- Table View
- List View
The Transformation of American Religion: The Story of a Late-Twentieth-Century Awakening
by Amanda PorterfieldAs recently as a few decades ago, most people would have described America as a predominantly Protestant nation. Today, we are home to a colorful mix of religious faiths and practices, from a resurgent Catholic Church and a rapidly growing Islam to all forms of Buddhism and many other non-Christian religions. How did this startling transformation take place? <p><p> A great many factors contributed to this transformation, writes Amanda Porterfield in this engaging look at religion in contemporary America. Religious activism, disillusionment with American culture stemming from the Vietnam war, the influx of Buddhist ideas, a heightened consciousness of gender, and the vastly broadened awareness of non-Christian religions arising from the growth of religious studies programs--all have served to undermine Protestant hegemony in the United States. But the single most important factor, says Porterfield, was the very success of Protestant ways of thinking: emphasis on the individual's relationship with God, tension between spiritual life and religious institutions, egalitarian ideas about spiritual life, and belief in the practical benefits of spirituality. <p><p> Distrust of religious institutions, for instance, helped fuel a religious counterculture--the tendency to define spiritual truth against the dangers or inadequacies of the surrounding culture--and Protestantism's pragmatic view of spirituality played into the tendency to see the main function of religion as therapeutic. For anyone interested in how and why the American religious landscape has been so dramatically altered in the last forty years, The Transformation of Religion in America offers a coherent and persuasive analysis.
The Transformation of Kurdish and Islamist Parties in Turkey: Consequences for Regime Change
by Pelin Ayan MusilThis book analyzes the transformation of ethnic and religious political parties in Turkey with special focus on their role in the country’s democratization and regime changes. Turkey went through a process of autocratization under the rule of the AKP government over the last two decades. Scholars question the structural, agent-centered and cultural factors that led the country on this path, and provide the lessons learnt from this case for other cases of democratic decline or breakdown. This book contributes to this debate. It treats the three national elections (2002, 2007, 2015-June) as opportunities for democratization, in which the Islamist-successor AKP (in 2002, 2007) and the Kurdish-successor HDP (in 2015-June) managed to overcome identity politics and received the organized support from social groups outside of their traditional constituency. This book argues that in a semi-democratic context where repressive acts of the state (e.g. banning of parties, arresting politicians) have been subject to widespread public criticism, confronting the state becomes a salient issue. When these parties manage to frame this issue as one of democracy, they take ownership of it, and this then becomes an opportunity for democratizing the regime. This opportunity, yet, can be missed if the party follows an office-seeking strategy rather than a policy-seeking one.
The Transformation of Politicised Religion: From Zealots into Leaders
by Rachid Ouaissa Hartmut Elsenhans Mary Ann TétreaultIncluding contributions from leading scholars from Algeria, France, Germany, India and the United States this book traces the rise and turn to moderation of the New Cultural Identitarian Political Movements, often labelled in the West as fundamentalists. Arguing that culturally based ideologies are often the instruments, rather than the motivating force though which segments of a rising middle strata challenge entrenched elites the expert contributors trace the rise of these movements to changes in their respective countries’ political economy and class structures. This approach explains why, as a result of an ongoing contestation and recreation of bourgeois values, the more powerful of these movements then tend towards moderation. As Western countries realise the need to engage with the more moderate wings of fundamentalist political groups their rationale and aims become of increasing importance and so academics, decision-makers and business people interested in South Asia and the Muslim world will find this an invaluable account.
The Transformation of Tamil Religion: Ramalinga Swamigal (1823–1874) and Modern Dravidian Sainthood (Routledge South Asian Religion Series)
by Srilata RamanThis book analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th century and his posthumous reception in the Tamil country and sheds light on the transformation of Tamil religion that both his works and the understanding of him brought about. The book traces the hagiographical and biographical process by which Ramalinga Swamigal is shifted from being considered an exemplary poet-saint of the Tamil Śaivite bhakti tradition to a Dravidian nationalist social reformer. Taking as a starting point Ramalinga’s own writing, the book presents him as inhabiting a border zone between early modernity and modernity, between Hinduism and Christianity, between colonialism and regional nationalism, highlighting the influence of his teachings on politics, particularly within Dravidian cultural and political nationalism. Simultaneously, the book considers the implication of such an hagiographical process for the transformation of Tamil religion in the period between the 19th –mid-20th centuries. The author demonstrates that Ramalinga Swamigal’s ideology of compassion, cīvakāruṇyam, had not only a long genealogy in pre-modern Tamil Śaivism but also that it functioned as a potentially emancipatory ethics of salvation and caste critique not just for him but also for other Tamil and Dalit intellectuals of the 19th century. This book is a path-breaking study that also traces the common grounds between the religious visions of two of the most prominent subaltern figures of Tamil modernity – Iyothee Thass and Ramalingar. It argues that these transformations are one meaningful way for a religious tradition to cope with and come to terms with the implications of historicization and the demands of colonial modernity. It is, therefore, a valuable contribution to the field of religion, South Asian history and literature and Subaltern studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315794518 has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
The Transformation of a Religious Landscape: Medieval Southern Italy, 850–1150
by Valerie RamseyerThe Transformation of a Religious Landscape paints a detailed picture of the sheer variety of early medieval Christian practice and organization, as well as the diverse modes in which church reform manifested itself in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. From the rich archives of the abbey of the Holy Trinity of Cava, Valerie Ramseyer reconstructed the complex religious history of southern Italy. No single religious or political figure claimed authority in the region before the eleventh century, and pastoral care was provided by a wide variety of small religious houses. The line between the secular and the regular clergy was not well pronounced, nor was the boundary between the clergy and the laity or between eastern and western religious practices. In the second half of the eleventh century, however, the archbishop of Salerno and the powerful abbey of Cava acted to transform the situation. Centralized and hierarchical ecclesiastical structures took shape, and an effort was made to standardize religious practices along the lines espoused by reform popes such as Leo IX and Gregory VII. Yet prelates in southern Italy did not accept all aspects of the reform program emanating from centers such as Rome and Cluny, and the region's religious life continued to differ in many respects from that in Francia: priests continued to marry and have children, laypeople to found and administer churches, and Greek clerics and religious practices to coexist with those sanctioned by Rome.
The Transformation of the American Democratic Republic
by Stephen M. KrasonIn this stimulating volume, Stephen M. Krason considers whether the Founding Fathers' vision of the American democratic republic has been transformed and if so, in what ways. He looks to the basic principles of the Founding Fathers, then discusses the changes that resulted from evolving contemporary expectations about government. Referencing philosophical principles and the work of great Western thinkers, Krason then explores a variety of proposals that could forge a foundation for restoration.Acknowledging that any attempt to revive the Founders' views on a democratic republic must start in the public sphere, Krason focuses on concerned citizens who are aware of the extent to which our current political structures deviate from the Founders' vision and want to take action. Ultimately, a democratic republic can exist, be sustained, and flourish only when there is a deep commitment to it in the minds and norms of its people.Written by a foremost authority in the field of US Constitutional law, this book will appeal to those interested in American history, society, and politics.
The Transformation of the American Democratic Republic
by Stephen M. KrasonIn this stimulating volume, Stephen M. Krason considers whether the Founding Fathers' vision of the American democratic republic has been transformed and if so, in what ways. He looks to the basic principles of the Founding Fathers, then discusses the changes that resulted from evolving contemporary expectations about government. Referencing philosophical principles and the work of great Western thinkers, Krason then explores a variety of proposals that could forge a foundation for restoration.Acknowledging that any attempt to revive the Founders' views on a democratic republic must start in the public sphere, Krason focuses on concerned citizens who are aware of the extent to which our current political structures deviate from the Founders' vision and want to take action. Ultimately, a democratic republic can exist, be sustained, and flourish only when there is a deep commitment to it in the minds and norms of its people.Written by a foremost authority in the field of US Constitutional law, this book will appeal to those interested in American history, society, and politics.
The Transformations of Magic: Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance (Magic in History)
by Frank KlaassenIn this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic tended to be adapted and reworked. These two forms of magic did not usually become intermingled in the manuscripts, but were presented separately. While image magic was often copied in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, The Transformations of Magic demonstrates that interest in it as an independent genre declined precipitously around 1500. Instead, what persisted was the other, more problematic form of magic: ritual magic. Klaassen shows that texts of medieval ritual magic were cherished in the sixteenth century, and writers of new magical treatises, such as Agrippa von Nettesheim and John Dee, were far more deeply indebted to medieval tradition—and specifically to the medieval tradition of ritual magic—than previous scholars have thought them to be.
The Transformations of Magic: Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance (Magic in History)
by Frank KlaassenIn this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic tended to be adapted and reworked. These two forms of magic did not usually become intermingled in the manuscripts, but were presented separately. While image magic was often copied in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, The Transformations of Magic demonstrates that interest in it as an independent genre declined precipitously around 1500. Instead, what persisted was the other, more problematic form of magic: ritual magic. Klaassen shows that texts of medieval ritual magic were cherished in the sixteenth century, and writers of new magical treatises, such as Agrippa von Nettesheim and John Dee, were far more deeply indebted to medieval tradition—and specifically to the medieval tradition of ritual magic—than previous scholars have thought them to be.
The Transformative Imagination: Rethinking Intercultural Theology
by George NewlandsAt the beginning of the twenty-first century there is an increasing tendency to retrenchment within the Christian churches and among other world religions. Religious fundamentalisms are on the increase. In Europe, at least, there is an accelerated decline in church membership. In theology there is a corresponding move away from addressing basic theological issues in the contemporary world, towards increasingly technical interpretation of historical tradition. This book draws on the strengths in classical liberal traditions in theology, augmented by other perspectives, to present a creative proposal for the future of theology and society. George Newlands explores the nature, scope and limits of an intercultural Christian theology, setting out a working model for a new open theology which relates theology and culture. Contributing to the cumulative effort to re-imagine faith in the contemporary world, a focus on the Christian understanding of God lies at the heart of this book. Exploring the interface between theology and particular cultural activities, The Transformative Imagination engages with politics, literature, philosophy and other humanities, and the natural sciences. The relationship between theology and the social and geographical sub-cultures which characterize human life, is explored through diverse examples which make connections and initiate dialogue. Connecting Christian theology and human rights, religion is seen to link constructively with some of the most intractable problems in contemporary global conflicts of interest. Theology is re-situated as a team player, a catalyst to facilitate dialogue in contrast to triumphalist theologies of the past.
The Transformative Philosophical Dialogue: From Classical Dialogues to Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Method (Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures #41)
by Shai TubaliThis book explores dialogue as a transformative form of philosophical practice by unveiling the method behind the unique dialogue developed by mystic and thinker Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986). While Krishnamurti himself generally rejected the cultivation of systems and techniques, Shai Tubali argues that there are easily identifiable patterns through which Krishnamurti strove to realize his dialogical aims. For this reason, he refers to this method, whose existence has evaded Krishnamurti’s followers and scholars alike, as the Krishnamurti dialogue. He suggests that these discursive patterns serve to broaden our understanding of the possibilities of philosophical and religious dialogues and further illuminate established forms of dynamic discourse, such as the Socratic method. Inspired by Pierre Hadot’s revolutionary reading of the classical Greco-Roman texts, the author centers his attention on Plato’s Socratic dialogues and the guru–disciple conversations in the Hindu Upanishads, which fall within the scope of what may be termed ‘the transformative dialogue’: dialogues that have been written with the intention of bringing about a transformation in the mind of the interlocutor and reader and reorienting their way of life. This text appeals to students as well as researchers and suggests that the Krishnamurti dialogue is not only a continuation and development of the transformative dialogue, but that it also amalgamates ingredients of classical Western philosophy and South Asian mysticism. Moreover, this type of dialogue encourages readers to revisit the lost practice of transformative philosophy, in that it reveals new pathways of philosophical and religious inquiry that bear thought-provoking practical implications.
The Transforming Friendship: A Guide to Prayer
by James M. HoustonTo often, prayer seems only to be a dreary exercise that must be endured or a difficult skill that must be mastered. When we misunderstand its purpose and practice, we easily fall out of the habit of praying regularly. As a result, we miss one of the greatest opportunities to deepen our friendship with God. In Prayer: The Transforming Friendship, James Houston explores the transforming power of prayer, illustrating how prayer begins to change our lives and then how the way we live changes how we pray. Through clear and compelling examinations of the Scriptures, Dr. Houston shows the often misunderstood spiritual realities of prayer. And through candid accounts of his own struggles to pray effectively, he will encourage you to engage boldly in the life-changing practice of intimate conversation with God. Dr. James M. Houston, a prolific author, editor, and Christian scholar, is the founding principal, former chancellor and emeritus professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. A native of Scotland whose parents were missionaries to Spain, he is recognized around the world as a leader in educating laypeople for effective ministry and in helping to restore spirituality to evangelicalism. His other book includes The Mentored Life, The Heart's Desire, and Joyful Exiles.
The Transforming God: An Interpretation of Suffering and Evil
by Tyron L. InbodyTheologian Tyron Inbody suggests a new understanding of God in this highly accessible introduction to Christian perspectives of suffering and evil. Interpreting suffering and evil as religious problems, Inbody analyzes and assesses the notion of an all-loving and omnipotent deity found in classical theism. He concludes with a radical reinterpretation of the Christian deity as a vulnerable, transforming God, one recognized by both process and Trinitarian theology.
The Transforming Path: A Christ-Centered Approach to Spiritual Formation
by Terry WardleThis simply-written book lays out a series of pathways that Christians will inevitably face as they move through life with Christ.
The Transforming Word Series, Volume 1: The Pentateuch: From Genesis to Deuteronomy
by Mark HamiltonGod reveals his true nature in the first five books of the Bible.While the broader story of the Bible is known to many Christians, careful readers of the Pentateuch still have many questions. The origin story of the Jewish nation is one of hardship and loss. The Transforming Word will encourage you to examine the Scriptures and discover the God who sustains everything.
The Transforming Word Series, Volume 2: Stories and Songs: From Joshua to Song of Songs
by Mark HamiltonThe nation of Israel tells its story of the rise of kings not once but twice (Joshua–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles); and during this period, they wrote Psalms and gathered together their wise sayings. Then, plunged into the darkness of exile, they had to discover again who God was and what kind of life he called them to live. In the same way, Christians read these texts today for what they share about a promised Messiah and how they explain what life with God looks like in all its complexity.
The Transforming Word Series, Volume 3: The Prophets: From Isaiah to Malachi (The Transforming Word #3)
by Mark HamiltonExplore God's vision for a better worldSometimes near the king and the temple courts and at other times on the fringes of society, God's people have always had their social critics. The prophets sought to call everyone back to God's original design. Their call for justice and mercy and their warnings of impending judgment were later echoed by Jesus. One can't know him without hearing what the prophets were saying to the people.Based on the best of recent scholarship, this volume in the Transforming Word series takes the relevance of the prophets seriously and encourages readers with a deeper understanding of their message and calling.
The Transforming Word Series, Volume 4: Jesus and the Church: Reading the Gospels and Acts (The Transforming Word #4)
by Mark HamiltonThe life and work of Jesus Christ must not be overlooked.Born under Roman occupation, Jesus lived his entire life without writing anything down. His earliest followers, the Christians that were shaped by his life and teachings, carefully recorded his words as good news. They also experienced his resurrection and believed that he had entrusted them with a mission to transform the world.
The Transforming Word Series, Volume 5: Letters to Early Churches: From Romans to Revelation (The Transforming Word #4)
by Mark HamiltonThe life and work of Jesus Christ must not be overlooked.Born under Roman occupation, Jesus lived his entire life without writing anything down. His earliest followers, the Christians that were shaped by his life and teachings, carefully recorded his words as good news. They also experienced his resurrection and believed that he had entrusted them with a mission to transform the world.
The Transforming Word: Discovering the Power and Provision of the Bible
by Tony EvansNew in paperback from the Understanding God series. Tony Evans encourages people who have read only portions of the Word to discover its transforming power. He explains the uniqueness of the Bible, how it came to be written, and the blessings and promises it contains. In his down-to-earth style, Evans encourages readers to open their Bibles and their hearts to God's message.
The Transforming Word: Discovering the Power and Provision of the Bible
by Tony EvansNew in paperback from the Understanding God series. Tony Evans encourages people who have read only portions of the Word to discover its transforming power. He explains the uniqueness of the Bible, how it came to be written, and the blessings and promises it contains. In his down-to-earth style, Evans encourages readers to open their Bibles and their hearts to God's message.
The Transit Student Prayer Journal
by Thomas NelsonThis journal will give teens a place to record their prayers, their prayer partners on different topics, and their answers from God. It will become a keepsake treasure to them as they walk in their relationship with their Heavenly Father. The journal will feature introductory material on prayer, journaling, inspirational art, Scripture verses, quotes and more throughout.An Xt4J book.
The Transit Student Prayer Journal
by W Publishing GroupThis journal will give teens a place to record their prayers, their prayer partners on different topics, and their answers from God. It will become a keepsake treasure to them as they walk in their relationship with their Heavenly Father. The journal will feature introductory material on prayer, journaling, inspirational art, Scripture verses, quotes and more throughout.An Xt4J book.
The Transition of Religion to Culture in Law and Public Discourse (ICLARS Series on Law and Religion)
by Lori G. BeamanThis book explores the recent trend toward the transformation of religious symbols and practices into culture in Western democracies. Analyses of three legal cases involving religion in the public sphere are used to illuminate this trend: a municipal council chamber; a town hall; and town board meetings. Each case involves a different national context—Canada, France and the United States—and each illustrates something interesting about the shape-shifting nature of religion, specifically its flexibility and dexterity in the face of the secular, the religious and the plural. Despite the differences in national contexts, in each instance religion is transformed into culture or heritage by the courts to justify or excuse its presence and to distance the state from the possibility that it is violating legal norms of distance from religion. The cultural practice or symbol is represented as a shared national value or activity. Transforming the ‘Other’ into ‘Us’ through reconstitution is also possible. Finally, anxiety about the ‘Other’ becomes part of the story of rendering religion as culture, resulting in the impugning of anyone who dares to question the putative shared culture. The book will be essential reading for students, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of sociology of religion, religious studies, socio-legal studies, law and public policy, constitutional law, religion and politics, and cultural studies.
The Translation of the Bones
by Francesca KayMary-Margaret O'Reilly is seemingly a harmless enough young woman, ready and willing to help out Father Diamond in the Sacred Heart church in Battersea. She may not be very bright, and she is sadly overweight, but she can certainly clean. She is also very good with children, and helps out an Asian woman on her estate whose little boy Shamso is adorable. It is the statue of Jesus on the cross Mary-Margaret is especially drawn to, and one day she decides to give Him a thorough and loving cleansing. But then something strange happens, and moments later she lies unconscious, a great gash in her head, blood on the floor. Word gets out that this strange happening is the opening of the statue's eyes and the flowing of blood from its head. Soon a full-scale religious mania descends on the quiet church, and everyone, from Father Diamond to his small but loyal band of parishioners, is affected by it. When she has recovered, Mary-Margaret returns to the church, and to her duties caring for her housebound and even fatter mother Fidelma. Among the parishioners, Stella Morrison meanwhile impatiently awaits the return of her son Felix from boarding school, and Alice Armitage the return of her much older son from Afghanistan. Mary-Margaret goes back obsessively to the statue of Jesus. He has told her things, things she must act on, and urgently. But He has become remote and uncommunicative once again, and she is in despair. The act she decides on is a shocking one, and it will bring together the lives of the O'Reillys and the Morrisons in a way that will change their lives forever. Francesca Kay's second novel, after the prize-winning AN EQUAL STILLNESS, is at once a profound meditation on the nature of faith and motherhood and a riveting story of passion gone tragically wrong.