1 Introduction -- 2 Secularization and functionalism: predictions of religion's decline and irrelevance -- 3 Religious identity -- 4 Religious worldviews, beliefs, doctrines, and theologies -- 5 Religious legitimacy -- 6 Religious institutions and political mobilization -- 7 Rational religion -- 8 Religious fundamentalism -- 9 Religion and conflict -- 10 Government religion policy 1: official policies and supporting religion -- 11 Government religion policy 2: restrictions, regulation, control and discrimination -- 12 Political secularism -- 13 Religious freedom -- 14 Religion in international relations -- 15 Conclusions
Summary:
This fully revised edition offers a comprehensive overview of the many theories of religion and politics and provides students with an accessible, in-depth guide to the subject's most significant debates, issues, and methodologies. It begins by asking the basic questions of how social scientists see religion and why religion remains relevant to politics in the modern era. Fox examines the influence of religious identity, beliefs, institutions and legitimacy on politics, and surveys important approaches and issues found in the literature on religion and politics. Four new chapters on religious policy around the world, political secularism, and religious freedom and human rights have been added to fully revised content covering religious identity, rational choice approaches to religious politics worldviews, beliefs, doctrines, ideologies, institutions and political mobilization, fundamentalism, secularization, and religion and conflict. This work will be essential reading for all students of religion and politics, comparative politics, international relations, and security studies.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.