This volume offers a timely and dynamic study of the rise of religion in American politics, examining the public messages of political leaders over the past seventy-five years. The authors show that U.S. politics today is defined by a calculated, deliberate, and partisan use of faith that is unprecedented in modern politics. Beginning with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, America has seen a no-holds-barred religious politics that seeks to attract voters, identify and attack enemies, ...

The tie that binds all Americans, regardless of their demographic background, is faith in the American system of government. This faith manifests as a form of civil, or secular, religion with its own core documents, creeds, oaths, ceremonies, and even individuals. In The Rhetoric of American Civil Religion: Symbols, Sinners, and Saints, contributors seek to examine some of those core elements of American faith by exploring the proverbial saints, sinners and dominant symbols of the American...

On September 11, 2001, Americans witnessed horrific carnage inspired by religious extremism. We saw religious fundamentalists will stop at nothing to reign terror on those they regard as their enemies. In our response, we began to focus on the oppressive treatment of women and children in other parts of the world where religious fundamentalism rules. But we failed to acknowledge the impact and similarities of Christian fundamentalism.Even now, most Americans fail to realize the mag...

What motivates Islamic terrorists? What is in the mind of terror? Our news reports from the Middle East cover events—bombings, massacres, and suicide attacks. Our newscasters take time to explain who the players are—from Hezbollah to the Iranian Quds, from ISIS to the Palestinian National Authority. But there is something underneath these events and players that fuels atrocity after atrocity in the Middle East. What is it? Tass Saada provides the answer to that question as he delves into t...

Anglo-Saxons are a forgetful people. It was ever so, from their beginnings as a collection of tribes, morphing over time into the most influential of nations on Earth. So it is that in the great debate over whether or not Australia should become a republic, the true origins of the nation—the real foundation of its greatness—are seldom spoken of.In this booklet:• A Nation—Meant to Be• Boom and Bust• Trailing Behind the Trend• Sorry for What?• Savag...

For those who believe America is worth defending, The Control Factor explores the psychological maneuvers, fantasies, and entanglements we engage in to avoid clearly seeing the Islamic threat that confronts us. The prerequisite for developing necessary strategies to ensure our survival is taking responsibility for our perceptions and actions.

The Other Zions tells the fascinating and little-known stories of independent Jewish states, kingdoms, and tribes throughout history. Though Israel is the only Jewish nation most people can name, there have been many more. Author Eric Maroney introduces readers to the Jews of Khazaria, Adiabene (modern day Iraq), Ethiopia, Birobidzhan (modern day Russia), Himyar (modern day Yemen), and more. Leading readers through the rich histories of these communities, this accessible book digs...

Marc Gopin offers a groundbreaking exploration of Arab/Israeli peace partnerships: unlikely friendships created among people who have long been divided by bitter resentments, deep suspicions, and violent sorrows. In Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Gopin shows how the careful examination of their inner spiritual lives has enabled Jewish and Arab individuals to form peace partnerships, and that these partnerships may someday lead to peaceful coexistence.

Haitian Modernity and Liberative Interruptions investigates the intersections of history, literature, race, religion, decolonization, and freedom that led to the founding of the postcolonial state of Haiti in 1804. Particular attention is given to the place of religion in the Haitian Revolution, as well as to the interpretation and representation of this singular event in the work of Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes. This book not only examines the multiple legacies and the problems ...

Global realities of human inequality, poverty, violence and ecological destruction call for a twenty-first-century Christian response which links cross-cultural and interreligious cooperation for change to the Gospel. This book demonstrates why just action is necessarily a criterion of authentic Christian theology, and gives grounds for Christian hope that change in violent structures is really possible. Lisa Sowle Cahill argues that theology and biblical interpretation are already embedde...

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the history of Opus Dei in next to no time with this concise guide.50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of Opus Dei. Founded with the mission of promoting Christian values in secular life, Opus Dei began to adopt an increasingly radical viewpoint as the Church tentatively modernised its practices after the Second Vatican Council. Still in existence today and comprising nearly 100 000 members, Opus D...

Ours are times when religion is systematically being used: unconsciously by some and deliberately by others, in the service of politics and personal gain, rather then spirituality. However, perceptive and honest minds among all religious communities view different religions as diverse “languages of the spirit”, each valid and nourishing in its own way. An impartial study of different religions shows the underlying unity in the diversity of religions. All religions are attempts to satisfy t...