Beyond the Death of God
Religion in 21st Century International Politics
Politics and religion remain entwined
Description
This volume offers a nuanced picture with specific instances of religion and politics in Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu contexts, broadly presenting the phenomenon of religion and politics via country and thematic case studies. Qualitative, quantitative, material, philosophical, and theological analyses draw upon social theory to show how (and why) religion matters deeply in each time and place.
The authors and contributors demonstrate that religion is a significant force that drives societies and polities around the world, and that a radical change in the Western understanding of value-driven global politics is needed. Beyond the Death of God offers new, local voices to Western audiences—through essays that suggest the need for an appreciation of Divinity as a quintessence holding a significant place in the hearts, minds, social orders, and political organization of polities around the world.
Simone Raudino is Visiting Professor at the Kyiv School of Economics.
Patricia Sohn is Associate Professor of Political Science and Jewish Studies at the University of Florida.
Reviews
“Beyond the Death of God helps us understand a truth that the secularization thesis has long masked: across the world, consciously or unconsciously, we still continue being living symbols of deep religious choices”
- Husain Haqqani
—Husain Haqqani, author and former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
“. . . leads us to reconsider the relevance of the secularization paradigm and to rethink the traditional dichotomy between religion and politics in contemporary societies.”
—Laurent Mayali, University of California, Berkeley
- Laurent Mayali, University of California, Berkeley
“Beyond the Death of God provides a stimulating contribution to scholarship on religion, politics, and society. Raudino and Sohn assemble a strong series of case studies that cross religious traditions, regions, and varied substantive themes, providing a wealth of insights on the enduring importance of religion in global affairs.”
—Tamir Moustafa, author of Constituting Religion
- Tamir Moustafa
“This book is a great effort to discuss the entanglement between religion and politics. It starts with critically interpreting the implication of ‘God is dead’ (Nietzsche), and the empirical section of the book comprehensively covers the major religions. It is a must-read for scholars who are interested in the relationship between religion and politics.”
—Joseph Tsai, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
- Joseph Tsai
“This book has the merit of going beyond traditional assumptions of modernization, secularization and the ‘West versus non-West’ paradigm. It will appeal to readers who want to have a comprehensive picture of what the place of religion in different geographical areas and religious traditions actually is—and not what it should be in theoretical perspectives.”
—Rossella Bottoni, University of Trento
- Rossella Bottoni
“Irrespective of their ideological leanings, most social and political scientists in the Western world tend to divorce politics and religion, to the detriment of an understanding of both. Beyond the Death of God provides an excellent corrective to this state of affairs by making an important contribution to understanding the fit between the drives of the spirit and tradition, and the more mundane drives of social and political power and organization.”
—Wayne Cristaudo, Charles Darwin University
- Wayne Cristaudo, Charles Darwin University