Religion and Politics

In Faith and Politics in the Public Sphere, Ugur explores the politics of religious engagement in the public sphere by comparing two modernist conservative movements: the Mormon Church in the United States and the Gülen movement in Turkey. The book traces the public activities and activism of these two influential and controversial actors at the state, political society, and civil society domains, discerning their divergent strategies and positioning on public matters, including moral issues, religious freedoms, democracy, patriotism, education, social justice, and immigration. Despite being strikingly similar in their strong fellowship ties, emphasis on conservative social values, and their doctrines concerning political neutrality, these two religious entities have employed different political strategies to promote their goals of survival, growth, and the collective interests of their communities. In contrast to the Mormon Church's more assertive approach and emphasis on its autonomy and distinctiveness, the Gülen movement has been rather cautious with its engagement in the public sphere, with preference for coalition building and ambiguity. To explain such different strategies, Ugur examines how the liberal and republican models of the public sphere have shaped the norms and practices of public activism for religious groups in Turkey and the United States. Ugur's deft and nuanced exploration of these movements' adaptation and engagement is essential to help us better understand the dynamic role of religious involvement in the public sphere.

Since the 1980 US presidential races, the term "religious right" has come to signify a politically and socially conservative form of Christianity. This term implies a joining of socially conservative evangelical Christianity with conservative politics that continues to shape the Republican Party to this day. But this relationship is hardly new in American history; certain forms of Christianity have long shared space with the political and nationalist right in the United States. Less well known, however, are the various other religions that have influenced white racist activities in America. The recent popularity of these ideologies has caused a shift away from, and resulting hostility toward, Christianity among white nationalists. In Blood and Faith, Berry explores the causes of this shift, as well as the challenges it has created for contemporary white nationalists who seek access to the conservative American political mainstream. Building on Michael Barkun's landmark study of racist Christianity, Religion and the Racist Right, Berry takes a fresh look at the complex and evolving relationship between American white nationalists and religion.

When over 900 followers of the Peoples Temple religious group committed suicide in 1978, they left a legacy of suspicion and fear. Most accounts of this mass suicide describe the members as brainwashed dupes and overlook the Christian and socialist ideals that originally inspired Peoples Temple members. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown restores the individual voices that have been erased so that we can better understand what was created-and destroyed-at Jonestown, and why. Piecing together information from interviews with former group members, archival research, and diaries and letters of those who died there, Maaga describes the women leaders as educated political activists who were passionately committed to achieving social justice through communal life. The book analyzes the historical and sociological factors that, Maaga finds, contributed to the mass suicide, such as growing criticism from the larger community and the influx of an upper-class, educated leadership that eventually became more concerned with the symbolic effects of the organization than with the daily lives of its members. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown puts human faces on the events at Jonestown, confronting theoretical religious questions, such as how worthy utopian ideals come to meet such tragic and misguided ends.

In this unique study, Machen explores a moment of intense religious upheaval and transformation in France between 1880 and 1920. In these pre–World War I years, a powerful Catholic community was pitted against equally powerful anticlerical members of the French Third Republic. During this time, women became increasingly involved in faith-based organizations, engaging in social and political action both to expand women's rights and to ensure that religion remained part of the public debate about France's identity. By representing their faith communities as modern, progressive, and in some cases democratic, women positioned themselves to help guide a modernizing France. Women of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faiths also reshaped the narrative of female power within the French nation and within their own religious groups. Their activism provided them with social, religious, and political influence unattainable through any other French institutions, enabling them in turn to push France toward becoming a more democratic, equitable society. Machen's timely examination of the critical role women played in shaping the nation's religious identity helps to illuminate contemporary issues in France as Muslim communities respond to civic pressure to secularize and as the country debates the role of women in Islam.