This book offers a clear, concise introduction to the meaning of problematic terms, and the ways in which they should legitimately be used. Each entry considers the following: – Why is this concept problematic? – What are the origins of the concept? – How is it used or misused, and by whom? – Is it still a legitimate concept in the study of religion and, if so, what are its legitimate uses? – Are there other concepts that are preferable when writing on religion? Concepts covered include: – Belief – Religion – Magic – Secularisation – Violence This is a jargon-free indispensable resource for students and scholars that encourages the critical use of terms in the study of religion.

This book offers a clear, concise introduction to the meaning of problematic terms, and the ways in which they should legitimately be used. Each entry considers the following: – Why is this concept problematic? – What are the origins of the concept? – How is it used or misused, and by whom? – Is it still a legitimate concept in the study of religion and, if so, what are its legitimate uses? – Are there other concepts that are preferable when writing on religion? Concepts covered include: – Belief – Religion – Magic – Secularisation – Violence This is a jargon-free indispensable resource for students and scholars that encourages the critical use of terms in the study of religion.

These essays by a group of South African researchers from diverse cultural backgrounds - bring to light a transcendent dimension of our human nature that is often overlooked in the international science-and-religion debate. This is a dimension of our humanity that transcends what the sciences are able to study because it is what enables us to be the creators and judges of science. It is also what endows us with the freedom and responsibility of deciding which, if any, religion to follow. These essays bring together insights, drawn from both European and African traditions of thought, that illuminate this ultimately mysterious dimension of our humanity.

Liberal theory seeks agreement on political principles in spite of the moral, religious, and philosophical diversity of contemporary societies. Democratic Procedures and Liberal Consensus breaks new ground in developing principles from research on liberal citizen's attitudes towards rights and liberties, distributive justice, procedural justice, and religious beliefs. Because liberal citizens do not generally accept strong individual rights or strongly egalitarian principles of distributive justice, the principles of liberal consensus must be based on almost universal support for democratic political systems and democracy as a value. The details of central liberal principles, including those bearing on democracy itself, must be worked out by appropriate democratic procedures.

CSA Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,800+ serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers.

Concilium has long been a household-name for cutting-edge critical and constructive theological thinking. Past contributors include leading Catholic scholars such as Hans Küng, Gregory Baum and Edward Schillebeeckx, and the editors of the review belong to the international "who's who" in the world of contemporary theology.

The quantitative study presented in this book is part of the research effort by the REDCo project ("Religion in Education. A contribution to Dialogue or a Factor of Conflict in Transforming Societies of European Countries"). The project brought together nine research teams from eight European countries: England, Estonia, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Spain. The research involved interdisciplinary cooperation between specialists in the different academic fields of education, religious education, sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, theology and religious studies. The book offers valuable interpretations and inspirations on the question how the students in the 14 - 16 year age group in Europe see the (ir)relevance of religions for dialogue and conflict in their daily lives, in the school environment, and in society as a whole.