This volume brings together over 25 articles by many of the most important authors who have worked on issues directly related to the theme of religion and globalization. An additional emphasis on culture flags the inclusion of the relation of religion to its wider social context and also permits questioning the boundaries of religion so as to avoid a strong bias in favour of the analysis of institutionalized religion. The key emphasis of the book, however, is the focus specifically on religion, a topic that is still largely ignored in the burgeoning literature on globalization. The articles...

"Defining Harm" offers a genealogy of religious freedom in a social climate of risk and fear. It is also the story of Bethany Hughes, a member of the Jehovah's Witness, and her legal battle to define the parameters of her medical treatment. Hughes refused to accept blood transfusions prescribed by physicians as part of her treatment for cancer.The B.H. case, as it was known in the courts, reflects a particular moment in the socio-legal treatment of religious freedom, and it reveals the specific intersection of religious, medical, legal, and other discourses in the governance of the religious...

The essays in this book not only examine the variety of atheist expression and experience in the Western context, they also explore how local, national and international settings may contribute to the shaping of atheist identities. By addressing identity at these different levels, the book explores how individuals construct their own atheist--or non-religious--identity, how they construct community and how identity factors into atheist interaction at the social or institutional levels. The book offers an interdisciplinary comparative approach to the analysis of issues relating to atheism,...

The essays in this book not only examine the variety of atheist expression and experience in the Western context, they also explore how local, national and international settings may contribute to the shaping of atheist identities. By addressing identity at these different levels, the book explores how individuals construct their own atheist--or non-religious--identity, how they construct community and how identity factors into atheist interaction at the social or institutional levels. The book offers an interdisciplinary comparative approach to the analysis of issues relating to atheism,...