While religious conflict receives plenty of attention, the everyday
negotiation of religious diversity does not. Questions of how to
accommodate religious minorities and of the limits of tolerance
resonate in a variety of contexts and have become central
preoccupations for many Western democracies. What might we see if we
turned our attention to the positive narratives and success stories of
the everyday working out of religious difference? Rather than
'tolerance' and 'accommodation', and through the stories of ordinary
people, this book traces deep equality, which is found in the respect,
humour, and friendship of seemingly mundane interactions. Deep
Equality in an Era of Religious Diversity shows that the telling of
such stories can create an alternative narrative to that of diversity
as a problem to be solved. It explores the non-event, or
micro-processes of interaction that constitute the foundation for deep
equality and the conditions under which deep equality emerges, exists,
and sometimes flourishes. Through a systematic search for and
examination of such narratives, Lori G. Beaman demonstrates the
possibility of uncovering, revealing, and recovering deep equality--a
recovery that is vital to living in an increasingly diverse society.
In achieving deep equality, identities are fluid, shifting in
importance and structure as social interaction unfolds. Rigid identity
imaginings, especially religious identities, block our vision to the
complexities of social life and press us into corners that trap us in
identities that we often ourselves do not recognize, want, or know how
to escape. Although the focus of this study is deep equality and its
existence and persistence in relation to religious difference, deep
equality is located beyond the realm of religion. Beaman draws from
the work of those whose primary focus is not in fact religion, and who
are doing their own 'deep equality' work in other domains,
illustrating especially why equality matters. By retelling and
exploring stories of negotiation it is possible to reshape our social
imaginary to better facilitate what works, which varies from place to
place and time to time.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780192525260
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Oxford University Press Academic UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter