Rethinking Religious Conversion

Rethinking Religious Conversion
Author: Jack Williams
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2024-10-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1350383228

Drawing on methods from religious studies, philosophy, and cognitive science, Jack Williams develops a unique and interdisciplinary approach to the study of religious conversion. This is the first major philosophical study of conversion to treat the phenomenon as a long-term process, shaped by the convert's embodiment and immersion in a linguistic, social, and ritual community. Williams' analysis of the conversion process is rooted in a view of cognition as both embodied and affective, and is informed by the latest research in phenomenology, affect theory, neuroscience, and enactivist cognitive science. In conversation with diverse conversion narratives, he advances a theory of conversion that is not restricted to a modern, Western context but that can be applied to experiences of conversion across global history and culture. Rethinking Religious Conversion displays an original approach to the philosophical study of diverse religious practices. By bringing together a diverse array of contemporary and historical scholarship, it revitalizes the study of conversion for both philosophy and religious studies.

Transforming Conversion

Transforming Conversion
Author: Gordon T. Smith
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2010-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441212388

This volume offers much-needed theological reflection on the phenomenon of conversion and transformation. Gordon Smith provides a robust evaluation that covers the broad range of thinking about conversion across Christian traditions and addresses global contexts. Smith contends that both in the church and in discussions about contemporary mission, the language of conversion inherited from revivalism is inadequate in helping to navigate the questions that shape how we do church, how we approach faith formation, how evangelism is integrated into congregational life, and how we witness to the faith in non-Christian environments. We must rethink the nature of the church in light of how people actually come to faith in Christ. After drawing on ancient and pre-revivalist wisdom on conversion, Smith delineates the contours of conversion and Christian initiation for today's church. He concludes by discussing the art of spiritual autobiography and what it means to be a congregation.

Changing Gods

Changing Gods
Author: Rudolf C. Heredia
Publisher:
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2007
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Conversion Is A Complex And Emotionally Charged Issue. Fundamentalists Exploit It, Liberals Complicate It, Many Do Not Comprehend What The Fuss Is About, And Others Shy Away From Getting Involved. In Today S Pluri-Religious Society, Change Of Faith Can Precipitate Religious Antagonism--Or It Can Facilitate Social Diversity And Tolerance. While Religious Commitment Is Essentially A Matter Of Personal Conscience And Choice, It Inevitably Impacts Other Levels Of Individual And Social Life. Author Rudolf C. Heredia Is A Jesuit Sociologist Who, With His Long Experience Of Working With Marginalized Communities, Shows How Mass Conversions Have Alienated People From Their Past Traditions And Lived Beliefs. Challenging The Traditional Orthodoxies Which Promote Or Oppose Religious Conversions, The Author Sees No Religious Merit In Political Posturing Or Conversion For Socio-Economic Gain. Instead, To Defuse Tensions, He Advocates Rethinking Religious Conversion In India With A Determined Religious Disarmament, Discarding Aggression. Here Is A Provocative Writer Who, Remaining Anchored Firmly In His Faith, Challenges Us To Seek A Common Ground For Tolerance And Dialogue, Premised On A Constructive Interaction With Other Faith Traditions.

Rethinking Religion in India

Rethinking Religion in India
Author: Esther Bloch
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2009-12-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135182795

Critically assesses recent debates about the colonial construction of Hinduism. Written by experts in their field, the chapters present historical and empirical arguments as well as theoretical reflections on the topic, offering new insights into the nature of the construction of religion in India.

Rethinking Religion and World Affairs

Rethinking Religion and World Affairs
Author: Timothy Samuel Shah
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2012-03-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Drawing on the work of leading scholars as well as policy makers and analysts, this volume offers the most comprehensive and accessible exploration to date of the major puzzles, issues, and questions surrounding the complex and increasingly visible role of religion in world affairs.

From Christ to Confucius

From Christ to Confucius
Author: Albert Monshan Wu
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2016-11-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0300225261

A bold and original study of German missionaries in China, who catalyzed a revolution in thinking among European Christians about the nature of Christianity itself In this accessibly written and empirically based study, Albert Wu documents how German missionaries—chastened by their failure to convert Chinese people to Christianity—reconsidered their attitudes toward Chinese culture and Confucianism. In time, their increased openness catalyzed a revolution in thinking among European Christians about the nature of Christianity itself. At a moment when Europe’s Christian population is falling behind those of South America and Africa, Wu’s provocative analysis sheds light on the roots of Christianity’s global shift.

Rethinking Christ and Culture

Rethinking Christ and Culture
Author: Craig A. Carter
Publisher: Brazos Press
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 144120122X

In 1951, theologian H. Richard Niebuhr published Christ and Culture, a hugely influential book that set the agenda for the church and cultural engagement for the next several decades. But Niebuhr's model was devised in and for a predominantly Christian cultural setting. How do we best understand the church and its writers in a world that is less and less Christian? Craig Carter critiques Niebuhr's still pervasive models and proposes a typology better suited to mission after Christendom.

The Invention of Religion

The Invention of Religion
Author: Derek R. Peterson
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780813530932

Is religion an obstacle to the values of modernity? Popular and scholarly opinion says that it is. In a world gripped in a clash of civilizations, religious absolutism seems to threaten the modern virtues of tolerance, reason, and freedom. This collection of historical essays argues that this popular view--religion versus modernity--is used by the politically powerful to construct the religious as irrational and antimodern. The authors study how nationalists, state officials, missionaries, and scholars in the West and in the colonized world defined and redefined the relationship between the political and the religious --From publisher's description.

Religious Experience and New Materialism

Religious Experience and New Materialism
Author: Joerg Rieger
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2016-04-29
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1137568445

In this groundbreaking volume, theologians and scholars of religion criticize and refine new materialist views, to advance debate about the role of religious experience in social and political change.