Religion, Globalization, and Culture

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 are divided into five subthemes: theoretical issues; historical approaches to religion and globalization; forms and boundaries of religion; key issues (such as ecology and gender); and regional perspectives.Contributors: Afe Adogame, Elisabeth Arweck, Lori Beaman, Peter Beyer, John Boli, Gary Bouma, Dave Brewington, George Van Campbell, José Casanova, Paul Freston, Nobutaka Inoue, Laurel Kearns, Otto Maduro, Vasilios Makrides, Meredith McGuire, Vincenzo Pace, Rubina Ramji, James T. Richardson, Ole Riis, Roland Robertson, Marie-Andrée Roy, Shandip Saha, John H. Simpson, James V. Spickard, William Stahl, George Thomas, Bryan Turner, Margit Warburg, Michael Wilkinson.

The detailed nature of this volume’s arguments and illustrations and its good use of previous literature make it invaluable for graduate students and scholars who want to develop their understanding of globalization beyond a basic introduction to the topic. It deserves a place on the shelf of anyone interested in the interconnection between religion, globalization and culture and would be an important reference in any university library. - Mark D. Chapman, in: Studies in Religion, Vol 39, Iss 2 (2010).

Peter Beyer is professor of Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada. Major publications include Religion and Globalization (Sage, 1994), Religion in the Process of Globalization (ed., Ergon, 2001), and Religions in Global Society (Routledge, 2006).Lori Beaman is the Canada Research Chair in the Contextualization of Religion in a Diverse Canada and Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa. Major publications include Shared Beliefs, Different Lives: Women’s Identities in Evangelical Context(Chalice, 1999); Religion and Canadian Society: Traditions, Transitions and Innovations (ed., Scholar's Press, 2006); Defining Harm: Religious Freedom and the Limits of the Law (UBC Press, 2007).