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Stringer, “Discourses on Religious Diversity: Explorations in an Urban Ecology”

This month, Ashgate Publishing Company will publish Discourses on Religious Diversity: Explorations in an Urban Ecology by Martin D. Stringer (Birmingham University). The publisher’s description follows.Discourses on Religious Diversity

Religious diversity is an ever present, and increasingly visible, reality in cities across the world. It is an issue of immediate concern to city leaders and members of religious communities but do we really know what ordinary members of the public, the people who live in the city, really think about it? Major news items, inter-religious violence and notorious public events often lead to negative views being expressed, especially among those who would not consider themselves to have a religious identity of their own. Martin Stringer explores the highly complex series of discourses around religion and religious diversity that are held by ordinary members of the city; discourses that are often contradictory in themselves and discourses that show that attitudes to religion vary considerably depending on context and wider local or national narratives. Drawing on examples from UK (particularly Birmingham, one of the UK’s most diverse cities), Europe and the United States, Stringer offers some practical suggestions for ways in which discourses of religious diversity can be managed in the future. Students in the fields of religious studies, sociology, anthropology and urban studies; practitioners involved in inter-religious debates; and church and other faith leaders and politicians should all find this book an invaluable addition to ongoing debates.

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Karlip, “The Tragedy of a Generation: The Rise and Fall of Jewish Nationalism in Eastern Europe”

This July, Harvard University Press published The Tragedy of a Generation: The Rise and Fall of Jewish Nationalism in Eastern Europe by Joshua M. Karlip tragedyofageneration(Yeshiva University).  The publisher’s description follows.

The Tragedy of a Generation is the story of the rise and fall of an ideal: an autonomous Jewish nation in Europe. It traces the origins of two influential but overlooked strains of Jewish thought—Yiddishism and Diaspora Nationalism—and documents the waning hopes and painful reassessments of their leading representatives against the rising tide of Nazism and, later, the Holocaust.

Joshua M. Karlip presents three figures—Elias Tcherikower, Yisroel Efroikin, and Zelig Kalmanovitch—seen through the lens of Imperial Russia on the brink of revolution. Leaders in the struggle for recognition of the Jewish people as a national entity, these men would prove instrumental in formulating the politics of Diaspora Nationalism, a middle path that rejected both the Zionist emphasis on Palestine and the Marxist faith in class struggle. Closely allied with this ideology was Yiddishism, a movement whose adherents envisioned the Yiddish language and culture, not religious tradition, as the unifying force of Jewish identity.

We follow Tcherikower, Efroikin, and Kalmanovitch as they navigate the tumultuous early decades of the twentieth century in pursuit of a Jewish national renaissance in Eastern Europe. Correcting the misconception of Yiddishism as a radically secular movement, Karlip uncovers surprising confluences between Judaism and the avowedly nonreligious forms of Jewish nationalism. An essential contribution to Jewish historiography, The Tragedy of a Generation is a probing and poignant chronicle of lives shaped by ideological conviction and tested to the limits by historical crisis.

Posted on by Marc O. DeGirolami

Mansfield on Tocqueville, Aristocracy, and Democracy

As a complement to Robert’s ongoing series of learned posts on Tocqueville and religion, do see this decidedly mixed review (which I am late in noting) by eminent political theorist (and Tocqueville translator) Harvey Mansfield, “The Aristocracy in Democracy,” of Lucien Jaume’s Tocqueville: The Aristocratic Sources of Liberty (2013). The subject of the book, according to Mansfield: “Can a democracy sustain itself without the help of its rival, apparently its enemy, aristocracy?” And here is an interesting bit:

Yet democracy in America has certain features that date from aristocracy but are now democratized: the notion of rights that originated in the willingness of feudal nobles to stand up against the monarchy; juries of one’s peers, once fellow nobles, now fellow citizens; democratic associations that arise through the “art of association” rather than, but in imitation of, the feudal responsibilities of a single aristocrat; the devotion of lawyers to the traditions of the law; religion that restrains human excess while connecting heaven and earth. Moreover, these inheritances from aristocracy are grounded in the intractable nature of democratic peoples that makes them desire to rule themselves rather than be ruled by others. This is an assertive impulse contrary to aristocracy that resembles the very desire to rule that constitutes an aristocracy. Intractability is the untaught basis on which democrats build the constructions of self-government—in America ranging from the spontaneous cooperation of the township to the theoretical artifices of the American Constitution (whose Federalist framers Tocqueville praised as a party of aristocrats) . . . .

M. Jaume refers to Tocqueville’s use of classical style in writing as opposed to democratic floridity, but he does not discuss the two most prominent themes in Democracy in America: political liberty (or self-government) and greatness. Tocqueville ends his book by looking at politics from the standpoint of God, in which democracy and aristocracy appear as two aspects of one whole. This standpoint is available at least dimly to a legislator or political scientist like Tocqueville, because it uncovers God’s intellect rather than piously accepting God’s mysteries (for Tocqueville, God’s providence in bringing democracy is not hidden, as M. Jaume has it, but apparent in history). But God’s standpoint is not available to most human beings, because their partisanship prevents them from seeing the whole impartially, thus forcing them to construct their own partial wholes, typically democracy and aristocracy as Tocqueville contrasts them. That is why he says that there are almost—don’t forget the “almost”—two humanities in the two regimes and that a mixed regime is a chimera—though a necessary one in his own mind! Paradoxically, the desire of partisans to make their favorite part, the few or the many, into a whole makes compromise with the opposing part seem unnecessary as well as unwelcome.

Posted on by JCPW

Hill & Whistler, “The Right to Wear Religious Symbols”

ShowJacketNext month, Palgrave Macmillan will publish The Right to Wear Religious Symbols by Daniel J. Hill (University of Liverpool) and Daniel Whistler (University of Liverpool). The publisher’s description follows.

Few issues concerning religious freedom provoke so much controversy and debate as the extent to which religious symbols should be protected in the public sphere and the workplace. This book provides the first sustained philosophical analysis of the concepts at issue in this debate, as well as covering all the major recent cases brought under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights, including the landmark judgment Eweida v UK. In particular, it gives a clear presentation of the current state of the case-law, grounding it, in a unique contribution to the debate, in an investigation of its philosophical underpinnings. Particular attention is paid to different functions of the symbol and their theoretical background, with new emphasis on the role of the symbol in bearing witness to faith. This book will open up new vistas for philosophers of religion and legal theorists alike.

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“Religious Conversions in the Mediterranean World” (Marzouki and Roy, eds.)

This month, Palgrave Macmillan releases Religious Conversions in the ShowJacketMediterranean World, edited by Nadia Marzouki (European University Institute, Italy) and Oliver Roy (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales). The publisher’s description follows.

While globalization and the European construction increasingly undermine the model of the nation-state in the Mediterranean world, conversions reveal the capacity of religion to disrupt, and unsettle previous understandings of political and social relations. Converts’ claims and practice are often met with the hostility of the state and the public while converts can often be perceived either as traitors or as unconscious and weak tools of foreign manipulation.

Based on first-hand ethnographical research from several countries throughout the Mediterranean region, this book is the first of its kind in studying and analyzing contemporary conversions and their impact on recasting ideas of nationalism and citizenship. In doing so, this interdisciplinary study confronts historical, anthropological, political science and sociological approaches which offers an insight into the national, legal and political challenges of legislating for religious minorities that arise from conversions. Moreover, the specific examination of contemporary religious conversion contributes more widely to debates about the delinking of religion and culture, globalization, and secularism.

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Töpfer & Gerlach (eds.), “The Role of Religion in Eastern Europe Today: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”

This July, Springer VS published The Role of Religion in Eastern Europe Today: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, edited by Jochen Töpfer (University of Liechtenstein) and Julia Gerlach (Free University of Berlin). The publisher’s description follows.

​While religion was expelled from the public space during Communist times and became a secret form of “inner emigration”, it entered the empty public space again in Post-Communist times. Public interest in religious issues and the public prestige of religion have dramatically increased. The book “Under Construction. The Role of Religion in Eastern Europe Today” deals with the (re-)emergence of religion in Eastern Europe and its impact on the economy, the society, and the state in 15 essays. The authors represent various fields of science related to human interaction – Economics, Political Science, Sociology, and Law. The added value is an up-to-date and interdisciplinary perspective on religion and its effects in major spheres of the societies in Eastern Europe today.

Posted on by JCPW

Benton & Ross (eds.), “Legal Pluralism and Empires”

9780814708361_FullThis July, New York University Press published Legal Pluralism and Empires: 1500-1850 edited by Lauren Benton (NYU) and Richard J. Ross (University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign). The publisher’s description follows.

This wide-ranging volume advances our understanding of law and empire in the early modern world. Distinguished contributors expose new dimensions of legal pluralism in the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Ottoman empires. In-depth analyses probe such topics as the shifting legal privileges of corporations, the intertwining of religious and legal thought, and the effects of clashing legal authorities on sovereignty and subjecthood. Case studies show how a variety of individuals engage with the law and shape the contours of imperial rule.

The volume reaches from Peru to New Zealand to Europe to capture the varieties and continuities of legal pluralism and to probe the analytic power of the concept of legal pluralism in the comparative study of empires. For legal scholars, social scientists, and historians, Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850 maps new approaches to the study of empires and the global history of law.

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Smyth, et al., eds., “Religious Education in a Multicultural Europe”

UntitledIn August, Palgrave Macmillan will publish Religious Education in a Multicultural Europe: Children, Parents and Schools, edited by Emer Smyth (ESRI), Maureen Lyons (U. College Dublin), and Merike Darmody (ESRI). The publisher’s description follows.

Religion and schooling has become a controversial issue across Europe. But we know little about how these tensions are experienced by children and their families. This groundbreaking book draws on an innovative, comparative study to examine how religious and/or secular beliefs are formed at school and in the family in five countries with very different educational systems (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Malta, and Scotland). New information on how schools and families influence the development of children’s religious identities is presented by placing the experiences of primary school children at the centre of the research, yielding fresh insights into their perspectives on religion and schooling. The book adopts a multidisciplinary perspective, thus providing a more holistic perspective on the processes at play. Importantly, it offers insights into key policy issues concerning the place of religion in the school system, illuminating current debates around religion and multiculturalism across Europe.

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Gilliat-Ray, et al., “Understanding Muslim Chaplaincy”

In September, Ashgate Publishing will publish Understanding Muslim Chaplaincy by Sophie Gilliat-Ray (Cardiff U.), Mansur Ali (Cardiff U.), and Stephen Pattison (Birmingham U.). The publisher’s description follows.

Understanding Muslim Chaplaincy provides a lens through which to explore critical questions relating to contemporary religion in public life, and the institutionalisation of Islam in particular.  Providing a rich description of the personnel, practice, and politics of contemporary Muslim chaplaincy, the authors consider the extent to which Muslim chaplaincy might be distinctive in Britain relative to the work of Muslim chaplains in the USA and other countries. This book will make a major contribution to international debate about the place of religion in public life and institutions.

This book derives from research that has depended on exclusive access to a wide range of public institutions and personnel who largely work ‘behind closed doors’. By making public the work of these chaplains and critically examining the impact of their work within and beyond their institutions, this book offers a groundbreaking study in the field of contemporary religion that will stimulate discussion for many years to come about Islam and Muslims in Western societies.

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McCahill, “Reviving the Eternal City: Rome and the Papal Court, 1420-1447”

This October, Harvard University Press will publish Reviving the Eternal Reviving the Eternal CityCity: Rome and the Papal Court, 1420-1447, by Elizabeth McCahill (University of             Massachusetts, Boston).  The publisher’s description follows:

In 1420, after more than one hundred years of the Avignon Exile and the Western Schism, the papal court returned to Rome, which had become depopulated, dangerous, and impoverished in the papacy’s absence.  Reviving the Eternal City examines the culture of Rome and the papal court during the    first half of the fifteenth century, a crucial transitional period before the city’s rebirth. As Elizabeth McCahill explains, during these decades Rome and the Curia were caught between conflicting realities—between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, between conciliarism and papalism, between an image of Rome as a restored republic and a dream of the city as a papal capital.

Through the testimony of humanists’ rhetorical texts and surviving archival materials, McCahill reconstructs the niche that scholars carved for themselves as they penned vivid descriptions of Rome and offered remedies for contemporary social, economic, religious, and political problems. In addition to analyzing the humanists’ intellectual and professional program, McCahill investigates the different agendas that popes Martin V (1417–1431) and Eugenius IV (1431–1447) and their cardinals had for the post-Schism pontificate. Reviving the Eternal City illuminates an urban environment in transition and explores the ways in which curialists collaborated and competed to develop Rome’s ancient legacy into a potent cultural myth.