In Religions on the Move, Afe Adogame and Shobana Shankar present essays on religious expansion beyond Christian missions, focusing on activities of migrants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America spreading their faiths in Europe, North America, and within the “South.”

An exploration of the rapid development of African Christianity, offering an analysis and interpretation of its movements and issues.

What role did religion play in sparking the call for civil rights? Was the African American church a motivating force or a calming eddy? The conventional view among scholars of the period is that religion as a source for social activism was marginal, conservative, or pacifying. Not so, argues Johnny E. Williams. Focusing on the state of Arkansas as typical in the role of ecclesiastical activism, his book argues that black religion from the period of slavery through the era of segregation provided theological resources that motivated and sustained preachers and parishioners battling racial oppression. Drawing on interviews, speeches, case studies, literature, sociological surveys, and other sources, Williams persuasively defines the most ardent of civil rights activists in the state as products of church culture. Both religious beliefs and the African American church itself were essential in motivating blacks to act individually and collectively to confront their oppressors in Arkansas and throughout the South. Williams explains how the ideology of the black church roused disparate individuals into a community and how the church established a base for many diverse participants in the civil rights movement. He shows how church life and ecumenical education helped to sustain the protest of people with few resources and little permanent power. Williams argues that the church helped galvanize political action by bringing people together and creating social bonds even when societal conditions made action difficult and often dangerous. The church supplied its members with meanings, beliefs, relationships, and practices that served as resources to create a religious protest message of hope.

Discusses the philosophical, sociological, and psychological themes in new religious movements, and includes a survey and explanation of a few groups.

Religions are at their core about creating certainty. But what happens when groups lose control of their destiny? Whether it leads to violence, or to nonviolent innovations, as found in minority religions following the death of their founders or leaders, uncertainty and insecurity can lead to great change in the mission and even teachings of religious groups. This book brings together an international range of contributors to explore the uncertainty faced by new and minority religious movements as well as non-religious fringe groups. The groups considered in the book span a range of religious traditions (Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam), old and new spiritual formations such as esotericism, New Age and organized new religious movements, as well as non-religious movements including the straight edge movement and the British Union of Fascists. The chapters deal with a variety of contexts, from the UK and US, to Japan and Egypt, with others discussing global movements. While all the authors deal with twentieth- and twenty-first-century movements and issues, several focus explicitly on historical cases or change over time. This wide-ranging, yet cohesive volume will be of great interest to scholars of minority religious movements and non-religious fringe groups working across religious studies, sociology and social psychology.

The relationship between religion and dance is as old as humankind. Contemporary methods for studying this relationship date back a century. The difference between these two time frames is significant: scholars are still developing theories and methods capable of illuminating this vast history that take account of their limited place within it. A History of Theory and Method in the Study of Religion and Dance takes on a primary challenge of doing so: overcoming a conceptual dichotomy between “religion” and “dance” forged in the colonial era that justified western Christian hostility towards dance traditions across six continents over six centuries. Beginning with its enlightenment roots, LaMothe narrates a selective history of this dichotomy, revealing its ongoing work in separating dance studies from religious studies. Turning to the Bushmen of the African Kalahari, LaMothe introduces an ecokinetic approach that provides scholars with conceptual resources for mapping the generative interdependence of phenomena that appear as “dance” and/or “religion.”

Mind-developing education is the only scientific way to real human development. Real human development and world-peace can only be achieved if proper mind-developmental education and training are introduced all over the world. In this extreme crisis period of the age, with the aim of real human development and world peace, the great philosopher, multi-talented wise sage and scientist ~ Maharshi MahaManas ~ has initiated a great spiritual revolution to free the entire mankind from suffering and misery. Pioneer of rational spirituality and devoted to human welfare ~ Sumeru Ray alias Maharshi MahaManas ~ To dispel the darkness of ignorance along with human-centered unrest, bloodshed and poverty all over the world, sought true human liberation in the path of Atma-Vikas-Yoga (self / mind-development yoga) called 'MahaManan'. By practicing his sure education and methods based on his spiritual science, radical good changes will come in human life. The key word of Maharshi MahaManas' revolutionary doctrine of human liberation ~ 'MahaVad' is: Most of the man-made problems around the world~ injustice - tyranny, oppression, fraud, poverty, unrest etc. are the root cause of people's lack of sufficient knowledge and consciousness, and mental illness. Blind-faith, superstition, hatred, violence, terror, all sprang from that. The only solution is 'MahaManan' 'महामनन' आत्म-विकास योग or मन-विकास शिक्षाक्रम (mind-developmental education) and practice. Maharshi said, real human development is possible only through proper आत्म-विकास शिक्षाक्रम or mind-developmental education. It is for this purpose that Maharshi MahaManas has developed a great and unparalleled educational system for creating a well-developed human beings with 'MahaManan' Meditation 'महामनन' आत्म-ध्यान (self-meditation) training for true human development and world peace! Real human development and world peace can be achieved only if 'Atma Vikas Yoga Sikshakram' आत्म विकास योग शिक्षाक्रम or mind-developmental education and training called 'MahaManan' is introduced everywhere. If true human development takes place through this mind-developmental education, only then will most human-centered problems and crises be solved. He soon aspired to build a world-class university of reasonable spirituality for true self / mind-development education and self-meditation training. Maharshi called upon all conscious people to extend their hand of cooperation to make this great initiative of human development a success. Along with that, he is also appealing to the government, to protect the next generation from the terrible difficult situation of the future, to make them healthy, rich in knowledge and consciousness, sufficiently developed people, that the government should include this psychological education in the curriculum of every school. At his young age, Maharshi traveled all over the country in search of truth and finally after a long period of penance in the Himalayas, he realized that the root cause of so many sufferings and problems of people is their lack of knowledge and consciousness and illness of body and mind. Most human-centered problems will be solved only if we can get rid of it. Then he developed an excellent human development education system through long-term pursuit and research. It is named - 'महामनन' आत्म-विकास योग शिक्षाक्रम ('MahaManan' self-development curriculum). After that he came down from the Himalayas and started teaching He has written several books with the aim of human development through mind-development. His books are available on other platform including Amazon. If you search the internet, you will find many of his articles, podcasts and videos on human development. In 2021, his research and discoveries on six important topics were published in various international science journals. Besides, he has been giving meditation training to many people in different places almost regularly. Through the Internet, his human development activities and his great doctrine of human liberation are gradually spreading all over the world. And many people have gradually taken his devotees and disciples and started practicing 'MahaManan' Atmavikash Yoga for mind-development.