Kathleen Kautzer
The Underground Church: Nonviolent Resistance to the Vatican Empire

http://www.brill.nl/underground-church

Studies in Critical Research on Religion 40/2
Brill Academic Publishers
March 2012

Berghahn Books are pleased to announce the recent publication in of Engaging the Spirit World – Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Southeast Asia, edited by Kirsten W. Endres and Andrea Lauser. Additional information is provided in this online flyer which offers the book at a 50% discount:
https://www.berghahnbooks.com/extras/docs/flyer/EndresEngaging_9780857453587.html

For further details on this title or any other from Berghahn Books, please visit www.berghahnbooks.com or contact Ben Parker (ben.parker@berghahnbooks.com)

Yukleyen, Ahmet (2012) Localizing Islam in Europe:Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press)

1. Please find the link below to access the recording of the book launch at the Woodrow Wilson Center at a panel with Jocelyne Cesari and Peter Mandaville. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/localizing-islam-europe-turkish-islamic-communities-germany-and-the-netherlands

2. Here is a short online article based on the book: http://www.e-ir.info/2012/04/10/localizing-islam-in-europe-religious-activism-among-turkish-islamic-communities/

3. Book Description:
In the twentieth century, Muslim minorities emerged in Europe seeking work, a refuge from conflict, and higher life standards. As a result, thereare now more than 12 million Muslims in Western Europe. As these immigrants became permanent residents, the Islamic communities they developed had to respond to their European context, reinterpreting Islam in accordance with local conditions. In Localizing Islam in Europe, Yükleyen brings this adaptation to light, demonstrating how Islam and Europe have shaped one another and challenging the idea that Islamic beliefs are inherently antithetical to European secular, democratic, and pluralist values.

Yûkleyen compares five different forms of religious communities among Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands and Germany that represent a spectrum from moderate to revolutionary Islamic opinions. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, he finds that, despite differences in goals and beliefs, these communities play an intermediary role, negotiating between the social and religious needs of Muslims and the socioeconomic, legal, and political context of Europe. Yûkleyen’s rich ethnography shows that there is no single form of assimilated and privatized “European Islam” but rather Islamic communities and their interpretations and practices that localize Islam in Europe.

“Ahmet Yükleyen provides a clear and convincing account of the different orientations of the major Turkish religious institutions in Germany and the Netherlands. All those interested in Islam in Europe today should read this book.”-John R. Bowen, author of Can Islam Be French? Pluralism and Pragmatism in a Secularist State “A compelling and important contribution to our understanding of Islam in Europe.”-Esra Özyürek, University of California, San Diego “Ahmet Yukleyen’s Localizing Islam in Europe cuts through the shrill debates to provide a rich and authoritative portrait of the lived reality of Muslims adapting to life in Europe. His insights will be invaluable for student, scholars, and policymakers alike.” –Peter Mandaville, George Mason University, author of Global Political Islam

Publication Announcement
From OKUYAMA Michiaki, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nagoya, Japan

Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The editors are pleased to announce that the Japanese Association for Religious Studies has published the new online journal, /”Religious Studies in Japan/”(ISSN 2186-9952).
The complete issue is downloadable for free in PDF format.

http://jpars.org/online/view-issue/vol_1_2012

/Religious Studies in Japan /is an online peer-reviewed journal edited and published by the Japanese Association for Religious Studies (Current President: Inoue Nobutaka).
This journal aims to share scholarly research by members of the Japanese Association for Religious Studies with international colleagues, and to promote discussion between scholars in Japan and abroad.

FOREWORD
INOUE Nobutaka
vol. 1: 1–2
President of the Japanese Association for Religious Studies

ARTICLES
SHIMAZONO Susumu
vol. 1: 3–23
From Salvation to Spirituality: The Contemporary Transformation of Religions Viewed from East Asia

OCHIAI Hitoshi
vol. 1: 25–38
The Theology of Simone Weil and the Topology of Andre’ Weil

Mira SONNTAG
vol. 1: 39–59
Divine Healing in the Early Holiness Movement of Japan

REVIEW ARTICLE
OKUYAMA Michiaki
vol. 1: 61–77
Civil Religion in Japan? Rethinking the Arguments and their Implications

BOOK REVIEWS
INOUE Nobutaka and the Religious Information Research Center, eds., Aum Shinrikyo in the Information Age, reviewed by SAKURAI Yoshihide
vol. 1: 79–85

INABA Keishin, Altruism and Religion, reviewed by Ranjana MUKHOPADHYAYA
vol. 1: 86–90

OKUYAMA Michiaki, Director, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture Nanzan University
18 Yamazato-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8673 Japan
email: mokuyama@nanzan-u.ac.jp

Handbook of Hyper-real Religions
Edited by Adam Possamai, University of Western Sydney

Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion http://www.brill.nl/publications/brill-handbooks-contemporary-religion

Today a new trend is clearly discernable, that of ‘hyper-real religions’. These are innovative religions and spiritualities that mix elements of religious traditions with popular culture. If we imagine a spectrum of intensity of the merging of popular culture with religion, we might find, at one end, groups practicing Jediism appropriated from the Star Wars movies, Matrixism from the Matrix trilogy, and neo-pagan rites based on stories from The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series. At the other end of the spectrum, members of mainstream religions, such as Christianity … read more<http://www.brill.nl/handbook-hyper-real-religions>can be influenced or inspired by, for example, The Da Vinci Code. Through various case studies, this book studies the on- and off-line religious/spiritual consumption of these narratives through a social scientific approach.

Contributors include: Stef Aupers, Eileen Barker, Lauren Bernauer, Douglas E. Cowan, Carol M. Cusack, Markus Davidsen, Martin Geoffroy, Danielle Kirby, Massimo Introvigne, Carly Machado, Debbie McCormick, John W. Morehead, Kamaludeen Mohamed
Nasir, Alan Nixon, Krzysztof Olechnicki, Adam Possamai, Heinz Scheifinger, John Wallis and Benjamin Zeller.

http://www.brill.nl/handbook-hyper-real-religions

The Sacred in the City
edited by Liliana Gómez<http://www.continuumbooks.com/authors/details.aspx?AuthorId=153382>
edited by Walter Van Herck<http://www.continuumbooks.com/authors/details.aspx?AuthorId=152761>
London/New York: Continuum, February 2012 288 Pages £ 65.00
http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=159765&SearchType=Basic

The book reflects the way in which the city interacts with the sacred in all its many guises, with religion and the human search for meaning in life. As the process of urbanization of society is accelerating thus giving an increasing importance to cities and the ‘metropolis’, it is relevant to investigate the social or cultural cohesion that these urban agglomerations manifest. Religion is keenly observed as witnessing a growth, crucially impacting cultural and political dynamics, as well as determining the emergence of new sacred symbols and their inscription in urban spaces worldwide. The sacred has become an important category of a new interpretation of social and cultural transformation processes. From a unique broader perspective, the volume focuses on the relationship between the city and the sacred. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, combining the expertise of philosophers, historians, architects, social geographers, sociologists and anthropologists, it draws a nuanced picture of the different layers of religion, of the sacred and its diverse forms within the city, with examples from Europe, South America and the Caribbean, and Africa.

Table of Contents
Framing the Sacred in the City. An Introduction, Liliana Gómez & Walter van Herck \ Part I: The Sacred and the City: Theoretical Approaches \ 1.Sacred Horror Vacui. A Philosophical Reflection, Walter Van Herck\ 2.The Urbanization of Society. Towards a Cultural Analysis of the Sacred in the Modern Metropolis, Liliana Gómez\ 3.The Lingering Smell of Incense. Exploring Post-secular Public Space, Pieter Dronkers\ Part II: Religion, Built Environments and Urban Societies \ 4.Religion in the Built Environment: Aesth/Ethics, Ritual and Memory in Lived Urban Space, Sigurd Bergmann\ 5.Kinhin in a Mega-City – Implicit meanings of the ‘Walking-in-the-Park’-Movement in São Paulo, Frank Usarski \ 6. Life Stance and Religious Identity in an Urbanised World. The Meaning of Life as a Modern Predicament, Rik Pinxten & Lisa Dikomitis \ Part III: Sacred Symbols, Sacred Spaces \ 7.Sacred Symbols of the City: Babel, Barbara and Their Towers, Anne-Marie Korte \ 8.Communicating the Elemental Cosmos: The Hereford Mappa Mundi, Sacred Space and the City, Renée Köhler-Ryan \ 9.Relocating and Negotiating the Sacred: The Reception of a Chapel in a Shopping Mall, Anne Birgitta Pessi & Peter Nynäs \ Part IV: Politics of the Sacred in Contemporary Urban Spaces\ 10.Kinshasa and its (Un)Certainties: The Polis and the Sacred, Filip De Boeck \ 11. The Politics of a Sacred Place: Revisiting an Israeli Development Town, Haim Jacobi \ 12.The Sacred in the City: Havana. Alejo Carpentier or ‘Fieldwork’ in the Urban, Liliana Gómez \13. Remaking Sacred Spaces after Socialism in Ukraine, Catherine Wanner \ Index

Religion & Gender Vol 2, No 1 (2012) has just been published.

Religion, Gender and Multiculturalism
Edited by Chia Longman, Eva Midden and Nella van den Brandt
Open access at www.religionandgender.org

Table of Contents
Editorial: Gender and Religiosity in Multicultural Societies
Chia Longman, Eva Midden, Nella van den Brandt

Articles
Deference or Interrogation? Contrasting Models for Reconciling Religion, Gender and Equality
Moira Dustin
“Is the Headscarf Oppressive or Emancipatory?” Field Notes on the Gendrification of the ‘Multicultural Debate’
Sarah Bracke, Nadia Fadil
Preparing for Life: Gender, Religiosity and Education Amongst Second Generation Hindus in Canada
Cathy Holtmann, Nancy Nason-Clark
Religion and Diasporic Dwelling: Algerian Muslim Women in Ireland
Yafa Shanneik
Gender, Colonialism and Rabbinical Courts in Mandate Palestine
Lisa Fishbayn
Within, Without: Dialogical Perspectives on Feminism and Islam
Sara Ashencaen Crabtree, Fatima Husain
Digital Multiculturalism in the Netherlands: Religious, Ethnic, and Gender Positioning by Moroccan-Dutch Youth
Koen Leurs, Eva Midden, Sandra Ponzanesi

Book Reviews
Review of Barbara Baert (ed.), Fluid Flesh: The Body, Religion and the Visual Arts, Leuven: Leuven University Press 2000
Susan Casteras Review of Maja Figge, Konstantze Hanitzsch and Nadine Teuber (eds.), Scham und Schuld. Geschlechter (sub)texte der Shoah, Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag 2010
Bettine Siertsema Review of Glenda Tibe Bonefacio & Vivienne S.M. Angeles (eds.), Gender, Religion, and Migration: Pathways of Integration , Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2010 Teruyuki Tsuji

Dr Burkhard Scherer Reader in Religious Studies Canterbury Christ Church University, U.K. Executive Editor “Religion and Gender”, www.religionandgender.org <http://www.religionandgender.org/>

Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China: A Case Study of the Influence of Christian Ethics on Business Life
By Joy Kooi-Chin Tong 9780857283535 – HB
This title is also available as an eBook: http://anthempress.com/index.php/ebooks.html
Print friendly information sheet: http://www.anthempress.com/pdf/9780857283535.pdf
Recommend this title to your library: http://anthempress.com/pdf/LIBRARY-RECOMMENDATION-FORM.pdf

The plug: Inspired by Max Weber’s thesis on the Protestant ethic, ‘Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China’ sets out to understand the role and influence of Christianity on Overseas Chinese businesspeople working in contemporary China. Through its in-depth interviews and participant observations (involving 60 Overseas Chinese entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and the United States), the text discusses how Christianity has come to fulfill an increasingly visible and dynamic function in the country, most notably as a new source of business morality.

Advance Praise for “Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China”
“Exploring relationships between Christianity and Chinese entrepreneurial endeavors, this meticulously researched study will be an informative, significant and engrossing book for anyone with the slightest interest in religion, economic development and/or contemporary China. I’m sure Weber would have enjoyed it.” -Professor Eileen Barker, London School of Economics
“Joy Tong not only captures the dynamism of the Chinese economy today, but also the importance of Christianity in China as a social force and an economic driver. ‘Overseas Chinese Christian Entrepreneurs in Modern China’ is a fascinating case study of a compellingly interesting topic.” -Professor Jack Barbalet, Head of Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University
“This well-written and carefully argued book deepens the research on Weber’s Protestant ethic thesis, creatively examining the impacts of religious motivations, ethics and networks on the economic behaviors of Overseas Chinese businesspeople in China, and challenging the presumptuous but unproven claims of Confucian values for the economic miracles in East Asia.” –Professor Fenggang Yang, Purdue University

ABOUT ANTHEM PRESS www.anthempress.com<http://www.anthempress.com/>
Anthem Press is an independent academic, educational and reference publishing house with a strong international focus. The company’s head office is in London and has sales offices in New York, New Delhi. Anthem’s publications focus on the Humanities and Social Sciences and selected areas in the Sciences.

A few days ago a new book about religious pluralism in Spain has been presented.
Its title is “Los otros creyentes” (“The other believers. The non-Catholic religious fact in the province of Zamora”), the result of a sociological research project in a small province of our country. You can see some parts of the book in Google Books, via the link found on our blog: http://losotroscreyentes.blogspot.com/. You can see the cover, the synopsis and index, and some reviews and appearances in the mass media.

Zamora is a small province of Spain with a strong Roman Catholic presence, but there are several religious minorities, some of them since the Middle Ages (Islam), and since the 19th century (some reformed churches). In the book we study the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church (Anglican Communion), Christian Brethren, Assemblies of God,  Gypsy Evangelical Church, Seventh
Day Adventism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Gnostic Movement and Maitreya.

If you are interested in the book, the authors can send it to you. The promotional price is 13 euros, and you have to add the postage (full prices with postage included: 15,50 for Spain; 19,50 for Europe; 23 for the rest of the world).
losotroscreyentes@gmail.com

Religion and the State A Comparative Sociology
Edited by Jack Barbalet, Adam Possamai and Bryan S. Turner

http://www.anthempress.com/index.php/subject-areas/browse-by-type/anthem-monograph-edited-volume/religion-and-the-state.html

This volume addresses a central problem of contemporary states, namely how to manage the eruption of public religions. While the liberal framework formerly regarded religion as simply a matter of private practice and conscience, in modern states religion has often come to challenge the so-called Westphalian model of church-state relations, and has brought into question many liberal notions of secularism and tolerance. There is much discussion about post-secular society in which religion has to be taken seriously in public affairs. This collection of case studies – looking at Turkey, Singapore, India, China, Britain, Europe and the United States – explores a number of examples in which the state exercises some degree of management of religion, thereby bringing into question the traditional separation of religion and state. This study also attempts to refine the notion of secularization by examining this process in terms of political arrangements (church-state relations) and the role of religion in everyday life. Ultimately, this study reveals that there is no uniform or standard pattern of secularization in modern societies.