal radically different views of religious and political expression and illuminate how individual women and their communities negotiate issues of personal identity, spirituality, and political responsibility. Political activists of faith recount adventurous tales of run-ins with police, agonizing moments of fear and powerlessness in the face of global inequality, touching moments of community support, and successful projects that improve the lives of others. Religious, Feminist, Activist combines religion, politics, and globalization--subjects frequently discussed in macro terms--with individual personalities and intimate stories to provide a fresh perspective on what it means to be religiously and politically engaged. Zwissler also provides an insightful investigation into how religion and politics intersect for women on the political left.
Download or read book Civil Religion Today written by Rhys H. Williams and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An important concept that scholars have used to help understand the relationship between religion and the American nation and polity has been 'civil religion.' A seminal article by Robert Bellah appeared just over fifty years ago. A multi-disciplinary array of scholars in this volume assess the concept's origins, history, and continued usefulness. In a period of great political polarization, considering whether there is hope for a unifying value and belief system seems more important than ever"--
Download or read book One Family Under God written by Grace Yukich and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-08-15 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does progressive religion reveal about American ''family values?'' Grace Yukich shows how, in an anti-immigrant climate, religious activists in the New Sanctuary Movement call on Americans to keep immigrant families together by ending deportation.
Download or read book The No Nonsense Guide to Religion written by Symon Hill and published by New Internationalist. This book was released on 2010 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion is a term which is often used in the media and public life without any clarification. However, it is a word that encompasses hundreds of different beliefs. It is also a loaded word that has a different meaning for each person. Religion can be seen as a source of war and peace, love and hate, dialogue and narrow-mindedness. Today, thanks to the globalisation of communications, more people than ever before belong to a different religious community than their parents. This No-Nonsense Guide considers how religion has shaped culture.
Download or read book Building a Heaven on Earth written by Albert L. Park and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2014-12-31 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why and how did Korean religious groups respond to growing rural poverty, social dislocation, and the corrosion of culture caused by forces of modernization under strict Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945)? Questions about religion's relationship and response to capitalism, industrialization, urbanization, and secularization lie at the heart of understanding the intersection between colonialism, religion, and modernity in Korea. Yet, getting answers to these questions has been a challenge because of narrow historical investigations that fail to study religious processes in relation to political, economic, social, and cultural developments. In Building a Heaven on Earth, Albert L. Park studies the progressive drives by religious groups to contest standard conceptions of modernity and forge a heavenly kingdom on the Korean peninsula to relieve people from fierce ruptures in their everyday lives. The results of his study will reconfigure the debates on colonial modernity, the origins of faith-based social activism in Korea, and the role of religion in a modern world. Building a Heaven on Earth, in particular, presents a compelling story about the determination of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), the Presbyterian Church, and the Ch'ŏndogyo to carry out large-scale rural movements to form a paradise on earth anchored in religion, agriculture, and a pastoral life. It is a transnational story of leaders from these three groups leaning on ideas and systems from countries, such as Denmark, France, Japan, and the United States, to help them reform political, economic, social, and cultural structures in colonial Korea. This book shows that these religious institutions provided discursive and material frameworks that allowed for an alternative form of modernity that featured new forms of agency, social organization, and the nation. In so doing, Building a Heaven on Earth repositions our understandings of modern Korean history.
Download or read book Prophets and Patriots written by Ruth Braunstein and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2017-05-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction -- Becoming active citizens -- Narratives of active citizenship -- Putting faith in action -- Holding government accountable -- Styles of active citizenship -- Conclusion
