Around the Web This Week

Some interesting law & religion stories from around the web this week:

Chakrabarty, “Confluence of Thought”

9780199951239This August, Oxford University Press will publish Confluence of Thought: Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. by Bidyut Chakrabarty (University of Delhi). The publisher’s description follows.

While much has been written about the Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., never before has anyone compared the social and political origins and evolution of their thoughts on non-violence. In this path-breaking work, Bidyut Chakrabarty argues that there is a confluence between Gandhi and King’s concerns for humanity and advocacy of non-violence, despite the very different historical, economic and cultural circumstances against which they developed their ideas. At the same time, he demonstrates that both thinkers were truly shaped by their historical moments, evolving their approaches to non-violence to best advance their respective struggles for freedom.

Gandhi and King were perhaps the most influential individuals in modern history to combine religious and political thought into successful and dynamic social ideologies. Gandhi emphasized service to humanity while King, who was greatly influenced by Gandhi, pursued religion-driven social action. Chakrabarty looks particularly at the way in which each strategically used religious and political language to build momentum and attract followers to their movements. The result is a compelling and historically entrenched view of two of the most important figures of the twentieth century and a thoughtful meditation on the common threads that flow through the larger and enduring nonviolence movement.

D’Costa, Evans, Modood & Rivers (eds.), “Religion in a Liberal State”

xlThis August, Cambridge University Press will publish Religion in a Liberal State edited by Gavin D’Costa, Malcolm Evans, Tariq Modood, and Julian Rivers (all University of Bristol). The publisher’s description follows.

As religion has become more visible in public life, with closer relations of co-operation with government as well as a force in some political campaigns, its place in public life has become more contested. Fudged compromises of the past are giving way to a desire for clear lines and moral principles. This book brings the disciplines of law, sociology, politics and theology into conversation with one anther to shed light on the questions thrown up by ‘religion in a liberal state’. It discusses practical problems in a British context, such as the accommodation of religious dress, discrimination against sexual minorities and state support for historic religions; considers legal frameworks of equality and human rights; and elucidates leading ideas of neutrality, pluralism, secularism and public reason. Fundamentally, it asks what it means to be liberal in a world in which religious diversity is becoming more present and more problematic.