Sociology

A new edition of the brilliantly irreverent classic about the clash between Eastern and Western cultures. ‘There are enough crazy characters, stories and wild scenes here for several novels, and the entire book offers…the real juice and color of modern India seen from the inside.’ —Librar... More

Now reissued with a new foreword, Discovering Islam is a classic account of how the history of Islam and its relations with the West have shaped Islamic society today. This readable and wide ranging account uncovers the roots of Islamic discontent and celebrates the sources of its strength.... More

A bold reconceptualization of the scope and meaning of cosmopolitanism, examining the language of South Asian religiosity over the past two hundred yearsSrinivas Aravamudan surveys a specific set of religious vocabularies from South Asia that, he argues, launches a different kind of cosmopolitanism ... More

Indonesian Islam is an important and timely book based on approximately 2,000 fatwa (p1. fatawa)--an opinion on a point of law or dogma given by a person with recognized authority (ijaza)--demonstrating that classical Islamic reasoning is an alternative to state defined Islam and is capable of deali... More

W.B.Yeats considered this autobiography of Shri Purohit Swami of 'comparable importance' to Tagore's Gitanjali. The book describes Shri Purohit Swami's life and adventures. In fact, in his own words, it is about his 'concrete life, not an abstract philosophy.' The Swami is like a ministrel and story... More

Now in trade paper comes ex-President Jimmy Carter's passionate defense of church and state. In this #1 "New York Times" bestseller, he warns that fundamentalists are deliberately blurring the lines between politics and religion.President Jimmy Carter offers a passionate defense of separation of chu... More

Beneath the histories of religious traditions--from biblical wars to crusading ventures and great acts of martyrdom--violence has lurked as a shadowy presence. Images of death have never been far from the heart of religion's power to stir the imagination. In this wide-ranging and erudite book, Mark ... More

In the second edition of the highly acclaimed Reader in the Anthropology of Religion, Michael Lambek collects some of the most significant classic and contemporary writings on the subject, creating an unparalleled guide to the past, present, and future of the field. Including nine additional select... More

In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clar... More

Today the study of American religion continues to move away from an older, European American, male, middle-class, northeastern, Protestant narrative concerned primarily with churches and theology and toward a multicultural tale of Native Americans, African Americans, Catholics, Jews and other groups... More

In this timely collection, Neil Price brings together recent archaeological thought on shamanism. Issues addressed include shamanic material culture, responses to dying and the dead, shamanism in the context of other belief systems such as totemism, shamanic soundscapes, and the use of ritual archit... More

On January 29, 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order creating the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. This action marked a key step toward institutionalizing an idea that emerged in the mid-1990s under the Clinton administration--the transfer of some socia... More

This book offers a comprehensive discussion of the cultural, economic, and political achievements of religious groups that resisted assimilation to Islam in the Middle East. Focusing on Iran--which offers unique opportunities for the study of Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians--who all lived as minor... More

"For all who want to make sense of fundamentalism as a long-term consequence of the modern world, "Pious Passion will be required reading. It is also enjoyable, abounding in cogent arguments set forth in lucid prose and supported by compelling examples."--Bruce B. Lawrence, author of "Defenders of G... More

"Multicultural Riddle" is a comprehensive exploration of all the issues that shape our search for a multicultural society. The book examines how we can establish a state of justice and equality between and among three groups: those who believe in a unified national culture, those who trace their cu... More

This innovative book offers a dynamic analysis of Hinduism in the perspective of Western notions of modernity. After reviewing definitions of modernity and Hinduism and looking at modernity in India, the author considers Hinduism in relation to Islam and the West. The second half of the book present... More

The attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the United States of September 11th, 2001 brought the phenomenon of religious fundamentalism to the world's attention.Sociological research has clearly demonstrated that fundamentalists are primarily reacting against modernity, and believe th... More

In the nineteenth century, American tourists, scholars, evangelists, writers, and artists flocked to Palestine as part of a "Holy Land mania." Many saw America as a New Israel, a modern nation chosen to do God's work on Earth, and produced a rich variety of inspirational art and literature about the... More