Ivan Strenski

Gebundenes Buch

Why Politics Can't Be Freed from Religion

Beschreibung

Religion. Power. Politics. Ideas and institutions that have been laden with a baggage of meanings picked up through the course of history - and which, unfairly or not, are often defined by these historic and social contexts. In this thought-provoking book, Ivan Strenski unpacks the central concepts and influences of religion, politics, and power, and provides a new theoretical framework to think about what they mean in today's society. In addition to offering radical critiques of the religious and political perspectives of thinkers such as Talal Asad and Michel Foucault, Strenski moves beyond the theory in applying his intellectual framework to a variety of real-world issues, including insights into suicide bombers in the Middle East. Erudite and engaging, Why Politics Can't be Freed From Religion provides a timely and highly original contribution to our understanding of these concepts. It tries to dislodge readers from conventional thinking about politics and religion, and in doing so, helps make sense of the complexities of our twenty-first-century world.

Autor

Ivan Strenski is Holstein Family and Community Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of numerous books, including: Contesting Sacrifice: Religion, Nationalism and Social Thought (2002); Theology and the First Theory of Sacrifice (2003); The New Durkheim: Essays on Philosophy, Religious Identity and the Politics of Knowledge (2006); Thinking About Religion: An Historical Introduction to Theories of Religion and Thinking About Religion: A Reader (both Wiley-Blackwell, 2006).

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley
• Seitenzahl: 216
• Erscheinungstermin: 8. März 2010
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 231mm x 160mm x 20mm
• Gewicht: 458g
• ISBN-13: 9781405176491
• ISBN-10: 1405176490
• Artikelnr.: 31689943

Rezensionen

"Overall the book is an excellentcontribution." (Political Studies Review, 1January 2013)

"But as a powerful myth-buster of some of the great fallaciesabout religion and politics, or even as a primer in the study ofreligion for undergraduates, it works very well and would serve toprovoke lively debate." (Modern Believing, 1April 2012)

"The book is written in an accessible and engaging style, andreaders who are new to the field of religion and politics will findit readable and helpful". (Religion, September 2010)"Going beyond the religion-is-good and the religion-is-badclichés, while also distancing himself from fashionableacademic eliminationists, Ivan Strenski examines the connectionsamong religion, power and politics. Is religion merely'used' by fanatics, as if it were an inert hammer thatcan be picked up or dropped at will? Is it to be equated withbelief? Or with power, à la Foucault? Or is it, rather,inseparable from authority? Most readers are likely to have theirpresuppositions shaken by Strenski's Manifesto."
--Gustavo Benavides, Villanova University