The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Blackwell Companions to Religion
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1576

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice brings together a team of distinguished scholars to provide a comprehensive and comparative account of social justice in the major religious traditions. * The first publication to offer a comparative study of social justice for each of the major world religions, exploring viewpoints within Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism * Offers a unique and enlightening volume for those studying religion and social justice - a crucially important subject within the history of religion, and a significant area of academic study in the field * Brings together the beliefs of individual traditions in a comprehensive, explanatory, and informative style * All essays are newly-commissioned and written by eminent scholars in the field * Benefits from a distinctive four-part organization, with sections on major religions; religious movements and themes; indigenous people; and issues of social justice, from colonialism to civil rights, and AIDS through to environmental concerns

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion

Title page

Copyright page

Notes on Contributors

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Rationale for the Project

Overview and Arrangement of Essays

Social Justice

PART I: Major World Religions

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: Buddhism

Religious Background

Transformation of Values

Narratives

Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism

Sociopolitical Practice

Conclusion

CHAPTER 2: Buddhism

Liberation from Suffering

The Monastic Ideal and Social Reform

Buddhism for This World

Lotus in a Sea of Fire

Applied Buddhism

Epilogue

CHAPTER 3: Christianity

Jesus and Social Justice

Leading Social Reformers in the Early Church

Medieval Women

Other Medieval Champions of Social Justice

Protestant Reformers

Modern Catholic Teaching on Social Justice

Black Males in the American Abolitionist Movement

Modern Women and Equality

Modern Eastern Christian and Protestant Extremes

Conclusions

CHAPTER 4: Christianity

The Words of Scripture

Words of Social Justice

Actions for Social Justice

Courageous Words and Actions

CHAPTER 5: Confucianism

Origins of Confucianism

Is There a Concept of Distributive Justice in Confucianism?

From Distributive to Social Justice

Justice as Sufficiency for All

A Multilayer System of Care

Inequality Arising from Merit and Contribution

Conclusion

Acknowledgment

CHAPTER 6: Confucianism

Background to Contemporary Confucianism

Confucianism and Social Justice in the Twentieth Century

Contemporary Views

Conclusion

CHAPTER 7: Hinduism

Defining Caste: Varna and Jati

Early Egalitarianism in the Caste System

Later Changes in the Caste System

Defining Key Hindu Concepts Related to Social Justice

Hindu Law: The Smrities

Social Justice and Early Reform Movements

Social Justice and Modern Reform Movements

The Social Status of Castes Today

Conclusion

CHAPTER 8: Hinduism

Caste and Untouchability

Indian Constitution and Caste Discrimination

Caste Injustices in Public Institutions

Gender Justice in Hinduism

Conclusion

Acknowledgment

CHAPTER 9: Islam

Social Injustice in the Pre-Islamic Era

Social Justice in the Qur’an

Social Justice in Early and Medieval Islam

Conclusion

CHAPTER 10: Islam

Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Reformers and Social Justice

Social Justice and Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, and the Muslim Brotherhood

Islam, Social Justice, and the State

Gender Justice in Muslim Contexts

Islamic Law and Social Justice in the Modern World

Islam, Social Justice, and Philanthropy

Islam and the Environment

Conclusion

CHAPTER 11: Judaism

Theology and Justice in Judaism

The Jewish Notion of Social Justice

The Concept of Tsedakah in Judaism

Conclusion

CHAPTER 12: Judaism

Discovering the Bible

The Aggadah

Prophetic Justice

Theology and Justice

Religious and Secular Ethics

Universal Justice

Law and Justice

Kook and Heschel: Explaining Their Differences

PART II: Religious Movements and Themes

Introduction

CHAPTER 13: Bahá’í Faith

Historical Setting and Formative Experiences

Bahá’ís at the Grassroots Level

Institutions, Affiliations, and Initiatives

Engaging the Global Community

Conclusion

CHAPTER 14: The Quest for Justice in Revival, a Creole Religion in Jamaica

The Religious Landscape

Studying Revival

Origins of Revival

Portrait of a Revival Congregation

Social and Practical Justice

CHAPTER 15: The Muhammadiyah

Dutch Colonialism and Middle Eastern Modernist Thought

Religious Reform and Social Activism

The Muhammadiyah as a Modern Civic Organization

Conclusion

CHAPTER 16: The Role of the Chief in Asante Society

Asante Social Structure

Asante Society and the Ancestors

The Asante Chief

The Roles of the Chief

Conclusion

CHAPTER 17: Tibetan Monastics and Social Justice

Introduction of Buddhism to Tibet

Classical Monastic Buddhism

Monasticism under the Red Army

The Exile Experience

Globalized Tibetan Buddhism

CHAPTER 18: Sangha and Society

What Is the Sangha?

Monastic Rules, Precepts, and Morality

Sangha and Society

Buddhism and the State

Sangha in Sri Lanka

Sangha in Myanmar

Events in 2007

Conclusion

CHAPTER 19: G’meelut Chasadim (Deeds of Kindness)

Actions that Constitute G’meelut Chasadim

Almsgiving

Motivations for the Performance of G’meelut Chasadim

Major Figures and Groups in Jewish History Who Promoted G’meelut Chasadim

The Relationship of G’meelut Chasadim and Right Standing with God

Early Jewish Christianity

G’meelut Chasadim in Later and Current Jewish Thought and Practice

CHAPTER 20: Hospitality

Hebrew Scriptures and Just Treatment of the Stranger

The Christian Tradition and Catholic Social Teaching

The Search for Hospitality

Hospitality to Strangers

Hospitality in the Maori Culture

Hospitality among Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous Peoples

Hospitality in the Southern Andes

Conclusion

CHAPTER 21: Zakat

Zakat

Sadaqa

The Institutionalization of Qur’anic Values

The Model of the Prophet

Emerging Legal Consensus and Patterns of Institutionalization

Modern Contexts

Conclusion

CHAPTER 22: Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue

The Search for Christian Unity and the Development of Interreligious Dialogue

Religious Pluralism, Ecumenism, and Interreligious or Interfaith Dialogue

Attitudes that Limit and Nourish Interreligious Dialogue

Forms of Dialogue

The Interreligious Dialogue of Action

The Marks of Effective Interreligious Dialogue

Peacemaking as Dialogue in Action

Responding to Bigotry as Dialogue in Action

Seeking Environmental Justice as Dialogue in Action

The Charter for Compassion

PART III: Indigenous People

Introduction

CHAPTER 23: Africa

Diola Ethical Categories

Envisioning Social Justice

Prophetic Visions of Social Justice

Conclusion

CHAPTER 24: Australia

Scale and Polity

Religion

Social Justice

CHAPTER 25: Central America

Folk Catholicism

Liberation Theology

Conclusion

CHAPTER 26: Europe

Historical Overview

Religiosity and Exclusion Practices

Religious and Ethnic Identities of Roma during the Communist Period

Pentecostalism among the Roma

Pentecostalism and the New Ethnic Imagination

CHAPTER 27: Middle East

Kurdish People, a Nation Divided

Religion

Social Justice

Changes and the Next Generation

CHAPTER 28: New Zealand

“Me mate au, me mate m te whenua” (If I Am to Die, Let Me Die for the Land)

“Kua maoa te taewa” (The Potato has been Cooked)

Ko Ngaruawahia toku turangawaewae (Ngaruawahia is My Standing Place)

The Influence of Maori Religious Leaders

Protecting Mana or Acts of Rebellion?

Conclusion

CHAPTER 29: North America

The Ojibwe Context

Ojibwe Belief System

Ojibwe Cultural Practice

Ojibwe Social Justice System

Ojibwe Life Cycle

Ojibwe Responses to European and American Commercial and Political Expansion

Conclusion

CHAPTER 30: Southern Asia

The Constitutional Context

The Gonds of Bastar

Contemporary Social Challenges

Acknowledgment

PART IV: Social Justice Issues

Introduction

CHAPTER 31: Colonialism

What Is Colonialism?

Social Justice

Why Did Colonialism Take Place?

Christianity in Africa

Colonialism, Christianity, and Social Justice

Colonialism, Christianity, and Social Change

Colonialism, Christianity, and Chieftaincy

Revisiting African Social Justice

African Independent Churches

Conclusion

CHAPTER 32: Abundant Life or Abundant Poverty?

The Genesis of African Poverty

Traditional African Religions and Their Continuing Influence

Christian Missionaries, the Colonial Project and Models of Development

African Independent or Instituted Churches

The Christian Churches and Development in the Postindependence Era

Abundant Life and African Christian Theology

African Pentecostalism

Conclusion

CHAPTER 33: AIDS, Religion, and the Politics of Social Justice in Sub-Saharan Africa

Social Justice

The Global Politics of AIDS and Social Justice in Relation to Africa

The Religious Ferment in AIDS as a Social Justice Discourse

Indigenous Religious Practitioners as Stakeholders

Engaging Christianities in HIV/AIDS and Social Justice Discourses

Conclusion

CHAPTER 34: Religion, Civil Rights, and Social Justice

Colonial and Antebellum Era

After Freedom

Religion and African American Civil Rights in the Twentieth Century

Religion and Civil Rights in a “Postracial” America

CHAPTER 35: Human Rights

How the Amnesty Process Worked

Reconciliation and Truth

Case 1: The Charismatic Youth Leader

Case 2: The Brave Commander

The Importance of Reparation and Reconstruction

The Role of Faith-Based Institutions

CHAPTER 36: The “Double-Conscious” Nature of American Evangelicalism’s Struggle over Civil Rights during the Progressive Era

Purpose

Antebellum Evangelical Civil Rights “Prophets”

Lewis and Arthur Tappan: Radical Evangelical Philanthropists

Jim Crow Era

Lost Evangelicals: The Rise of Fundamentalist Doctrines

The Ramifications of Dispensational Theology and Premillennial Eschatology on Evangelicals’ Attitudes toward Civil Rights

The Doctrinal Impact of Fundamentalist Doctrines on Evangelicalism

Evangelicals’ Failure to Confront Racism

Double Consciousness Revisited

CHAPTER 37: Gender and Sexuality in the Context of Religion and Social Justice

Gender

Sexuality

Future Struggles

CHAPTER 38: Beginning of Life

Control of Fertility

Abortion

Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Human Reproductive Cloning

Human Nonreproductive Cloning

Conclusion

CHAPTER 39: Death and Dying

Concepts of Death and Social Justice Conflicts

Care for the Dying

Decisions and Values about Death’s Timing and Method

Hinduism

Buddhism

Judaism

Christianity

Islam

Stewardship in the Cost of Dying

CHAPTER 40: Religion’s Influence on Social Justice Practices Relating to Those with Disabilities

Defining Basic Terms

Review of Historical Social Justice Practices Toward the Disabled

Social Justice Distinctions from Four Major Religions

Conclusion

CHAPTER 41: Ecology and the Environment

The Centrality of Justice

Environmental Justice or Eco-justice?

The Contribution of Liberation Theologies

Animal Justice

Food Justice

Conclusion

CHAPTER 42: Christianity and Nonviolent Resistance

The Early Church

Peace Churches and the Pacifist Tradition

Nonresistance

From Nonresistance to Nonviolent Resistance

Conclusion

CHAPTER 43: Building Peace in the Pursuit of Social Justice

Basic Assumptions and Principles of PB

Strategies of Peace-Building Intervention

Religion, PB, and Social Justice

Religion, PB, and Development

Conclusion

Index

Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion

The Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion series presents a collection of the most recent scholarship and knowledge about world religions. Each volume draws together newly-commissioned essays by distinguished authors in the field, and is presented in a style which is accessible to undergraduate students, as well as scholars and the interested general reader. These volumes approach the subject in a creative and forward-thinking style, providing a forum in which leading scholars in the field can make their views and research available to a wider audience.

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This edition first published 2012

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Wiley-Blackwell companion to religion and social justice / edited by Michael D. Palmer and Stanley M. Burgess.

p. cm. – (Wiley-Blackwell companions to religion)

 Includes bibliographical references and index.

 ISBN 978-1-4051-9547-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Social justice–Religious aspects. I. Palmer, Michael D., 1950- II. Burgess, Stanley M., 1937- III. Title: Companion to religion and social justice.

 BL65.J87W55 2012

 201'.7–dc23

2011046000

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs 9781444355369; Wiley Online Library 9781444355390; ePub 9781444355376; Mobi 9781444355383

Notes on Contributors

Mohammed Abu-Nimer, PhD (George Mason University), is a Professor at American University’s School of International Service in International Peace and Conflict Resolution in Washington, DC. He is the Director of the Peacebuilding and Development Institute. Dr. Abu-Nimer is also the Founder and Director of the Salam: Peacebuilding and Justice Institute, and the co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development. He has written, edited, and co-authored many books, including Peace-Building By, Between and Beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians; Reconciliation, Coexistence, and Justice: Theory and Practice; Unity in Diversity: Interfaith Dialogue in the Middle East; and Peacebuilding and Nonviolence in Islam.

Afe Adogame, PhD (Bayreuth University, Germany) is Assistant Professor in World Christianity/Religious Studies at University of Edinburgh, UK, where he teaches Indigenous Religions, African Christianity, and Religion in the new African Diaspora. His numerous publications include Celestial Church of Christ: The Politics of Cultural Identity in a West African Prophetic-Charismatic Movement (1999); and, co-edited, European Traditions in the Study of Religion in Africa (2004); and Christianity in Africa and the African Diaspora: The Appropriation of a Scattered Heritage (2008). His most recent books are, co-edited, Religion Crossing Boundaries: Transnational Religious and Social Dynamics in Africa and the New African Diaspora (2010), and (ed.) Who is Afraid of the Holy Ghost?: Pentecostalism and Globalization in Africa and Beyond (2011). He is General Secretary, African Association for the Study of Religion; Member, International Advisory Board of Journal of Religion in Africa and African Diaspora (Brill); and Associate Editor, Studies in World Christianity (Edinburgh University Press).

Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, PhD (University of Sheffield, UK) is a Senior Lecturer of Biblical Studies at Ghana Baptist University College in Kumasi, Ghana, where he regularly teaches courses in the field of Old Testament Literature, Biblical Interpretation, and Gospel and Culture. Dr. Adu-Gyamfi has delivered numerous papers on topics related to the Bible and African culture. Among his best-known works is Leviticus 16 and Asante Odwira Festival, which deals with the biblical faith and Asante traditional religion.

Stephen C. Angle received his BA from Yale University in East Asian Studies and his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Michigan. Since 1994 he has taught at Wesleyan University, where he is now Professor of Philosophy. Angle is the author of Human Rights and Chinese Thought: A Cross-Cultural Inquiry (2002), Sagehood: The Contemporary Significance of Neo-Confucian Philosophy (2009), and numerous scholarly articles on Chinese ethical and political thought and on topics in comparative philosophy.

Robert M. Baum, PhD (Yale University), an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, is currently a Residential Research Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington, DC. He is the author of numerous articles on Diola religion, African religions, and indigenous religions. His best-known work is Shrines of the Slave Trade: Diola Religion and Society in Precolonial SeneGambi (1999), which received the American Academy of Religion’s Award for the best first book in the history of religions. He is currently writing a history of Diola prophetic movements.

Christopher Buck, PhD (University of Toronto), JD (Cooley Law School), is a Pennsylvania attorney and independent scholar. He has taught at Michigan State University (2000–2004), Quincy University (1999–2000), Millikin University (1997–1999), and Carleton University (1994–1996). His publications include Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role (2009); Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy (2005); Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith (1999); and Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán (1995/2004).

Ruth Vassar Burgess, PhD (University of Missouri, Columbia) is Professor Emerita at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, where she taught courses relating to communication disorders, assisting families with individuals with disabilities, and methods of integrating positive inclusion strategies in society. Born and reared in India in a context where Hindus, Muslims, and Christians resided peacefully, Dr. Burgess brings a cross-cultural background into being. Two recent scholarly works are Changing Brain Structure through Cross-Cultural Learning: The Life of Reuven Feuerstein (2008) and Shantistan (2004). The latter is a peacebuilding curriculum that utilizes an interreligion, mediated learning, dialogic approach.

Stanley M. Burgess, PhD (University of Missouri, Columbia), is Distinguished Professor of Christian History in the School of Divinity at Regent University, and Professor Emeritus, Missouri State University. He teaches courses in the history of Christian Spirituality in Ancient and Modern periods. His numerous publications include a trilogy on the history of the Holy Spirit in Christian churches; three reference works on the modern Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, Reaching Beyond: Chapters in the History of Perfectionism, Christian Peoples of the Spirit: a Documentary Collection, and (co-editor/contributor) Testimoni della fede nelle chiese della riforma; and over 150 articles in professional journals and collections of essays. Born and raised in India, he has a special interest in social justice issues in underdeveloped countries.

Courtney S. Campbell, PhD (University of Virginia), is Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at Oregon State University, where he holds the Hundere Chair in Religion and Culture. He teaches courses primarily in the fields of biomedical ethics, death and dying, nonviolence and just war, and religious liberty. He has published nearly 150 articles on issues in medical ethics, with a particular concentration on the ethics of death with dignity, and the role of religious views in public ethical discussion. He has recently assumed a position on the board of directors of Benton Hospice, addressing ethics in hospice care and patient care.

Joseph Chan, DPhil (Oxford University), is Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong, where he regularly teaches courses in the field of political theory. His recent research focuses on Confucian political philosophy, theories of human rights, and liberalism and perfectionism. He has published articles on these topics in major journals, including Ethics, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Journal of Democracy, Philosophy and Public Affairs, and Philosophy East and West. Currently he is writing a book on Confucian political philosophy.

Celia Cook-Huffman, PhD (Syracuse University), is Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Juniata College, where she holds the W. Clay and Kathryn Burkholder Professorship in Conflict Resolution. Her background combines peace studies with specialized training and education in conflict transformation, nonviolence, gender, and mediation. She works as a consultant and trainer in workplace, church, and educational settings. She has received grants from Fulbright and the US Embassy Program on Bicommunal Projects, Cyprus. Her research focuses primarily on the impact of social identity on conflict and the relationship between gender issues and conflict.

Curtiss Paul DeYoung, EdD (University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN), is Professor of Reconciliation Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. DeYoung has written, co-written, and co-edited nine books related to reconciliation and social justice issues from a faith perspective. Among these he is the author of Living Faith: How Faith Inspires Social Justice (2007), co-author of United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation as an Answer to the Problem of Race (2003), and a co-editor for The Peoples’ Bible (2008). His reconciliation interests have led to several visits to South Africa and Palestine/Israel.

O.P. Dwivedi, PhD (Queen’s University), Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Guelph, Canada, where he has taught since 1967. He has published 35 books and written many articles and chapters in various professional journals and scholarly books. His research interests include environmental ethics, comparative public policy and management, and public morality. He has been consultant to the World Bank, UNESCO, WHO, UNO, UN-ESCAP, IDRC, and CIDA. He is the recipient of honorary degrees and various awards. In 2005, he was bestowed with the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honor by the Government of Canada.

Steven Emmanuel, PhD (Brown University), is Batten Professor of Philosophy at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Emmanuel’s research interests lie mainly in the areas of intellectual history and comparative ethics. He is the author of Kierkegaard and the Concept of Revelation (1996), The Modern Philosophers: From Descartes to Nietzsche (2001), and the co-editor of Modern Philosophy: An Anthology (2002). Dr. Emmanuel’s most recent work includes a foray into filmmaking. He produced and directed an award-winning documentary entitled “Making Peace with Viet Nam” (2009), which explores the challenges of reconciliation in the aftermath of war.

Mavis L. Fenn, PhD (McMaster University), is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where she regularly teaches courses in the field of Buddhism and Asian religions. Dr. Fenn has published articles on Buddhist women in Canada and on Sakyadhita, the International Association of Buddhist Women. Among her best-known works is “The concept of poverty in the Pali Canon,” which deals with issues of social concern in Buddhism. Dr. Fenn also serves as Acting Chair for the Department of Religious Studies. She is interested in issues of pedagogy and online technology.

Gregory O. Gagnon, PhD (University of Maryland-College Park), an emeritus faculty member of the University of North Dakota Indian Studies, is currently a research associate at Loyola University, New Orleans. He is an enrolled citizen of Bad River Reservation (Ojibwe). His Culture and Customs of the Sioux Indians and co-authored Native American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Introduction were published in Summer, 2011. Professor Gagnon teaches Chippewa History, Federal Indian Law and Policy, and Indian Issues in the Twenty-First Century. He is a consultant to four Ojibwe tribal colleges and has written articles and made presentations on various aspects of Chippewa history.

Louis B. Gallien, Jr., PhD (University of North Carolina), is Dean of the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University, MI. Professor Gallien’s research interests have centered on themes of race, gender, human sexuality, and religion in the contexts of African American culture and American evangelicalism in particular. His latest chapter, “Crossing over Jordan: Navigating the music of earthly desire and heavenly bliss in the lives of three 20th Century African American cross-over artists,” appears in Alexander and Yong, Afro-Pentecostalism and Its Changing Discourses (2010).

Sorin Gog, PhD (Babes-Bolyai University), is Assistant Lecturer at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where he teaches Symbolic Anthropology and Social Theories. Sorin Gog has published numerous international papers on the issue of religious conversion, secularization, anthropology of religion, and anthropology of death and cemeteries. Currently he is a research fellow at Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna, Austria, where he explores the impact of the Europeanization process on religious mentalities in postsocialist countries.

Paul Harvey, PhD (University of California at Berkeley), is Professor of History and Presidential Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He is the author/editor of six books, including Freedom’s Coming: Religious Cultures and the Shaping of the South from the Civil War through the Civil Rights Era (2007), and runs the professional blog Religion in American History at http://usreligion.blogspot.com.

Moshe Hellinger, PhD (Bar-Ilan University), is Senior Lecturer of Political Science at the Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He also teaches there at the Faculty of Law. Dr. Hellinger is the head of the Ernest and Martha Schwartz institute for Judaism, Ethics and Society at Beit Morasha, Jerusalem and a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem. Dr. Hellinger has published numerous articles in Hebrew and English journals on Jewish political thought in general and on Judaism and democracy and religious Zionism in particular. His book on religious Zionism will be published by Academic Press. He is currently working on a book on attitudes toward war and peace in Jewish tradition.

Rawinia Higgins, PhD (University of Otago), is a Senior Lecturer at Te Kawa a Mai, School of Mori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Dr. Higgins is indigenous to New Zealand and comes from the Thoe tribal group located in Te Urewera, Eastern Bay of Plenty. Dr. Higgins is a Trustee of Te Kotahi a Thoe, the Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Negotiation group for Thoe. She has published articles and book chapters pertaining to Mori culture and society with specific emphasis on Thoe social justice issues, particularly the terrorism raids in Ruatoki in 1997.

Mary E. Hunt, PhD (Graduate Theological Union), is a feminist theologian who is co-founder and co-director of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Maryland. A Catholic active in the women-church movement, she lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to liberation issues. She is the editor of A Guide for Women in Religion: Making Your Way from A to Z (2004) and co-editor with Diann L. Neu of New Feminist Christianity: Many Voices, Many Views (2010).

Hiroko Kawanami, PhD (London University), is Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at Lancaster University, UK, where she teaches several courses on contemporary Buddhist issues in southeast Asia. Dr. Kawanami has published numerous articles in both Japanese and English on topics related to women and Buddhism, Buddhism and modernity, and the notions of power(s) in Buddhism. Her most recent works are a special issue on Burmese-Myanmar religion in Asian Ethnology 68: 2 (2009); and the bhikkhuni ordination debate: global aspirations, local concerns, Buddhist Studies Review 24 (2007). Dr. Kawanami has recently taught at McGill University, Canada, as Numata visiting professor in Buddhist Studies.

Laurel D. Kearns, PhD (Emory University), is Associate Professor of the Sociology of Religion and Environmental Studies at the Theological School and Graduate Division of Drew University in New Jersey, where she teaches on religion and ecology, environmental justice, religion and social movements, and the US religious landscape. Dr. Kearns has published numerous articles in journals and in volumes such as The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology (2004), The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society (2011), and Religion, Globalization and Culture (2007). She co-edited, with Catherine Keller, Ecospirit: Religions and Philosophies for the Earth (2007), and served as an assistant editor of The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. Dr. Kearns also serves on the Sustainability Committees of Drew University and the American Academy of Religion, and on the executive committee of the Green Seminary Initiative.

Christine A. Kray, PhD (University of Pennsylvania), is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, where she teaches courses in the degree programs of International Studies and Urban and Community Studies. Dr. Kray has published numerous articles on topics of religious choice and conversion in the context of economic globalization, religion and the self, international tourism, and labor migration to Cancún. She is currently working on a book project about the incorporation of Yucatec Maya refugees into the colony of British Honduras (modern-day Belize) and consequences they faced amid divergent strategies of development.

B. Andrew Lustig, PhD (University of Virginia), is the Holmes Rolston III Professor of Religion and Science at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, where he teaches courses in religion and science, theological ethics, and bioethics. Dr. Lustig has co-written, edited, or co-edited 10 books on bioethics and health policy, most recently Altering Nature: Religion, Biotechnology, and Public Policy (2008). He is also the author of more than 175 other publications for both scholarly and general audiences. Dr. Lustig currently sits on the board of directors of the National Biomedical Research Foundation, the editorial board of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, and the advisory board of Christian Bioethics.

Charles G. MacDonald, PhD (University of Virginia), is Professor of International Relations at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, where he teaches courses in international relations, specializing in international law, the Middle East, and ethnic studies. Dr. MacDonald has published numerous articles and two books on Kurdish issues, including the jointly edited Kurdish Identity (2007), which deals with human rights and the political status of Kurds. Dr. MacDonald was the first president of the Kurdish Studies Association. He has spoken at scholarly international conferences on the Kurds in Brussels, Lausanne, and Washington, DC.

Derek F. Maher, PhD (University of Virginia), is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Director of the Religious Studies program at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He teaches courses in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Religion and Violence. Dr. Maher has written widely on religious biography, history, and philosophy. He recently published a two-volume annotated translation of the classic Tibetan-language One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet (2010). Dr. Maher also directs Tong-Len USA, a nonprofit organization that raises money for one of the organizations he mentions in his contribution to this volume.

Azim Nanji, PhD (McGill University), joined the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford University in 2008, where he also lectures on Islam in the Department of Religious Studies. He was Director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London from 1998 to 2008 and before that was Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Florida. He has authored, co-authored, and edited several books including The Nizari Ismaili Tradition (1976), The Muslim Almanac (1996), Mapping Islamic Studies (1997), The Historical Atlas of Islam (with M. Ruthven, 2004), The Dictionary of Islam (with Razia Nanji, 2008), and Living in Historic Cairo (with Farhad Daftary and Elizabeth Fernea, 2010). In addition, he has contributed numerous articles on religion, Islam, and Shiism in journals and collective volumes, including The Encyclopedia of Islam, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World, and A Companion to Ethics.

W.E. Nunnally, PhD (Hebrew Union College), specializes in Rabbinic Literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He holds a BA in Religion from Mississippi College, an MA in Hebrew Language from the Institute of Holy Land Studies (now called Jerusalem University College) in Israel, an MA in Old Testament from Reformed Theological Seminary, and an MPhil in Hebraic and Cognate Studies from Hebrew Union College. He has taught in Springfield, Missouri, for the past 18 years and has authored numerous books and articles. He is currently Professor of Early Judaism and Christian Origins at Evangel University.

Timothy John Padwick, PhD (University of Birmingham, UK), has for the past 15 years explored the interface between theology and its socioeconomic and political environment within the context of African Independent Churches. His research has centered on how oral/vernacular theology emerged in particular situations, how it has changed to meet emerging challenges, and how it has motivated social transformation. With Lawford Imunde, he developed the concept of “Founding Visions,” which enables African Independent Churches to recover and engage with the roots of their faith and apply their findings in areas of theology, culture, HIV/AIDS, and economic development. He has also been instrumental in developing a methodology and theological approach to facilitate working with African religious movements. For many years he has served in various advisory roles to the Organization of African Instituted Churches in Nairobi, Kenya, most recently on matters of theological research and documentation.

Ana María Pineda, RSM, STD, is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, where she regularly teaches courses in Latino/Hispanic theology. Dr. Pineda has published numerous articles on topics related to Hispanic ministry, popular religion, pastoral practices, and the importance of oral tradition. Dr. Pineda has served on the board of the Louisville Institute, the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the US (ACHTUS), the Advisory Committee for the Hispanic Theological Scholarship Initiative (HTI), and many others. She is the past president of ACHTUS, and the co-editor of Dialogue Rejoined: Theology and Ministry in the United States Hispanic Reality (1995).

Florian Pohl, PhD (Temple University), is Assistant Professor in Religious Studies at Emory University’s Oxford College in Oxford, Georgia. His field of research is southeast Asian Islam, with a special focus on questions of contemporary religious expression and public life. Among his recent publications are “Interreligious harmony and peacebuilding in Indonesian Islamic education,” in Peace Psychology in Asia, Christina Montiel and Noraini Noor (eds.) (2009), and Islamic Education and the Public Sphere: Today’s Pesantren in Indonesia (2009). For the past five years, he also has been affiliated through research and teaching with the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Maria Roth, PhD (Babes-Bolyai University), is a Professor of Social Work at Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania. Chair of the Social Work Department, she is one of the founders of Social Work Studies in Romania. Following a nine-month residency as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she returned to her home university and published books and articles in the field of child well-being, social service development for vulnerable populations, and social work methods.

Brigid Maa Sackey, PhD (Temple University), is Professor of Anthropology at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. She was trained in Ghana, Germany (Philipps University, Marburg), and the United States (Temple University, Philadelphia). Her teaching, research, and publication topics include African traditional religions, Christianity and Islam in Africa, new religious movements, religion and health, women, religion and politics, and family studies. She is the author of New Directions in Gender and Religion (2006). She has been Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, and a Research Associate and Visiting Scholar in the Women’s Studies and Religion Program, Harvard Divinity School.

Eliezer Segal, PhD (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, Canada, where he regularly teaches courses in the fields of Judaism and western religions. Dr. Segal has published numerous articles and books on topics related to Jewish religious literature, law, and thought. Among his best-known works is the three-volume Babylonian Esther Midrash: A Critical Commentary (1994), which explores ancient rabbinic exegesis and homiletical interpretations. In addition to his academic research, he publishes works on Jewish tradition targeted at nonspecialists, maintains a popular website, and is the author of a children’s book.

Amita Singh, PhD (Agra University), is Professor and Chairperson at the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has been the Project Director of the Governance Knowledge Centre of the Government of India and the Secretary General of the Network of Asia Pacific Schools and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance (NAPSIPAG). Her publications include several books and several research papers in peer-reviewed journals. Her most recent publications are Governance and Poverty Reduction (2009), co-edited with Kapoor and Bhattacharyya; Governance and Access to Justice (2009), co-edited with Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Chief Justice of Sindh High Court in Pakistan; and Strengthening Governance in Asia Pacific (2010), co-edited with Saber, Ahmad, and Jalal. Her scholarship focuses on issues of social and environmental justice in administrative reforms.

Erin E. Stiles, PhD (Washington University in St. Louis), is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she teaches courses in cultural anthropology and the anthropology of religion. Dr. Stiles has conducted ethnographic research in Zanzibar, Tanzania since 1999, and recently published a book, An Islamic Court in Context: An Ethnographic Study of Judicial Reasoning (2009), which looks at marital disputes in Zanzibar’s Islamic courts. She has also published several shorter works on the subject. At the University of Nevada, Dr. Stiles serves on the advisory board for the Religious Studies minor.

Hussam S. Timani, PhD (University of California, Los Angeles), is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, where he regularly teaches courses in the field of Islamic studies. Dr. Timani is the author of Modern Intellectual Readings of the Kharijites (2008), which deals with modern interpretations of the Muslim past, and has also published a number of articles and a book chapter on topics related to Islam. Dr. Timani is co-founder and serves on the advisory board of Interfaith Forum of Hampton Roads, which promotes Christian–Muslim dialogue. He has appeared on radio talk shows including National Public Radio’s With Good Reason and is the recipient of the 2009 Rumi Forum Education Award for peace and dialogue.

Robert Tonkinson, PhD (University of British Columbia), is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. He has worked with Western Desert Aborigines since 1963 and Melanesians in Vanuatu since 1966. His publications include three monographs and numerous articles on these peoples. Among his best-known works is The Mardu Aborigines (1979), on traditional Western Desert Aboriginal society. His interests include religion, social change, kinship, migration, identity, and the politics of tradition. He is a long-serving member of the governing council of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Straits Studies.

William Wedenoja, PhD (University of California, San Diego), is Professor of Anthropology at Missouri State University, where he serves as coordinator of Anthropology and as director of the MS in Applied Anthropology program. Dr. Wedenoja has been conducting research on Jamaica since 1972, publishing articles on indigenous religion, healing, possession trance, Pentecostalism, and mental illness. In recent years he has also worked on a number of community development projects in Jamaica, concerning artisanal fishing, education, tourism, environmental protection, and heritage preservation.

Glenda Wildschut is the Managing Director of the Collective Leadership Institute in South Africa. In 1995 she was appointed by President Nelson Mandela to serve as a Commissioner on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, under the chairmanship of the Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. She served on the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee. In 1998, she worked at the World Health Organization in Geneva, examining the role of health workers in transitional societies. She has been involved in human rights advocacy since the early 1980s, working particularly with political prisoners in South Africa and Namibia, their families, exiles, and orphaned returnee children. She pioneered the establishment of a trauma center for survivors of violence and torture – the first of its kind in South Africa. Having acquired academic and clinical qualifications in South Africa and the United States, she lectured and tutored at both the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape. Glenda Wildschut serves on several boards, including the board of the Institute of the Healing of Memories, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, the Centre for Rural Legal Studies Home for Kids in South Africa (HOKISA), and Truth in Translation. Until recently, she was the Director of the Desmond Tutu Leadership Academy.

Sushma Yadav, PhD (University of Delhi), holds the Dr. Ambedkar Chair in Social Justice and is Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, India. With more than 30 years of teaching and research experience, she has published numerous articles in books and professional journals and authored and edited 11 books, including Social Justice: Ambedkar’s Vision (2006), Gender Issues in India: Some Reflections (2008), and Culture and Politics (1998). Recipient of the Rai Bahadur Gori Shankar Memorial Medal, the Maharshi Karve Memorial prize, and National IFJA award, she has served and is currently serving on the editorial boards and panels of referees for several peer-reviewed professional journals. She has been a visiting faculty member of the Dr. Ambedkar Study Centers of a number of universities in India. Currently, she is the Vice-Chairperson of the Research Committee and India coordinator of the International Political Science Association. At IIPA, she introduced a core course on social justice, which remains her main area of interest and expertise.

Barbara Brown Zikmund, PhD (Duke University), is retired from 30 years of teaching and administration in theological education. She has held appointments in church history and administration in five seminaries, serving as Dean of the faculty at Pacific School of Religion (1981–1990) and as President of Hartford Seminary (1990–2000). Under her leadership Hartford Seminary strengthened its long-standing programs in Christian–Muslim relations. She was a member of several ecumenical commissions, attended international interreligious conferences, and for seven years served as chair of the Interfaith Relations Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ USA (2000–2007). She is co-editor of Remembering Jamestown (2010), a collection of essays exploring interreligious issues related to Christian missionary efforts in colonial Virginia.

Acknowledgments

Books are often the collaborative effort of many people, only some of whose names appear on the cover. So it is with this Companion. Many people have invested time and intellectual effort to see this volume appear in print. We owe them a debt of gratitude and wish to acknowledge them here.

First and foremost, we wish to acknowledge the authors who so willingly and ably explored topics dealing with religion and social justice, and whose essays form the essential content of this Companion. They inspired us by the way in which they embraced their tasks, and they often surprised us with their insights.

Two colleagues at Wiley-Blackwell played important roles in the development of this Companion. Rebecca Harkin, Religion Publisher, spoke with us at length about the original prospectus. Her interest in and commitment to the core ideas prompted us to refine the scope of the project and move toward publication. Isobel Bainton, Religion and Theology Project Editor, managed development of the book from the time the manuscripts were submitted through final production. Her organizational skills (often evident in the detailed questions she posed) made the entire process seem well ordered and manageable. We thank her.

Ryan Swan, a senior undergraduate student, provided extensive, valuable research during the early stages of the book’s development. Perhaps our largest debt is to Renea Brathwaite, a PhD student at Regent University, whose knowledge of computers and software, organizational skills, ability to read critically, meticulous attention to detail, good judgment, and sense of humor all contributed importantly to this Companion.

Introduction

Michael D. Palmer and Stanley M. Burgess

Rationale for the Project

In today’s cosmopolitan environment, one is struck by how much public discourse on questions of social justice is addressed (or addressable) in the arenas of politics, economics, public policy, or international affairs. Daily, news media broadcast consequential reports from any or all of these arenas: Can Egypt and Tunisia successfully transition to democratic rule? Who should pay for the economic catastrophes in Greece, Portugal, and Iceland? Should the United Nations recognize a Palestinian state? Can Tibetans ever expect to gain a measure of autonomy given the authoritarian control exerted by the People’s Republic of China? When so much that is important can be framed in the language of state and economy, one wonders whether religion remains a relevant force in public discourse, especially discourse that concerns social justice.