The re-emergence of the religious in secular domains has led prominent scholars such as Jurgen Habermas and Charles Taylor to speculate about a new 'postsecular' age. The alleged shift from the secular to the postsecular is most visible in the spheres of urban public space, governance and civil society. This volume addresses contemporary relations between religion, politics and urban societies primarily from a theoretical perspective, while also paying attention to empirical manifestations of the central conceptual ideas. The primary focus is the relations between public religion,...

The Diaspora of Brazilian Religions explores the global spread of religions originating in Brazil, a country that has emerged as a major pole of religious innovation and production. Through ethnographically-rich case studies throughout the world, ranging from the Americas (Canada, the U.S., Peru, and Argentina) and Europe (the U.K., Portugal, and the Netherlands) to Asia (Japan) and Oceania (Australia), the book examines the conditions, actors, and media that have made possible the worldwide construction, circulation, and consumption of Brazilian religious identities, practices, and...

How do religions spread in today's world, where Christian missions have lost influence and modern nations have replaced colonial empires? Religions on the Move is a collection of essays charting new religious expansions. Contemporary evangelists may be Nigerian, Korean, Brazilian or Congolese, working at the grassroots and outside the mainstream in Pentecostal, reformist Islamic, and Hindu spiritual currents. While transportation and media provide newfound mobility, the mission field may be next door, in Europe, North America, and within the "South," where migrants from Africa, Asia,...

In Religion, Migration, Settlement, Tuomas Martikainen provides an account of the impact of immigration on the field of religion in Finland since the 1990s. As a historical country of emigration that has turned into one of immigration, Finland provides an illuminating case study of the complexities of post-Cold War migration. The book analyses processes of migrant settlement from the viewpoint of religious organisations by applying theoretical perspectives to immigrant integration, global-local dynamics, governance of religious diversity, processes of migrant settlement and structural...

Based on ethnographic explorations in cities across the globe, Topographies of Faith offers a unique and compelling analysis of contemporary religious dynamics in metropolitan centers. While most scholarship on religion still sidelines questions of spatiality and scale, this book creatively draws on perspectives from urban studies to study the spatiality of religion in modern cities. It shows how globalization, transnational migration and urban expansion in big cities engender new religious forms and practices and their spatial underpinnings. Space affects urban religious diversity,...

In recent years, the Southern borders of Europe have become landmarks for the mediatic and academic verve regarding the migration and diasporas towards and beyond 'Schengen Europe'. In these debates, religion is acknowledged as playing a central role in the recognition of major societal changes in the continent, being object of political concern and attention: from the recognition of plural forms of Christianity to the debates on a 'European Islam'. Yet, in this respect, what goes on around the borders of Portugal, Spain, Italy or Greece is still largely uncharted and un-debated. With the...

The volume Religion beyond its Private Role in Modern Society aims at contributing to the debate on the distinction between public and private spheres with regard to the role of religion in modern societies. This issue which is inherent to many conceptions regarding social order, modernity, freedom of conscience, and the changing role and function of religion is discussed not only from a social scientific but also from a historical and philosophical point of view. The articles dwell on several aspects of the role of religion in different societies in modern times, and the overall theme...

Cathy Byrne presents the secular principle as a guiding compass for religion in government schools in plural democracies. Using in-depth case studies, historical and contextual research from Australia, and comparisons with other developed nations, Religion in Secular Education provides a comprehensive, at times confronting, analysis of the ideologies, policies, pedagogies, and practices for state-school religion. In the context of rising demands for students to develop intercultural competence and interreligious literacy, and alongside increasing Christian evangelism in the public arena, this...

Globalized Religion and Sexual Identity reflects on the ways religion, gender and sexual identity are framed and regulated in multiple spheres across the globe. Controversies in the public arena regarding religion and sexual identity often construct these categories as inherently oppositional or already in conflict. As state policies regarding sexuality and sexual diversity develop, promoting inclusivity and non-discrimination, it is imperative to develop a more nuanced discussion regarding the relationship of religion/ideology to sexual diversity and sexuality. The goal of this volume...

Does religiosity diminish democratic economic and civil tendencies? Do Islamic traditions provoke more hostility to democratic values in comparison to other religious traditions? In Religion, Religiosity, and Democratic Values, Abbas Mehregan undertakes an empirical examination of the effects of individual religiosity, historical religion, institutional democracy, and socioeconomic development on attitudes towards free market economics and confidence in traditional, modern, and post-modern civil society organizations. Using multilevel analysis, Mehregan compares 60 Islamic, Christian,...