Religion and Secular Modernity in Russian Christianity, Judaism, and Atheism

Constructing a decolonial, non-authoritarian and non-capitalist Islamic anarchism, Islam and Anarchism philosophically and theologically challenges the classist, sexist, racist, ageist, queerphobic and ableist inequalities in both post- and neo-colonial societies like Egypt, and settler-colonial societies such as Canada and the USA.

This A-Z organized reference work analyzes how and why the world’s religions have used different means of communications through topics dealing with:

• theory and concepts in religious communication, including rhetoric, persuasion, performance, brainwashing, and more
• forms of verbal communication, such as chanting, speaking in tongues, preaching, or praying
• forms of written communication, such as religious texts, parables, mystical literature, and modern Christian publishing
• other forms of communication, including art, film, and sculpture
• religious communication in public life, from news coverage and political messages to media evangelism and the electronic church
• communication processes and their effects on religious communication, including non-sexist language, communication competence, or interfaith dialogue
• biographies of major religious communicators, including Muhammad, Jesus, Aristotle, Gandhi, and Martin Luther.

From the presence of religion on the internet to the effects of religious beliefs on popular advertising, communication and media are integral to religion and the expression of religious belief. With its international and multicultural coverage, this Encyclopedia is an essential and unique resource for scholars, students, as well as the general reader interested in religion, media, or communications.

New to this Edition:

* Full redesign featuring four-color throughout, 65 photos, and 6 maps
* An introductory chapter (“Why Religion?”) that explores the origins of religion and some of the basic elements that traditions around the world share
* A concluding chapter (“Current Trends in Religion”) examining how various traditions are responding to contemporary issues in such areas as politics, bioethics, gender, environment, and interfaith dialogue
* New chapters on ancient religions (Chapter 2), indigenous traditions (Chapter 6), and new religious movements (Ch 7)
* More coverage of the role of women throughout
* Pedagogical features including “Traditions at a Glance” boxes, scripture boxes, bolded key terms, a glossary, and recommended websites
* A Companion Website featuring resources for both students and instructors

Ideal for courses western religions and comparative religions, World Religions: Western Traditions, Third Edition, combines a historically descriptive perspective with a spirit of sympathetic fascination.

This book tries to survey some of the existing arguments about life ‘after’ death, with chapters on material from Christian tradition (particularly the New Testament and the Early Church) and from the philosophy of religion. It then attempts to reach its own conclusions, drawing on Kant and Barth in order to suggest that death is to be overcome rather than survived.

Mimetic theory is an account of how religion, culture and violence are interrelated. Its three principal parts consist of: an assertion of the ‘mimetic’ (i.e. imitated or derivative nature of desire); the function of ‘scapegoating’ as a means of achieving and maintaining social cohesion; the gospel revelation as the means by which these truths of the human condition are made known to us. A general introduction to his work will comprise an exposition of these three parts or phases in Girard’s thinking. In Girard and Theology, Michael Kirwan looks at these ideas and their relevance to theology as well as their reception in the development of ‘dramatic theology’ and new theological concepts of atonement and sacrifice.