Table of Contents

Introduction - Linda Woodhead. 1. How to Study Religion - Kim Knott. 2. Hinduism - David Smith. 3. Buddhism - Cathy Cantwell and Hiroko Kawanami. 4. Sikhism - Gurinder Singh Mann. 5. Chinese Religions - Stephan Feuchtwang. 6. Judaism - Seth Kunin. 7. Christianity - Linda Woodhead. 8. Islam - Anna Bigelow. 9. Religion in Africa - Mark Faulkner. 10. Native American Religions - Kenneth Mello. 11. Spirituality - Giselle Vincett and Linda Woodhead. 12. Paganism - Graham Harvey. 13. Contemporary Esotericism - Kennet Granholm. 14. New Religious Movements - Douglas E. Cowan. 15. Religion and Migration - Manuel Vásquez. 16. Religion and Politics - Paul Djupe. 17. Religion and Violence - Ian Reader. 18. Religion and Gender - Linda Woodhead. 19. Religion and Popular Culture - Christopher Partridge. 20. Secularism and Secularization - Grace Davie, Rebecca Catto, and Linda Woodhead

About the Author

Linda Woodhead is Professor of Sociology of Religion in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion in Lancaster University, UK. She has published over twenty books, including A Sociology of Prayer (2015), Christianity: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edition, 2014), and Everyday Lived Islam in Europe (2013).


Christopher Partridge is Professor of Religious Studies in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, UK. He is the editor of The Occult World (Routledge, 2015). His research and writing focus on alternative spiritual currents, countercultures and popular music.





Hiroko Kawanami is Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Studies in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, UK. Her recent publications include Renunciation and Empowerment of Buddhist Nuns in Myanmar-Burma (2013) and Buddhism, International Relief Work, and Civil Society (2013, coedited with Geoffrey Samuel).

Reviews

"We often throw a word like 'modern' around, as if we know what it means, or as if there were only one way of getting to or being modern. The present collection of essays on the religions and modernity (and on the modern study of religion) is a powerful reminder that we usually do not know what we are talking about, and that there are multiple religious modernities, each with their own specific political, colonial, economic, psychological, moral, and secular nuances. The volume is a model of comparative theorizing done precisely and deeply."Jeffrey J. Kripal, Rice University, USA