In June, Rowman & Littlefield will release “Religious Activism in the Global Economy: Promoting, Reforming, or Resisting Neoliberal Globalization?” edited by Sabine Dreher (Glendon College, York University, Canada) and Peter J. Smith (Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada). The publisher’s description follows:
Protests of neoliberal globalization have proliferated in recent years, not
least in response to the financial crisis, austerity and increasing inequality. But how do religious groups organize themselves in response to these issues?
This book systematically studies the relationship of religious activism towards neoliberal globalization. It considers how religious organizations often play a central role in the resistance against global capitalism, endeavouring to offer alternatives and developments for reform. But it also examines the other side of the coin, showing how many religious groups help to diffuse neoliberal values, promote and reinforce practices of capitalism. Drawing on a unique set of case studies from around the world, the chapters examine a range of groups and their practices in order to provide a thorough examination of the relationship between religion and the global political economy.
1540, the Jesuit order has preached the Gospel, managed a vast educational network, and shaped the Catholic Church, society, and politics in all corners of the earth. Rather than offering a a global history of the Jesuits or a linear narrative of globalization, Thomas Banchoff and José Casanova have assembled a multidisciplinary group of leading experts to explore what we can learn from the historical and contemporary experience of the Society of Jesus—what do the Jesuits tell us about globalization and what can globalization tell us about the Jesuits?