Resisting the tendency to separate the study of religion and politics; editor Jacob Neusner pulls together a collection of ten essays in which various authors explain and explore the relationship between the world's major religions and political power. As William Scott Green writes in the introduction; "Because religion is so comprehensive; it is fundamentally about power; it therefore cannot avoid politics." Beginning with the classical sources and texts of Judaism; Christianity; Buddhism; Islam; Confucianism and Hinduism; God's Rule begins to explore the complex nature of how each religion shapes political power; and how religion shapes itself in relation to that power. The corresponding attention to differing theories of politics and views towards non-believers are important not only to studies in comparative religion; but to foreign policy; history and governance as well. From early Christianity's relationship to the Roman Empire to Hinduism's relationship to Gandhi and the caste system; God's Rule provides a basis of understanding from which undergraduates; seminarians and others can begin asking questions of relationships "both unavoidable and systematically uneasy."
#895208 in Books 2015-07-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .90 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 0875807232200 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. important book on an under-studied subjectBy Righteous Sister FureyI read this for research on a novel; but I am a literary historian; and in that capacity I strongly endorse this scholarship. Very insightful; carefully thought out research. I learned a lot.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. looks wonderful. Challenges pre-conceptionsBy snudd1211On first quick glance; looks wonderful. Challenges pre-conceptions.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Award-winning study probes the tensions and complexities of interracial relationships in antebellum AmericaBy RJPThis excellent book is the recipient of the Western Association of Women Historians Penny Kanner Award. The citation reads: "Sharony Green’s Remember Me to Miss Louisa: Hidden Black-White Intimacies in Antebellum America is an extensive; well-documented monograph about interracial relationships and their aftermath in antebellum America. In it; the author carefully interweaves documentary materials into a narrative that brings nuance to the question of African-American women’s experiences under slavery. Green manages to craft a story of the complicated; fraught; nonetheless “beneficial†experiences that developed out of these relationships. Situating them carefully in the wider socio-political context; neither treating them as examples of unmitigated oppression nor celebrating them as examples of women’s agency; her book illuminates the contradictions of the times. With material focusing on four “case studies†Green offers a story of complexity and ambiguity; cutting through any simple ideological interpretation of these lives to enable their stories to emerge in fullness; treating these tales with the seriousness and unflinching observationthey deserve. Admittedly a controversial topic; Green brings dignity above all to the African-American lives scarred by slavery; without avoiding the question of whether the strategies pursued to escape “the taint†served self-interest or the “wider good.†In fact; she refuses that dichotomy."
