Religion in the Context of Globalization Essays on Concept, Form, and Political Implication By Peter Beyer

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Routledge - 2013 - 232 pages

Series: Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics

http://www.psypress.com/books/details/9780415783583/

Peter Beyer has been a central figure in the debate about religion and globalization for many years, this volume is a collection of essays on the relation between religion and globalization with special emphasis on the concept of religion, its modern forms and on the relation of religion to the state.

Featuring a newly written introduction and conclusion which frame the volume and offer the reader guidance on how the arguments fit together, this book brings together ten previously published pieces which focus on the institutional forms and concept of religion in the context of globalizing and modern society. The guiding theme that they all share is the idea that religion and globalization are historically, conceptually, and institutionally related. What has come to constitute religion and what social roles religion plays are not manifestations of a timeless essence, called religion, or even a requirement of human societies. In concept and institutional form, religion is an expression of the historical process of globalization, above all during modern centuries. What religion has become is one of the outcomes of the successive transformations and developments that have brought about contemporary global society.

Including some of the most important theoretical work in the field of religion and globalization, this collection provokes the reader to consider paths for future research in the area, and will be of great interest to students and scholars of religion and politics, globalization and religion and sociology.

Contents

Introduction

Part 1: Observing Religion in the Contemporary Global Context

1. Purity as Hybridization: Religio-Cultural Syncretisms in the Context of Globalization 2. Globalization and Glocalization 3. Conceptions of Religion: On Distinguishing Scientific, Theological, and 'Official' Meanings

Part 2: The Formation of Religion and Religions in Global Society

4. Social Forms of Religion and Religions in Contemporary Global Society 5. What Counts as Religion in Global Society? From Practice to Theory 6. The City and Beyond as Dialogue: Negotiating Religious Authenticity in Global Society 7. Can the Tail Wag the Dog? Diaspora Reconstructions of Religion in a Globalized Society Part 3: Religion and the Political Domain 8. Defining Religion in Cross-National Perspective: Identity and Difference in Official Conceptions 9. Constitutional Privilege and Constituting Pluralism: Religious Freedom in National, Global, and Legal Context 10. Religion out of place? The Globalization of Fundamentalism

Peter Beyer is Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada.