An Introduction to Religion and Politics: Theory and Practice (Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics) - Softcover

Fox, Jonathan

4.12

8 ratings by Goodreads

9780415676328: An Introduction to Religion and Politics: Theory and Practice (Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415676320 ISBN 13: 9780415676328

Publisher: Routledge, 2012

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An Introduction to Religion and Politics offers a comprehensive overview of the many theories of religion and politics, and provides students with an accessible but in-depth account of the most significant debates, issues and methodologies. Fox examines the ways in which religion influences politics, analyses the current key issues and provides a state of the art account of religion and politics, highlighting the diversity in state religion policies around the world.

Topics covered include:

Secularism and secularization

Religious identity

Religious worldviews, beliefs, doctrines and theologies

Religious legitimacy

Religious institutions and mobilization

Rational and functional religion

Religious fundamentalism

Conflict, violence and terror

This work combines theoretical analysis with data on the religion policies of 177 governments, showing that while most of the world's government support religion and many restrict it; true neutrality on the issue of religion is extremely rare. Religion is becoming an inescapable issue in politics.

This work will be essential reading for all students of religion and politics, and will also be of great interest to those studying related subjects such as comparative politics, international relations and war and conflict studies.

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Review:

For far too long, we have labored without a text that unifies social scientific treatments of religion and politics. Fox's An Introduction to Religion and Politics is a theoretical tour de force, providing a broad and deep survey of the major theories of religious presence in politics, tested with his Religion and the State dataset and carefully chosen case studies throughout. It is highly relevant and readable and will serve as a critical reference tool.

Paul A. Djupe, Denison University

'Jonathan Fox has pulled off a difficult double achievement in this book. First, he has persuasively presented arguments that cover the many ways that religion and politics can connect, and the outcomes when they do. Second, he has set out the information in a way that will be appreciated by university students (and others) who have an interest in the topic. In short, this is an excellent book and Fox will find that many people appreciate the clarity and rigour with which he has presented the evidence.'

Professor Jeffrey Haynes, Associate Dean and Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion, Conflict and Cooperation, Faculty of Law, Governance and International Relations, London Metropolitan University

Jonathan Fox, one of the discipline's foremost experts in the study of religion and politics, has crafted an eloquent yet accessible guide to the comparative study of religion and politics. Fox provides a coherent framework that traces policies to their sources in identities, belief systems, concerns of legitimacy and institutions, complemented with contemporary illustrations, analyses of hot-button controversies and carefully selected evidence. Students and scholars alike will find this volume informative, provocative and compelling."

Ron E. Hassner, University of California Berkeley, author of War on Sacred Grounds

"Jonathan Fox has a long track record of helping us make sense of the complex relationship between the religious and the political. In An Introduction to Religion and Politics, he again shows why he is one of the leading scholars of the subject. Weaving together diverse theories into a coherent framework and distilling mounds of comparative data, Fox has written a brilliant textbook that is destined to be essential reading―for students and scholars alike."

Ronald R. Krebs, University of Minnesota

About the Author:

Jonathan Fox is a Professor of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. He has published extensively on religion and politics.

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