This book reflects on the idea that religion represents a force in the public realms of society. The empirical evidence reveals a regained relevance for and commitment to religion re-emerging in secularized countries, but also that it does so in a new form: unexpected, foreign, and maybe even dangerous. If religion regains public significance in social debates, what are its characteristics in terms of topics and interests, actors and parties? How is this experienced and evaluated by different groups in society? What are the motives of religious groups and churches to re-enter the public domain and are they effective?
What is the importance of religious groups claiming participation (consulting, steering, and dominating) in public debates? How do different religious and nonreligious groups evaluate the impact of religion on the public environment, and under which conditions can it be regarded to be functional or dysfunctional? Scholars who address these questions do so from a theological or a religious studies’ perspective. They reflect on the phrase ‘public significance’ of a religion in its political, cultural, and typical religious dimension. The book points out what tendencies can be observed when different religions profile themselves competitively in public debate, and to what extent ethnic and national identities intervene in this interreligious interaction.
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The Public Significance of Religion
Preface Contributors Chapter One Dispute about the Public Significance of Religion: An Opening Reflection. Hans-Georg Ziebertz Chapter Two Conservative Christianity in the USA: Interpretive and Normative Perspectives Richard R. Osmer Chapter Three Religious Capital and Public Accountability: Challenges to EmpiricalTheology Hans Schilderman Chapter Four A Sociological Perspective on the Public Significance of Religion: From Secularisation to ‘Publicisation’ David Herbert Chapter Five Framing the Gods:The Public Significance of Religion from a Cultural Point of View R. Ruard Ganzevoort Chapter Six Separation of Church and State and Freedom of Religion: Left to the Gods? An Empirical Study among Dutch Young People Johannes A. van der Ven Chapter Seven Varieties of Religious Solidarity Hans Schilderman Chapter Eight Church, Public and Bioethics: Religion’s Construction of Public Significance through the Bioethical Discourse Ulla Schmidt Chapter Nine Factors Predicting Engagement with Society among Anglicans in England Andrew Village Chapter Ten Maintaining a Public Ministry in Rural England:Work-related Psychological Health and Psychological Type among Anglican Clergy Serving in Multi-church Benefices Christine E. Brewster, Leslie J. Francis, and Mandy Robbins Chapter Eleven The Changing Public Face of the Church of England: The Changing Experiences of Clergywomen Mandy Robbins Chapter Twelve The Public Significance of Religion and the Changing Context of Family Life in Britain 1983–2005. An Examination of Marriage, Cohabitation and Divorce Emyr Williams and Leslie J. Francis Chapter Thirteen Interpreting God’s Activity in the Public Square: Accessing the OrdinaryTheology of Personal Prayer Tania ap Sion Chapter Fourteen How Christian Students in Tamil NaduThink about Power Driven Religious Conflicts: A Meaning System Approach Chris A.M. Hermans, Francis-Vincent Anthony, Carl Sterkens and William van der Veld Chapter Fifteen Cross-religious Participation in Rituals and Interpretation of Religious Pluralism: A Comparative Study among Christian, Muslimand Hindu Students in Tamil Nadu, India Francis-Vincent Anthony, Chris A.M. Hermans, and Carl Sterkens Chapter Sixteen Plurality in Unity. A Comparative, Quantitative Study Analyzing How Catholic Teachers of Religion from Five European Countries Perceive Other Religions Ulrich Riegel Chapter Seventeen A Public Issue Still Denied: Religion in German Preschool Education Friedrich Schweitzer Chapter Eighteen The Significance of Religion for Adolescents—Conception of and First Results from the VROID-MHAP-Study Christoph Kappler, Sabine Zehnder, Aristide Peng, Taylor Christl and Christoph Morgenthaler Contributors Name index Subject Index
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9789004207066
Publisert
2011
Utgiver
Brill
Vekt
961 gr
Høyde
235 mm
Bredde
155 mm
Dybde
34 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet

Biografisk notat

Prof. Dr. Leslie J. Francis, PhD (1976), ScD (1997) in Religious Education, University of Cambridge, DD (2001) in theology, University of Oxford, is Professor of Religions and Education at Warwick University. He has published extensively on practical Theology, religious education, psychology of religion, and empirical theology.
Hans-Georg Ziebertz, PhD, Dr. Habil. in Theology (1990), University of Nijmegen, and Social Sciences/ Pedagogy (1993), University of Tübingen, is Professor of Practical Theology and Religious Education at the University of Würzburg. He has published extensively on empirical theology, religious education, and gender and intercultural identity.