Investigating the role played by religious actors in sociopolitical issues as a manifestation of the invisible politics of religion, this book concentrates on the social economy, support to migrants, the fight against social exclusion and pacifist campaigns, where religious actors have played discreet but structuring roles. In the European context, politico-religious matters have been reduced in two ways: first, a reduction of identity with religion being transformed into a heritage in the form of a minimal sense of belonging; and second, the media focus on the most fundamentalist currents within all religions. This book responds by proposing an alternative perspective with a focus on Southern European Catholicism and a comparison between Italian, Spanish and French subnational territories. In a period of polarized relations between religion and politics, there is a Catholic action repertoire which avoids this binary confrontation and which, in contrast, is characterized by its mediating dimension. The Catholic mediation repertoire receives little publicity and is expressed in a discreet but structuring way to address different public problems. An important contribution to the literature, this book will interest scholars and upper-level students working on religion and politics, mediation and peace studies, local policy making and comparative approaches to Southern European society and politics.

Relationships between peace, politics and religion are often controversial, and sometimes problematic. Religion is a core source of identity for billions of people around the world and it is hardly surprising that sometimes it becomes involved in conflicts. At the same time, we can see religion involved not only in conflict. It is also central to conflict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding. Religious involvement is often necessary to try to end hatred and differences, frequently central to political conflicts especially, but not only, in the Global South. Evidence shows that religious leaders and faith-based organisations can play constructive roles in helping to end violence, and in some cases, build peace via early warnings of conflict, good offices once conflict has erupted, as well as advocacy, mediation and reconciliation. The chapters of this book highlight that religion can encourage both conflict and peace, through the activities of people individually and collectively imbued with religious ideas and ideals.

As Europe wrangles over questions of national identity, nativism and immigration, Olivier Roy interrogates the place of Christianity, foundation of Western identity. Do secularism and Islam really pose threats to the continent's 'Christian values'? What will be the fate of Christianity in Europe? Rather than repeating the familiar narrative of decline, Roy challenges the significance of secularized Western nations' reduction of Christianity to a purely cultural force- relegated to issues such as abortion, euthanasia and equal marriage. He illustrates that, globally, quite the opposite has occurred: Christianity is now universalized, and detached from national identity. Not only has it taken hold in the Global South, generally in a more socially conservative form than in the West, but it has also 'returned' to Europe, following immigration from former colonies. Despite attempts within Europe to nationalize or even racialize it, Christianity's future is global, non-European and immigrant-as the continent's Churches well know. This short but bracing book confirms Roy's reputation as one of the most acute observers of our times. It represents a persuasive and novel vision of religion's place in national life today.

This book analyses the influence of religion on political parties and party politics in contemporary democracies. To do so, it compares five cases of democracies belonging to different geographic-cultural areas, and marked by different religious majorities: India, Israel, Italy, Turkey, and the US. The time span of the analysis is the period between 1980 (year which can be conventionally regarded as a turning point for the return of religion in the public and the political spheres at the global level), and the present day. Unlike most works on religion and parties, this book does not simply take into account officially "religious" parties, but all "religiously oriented parties" (with an influence of religion on party manifestos, constituencies and/or factions) even if they are officially secular. The theoretical framework is provided by the "cleavages theory", which considers some relevant traumatic social events as the origin of specific kinds (or families) of political parties; and by a typology of religiously oriented parties dividing them into five categories: conservative, fundamentalist, progressive, nationalist, and camp party.

Examining contestation and conflict management within holy cities, this book provides both an overview and a range of options available to those concerned with this increasingly urgent phenomenon. In cities in India, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, we can see examples where religion plays a dominant role in urban development and thus provides a platform for conflict. Powerful religious hierarchies, the generation of often unregulated revenues from donations and endowments, the presence of holy sites and the enactment of ritualistic activities in public spaces combine to create forms of conflicts which are, arguably, more intense and more intractable than other forms of conflicts in cities. The book develops a working definition of the urban dimension of religious conflicts so that the kinds of conflicts exhibited can be contextualised and studied in a more targeted manner. It draws together a series of case studies focusing on specific cities, the kinds of religious conflicts occurring in them and the international structures and mechanisms that have emerged to address such conflicts. Combining expertise from both academics and practitioners in the policy and military world, this interdisciplinary collection will be of particular relevance to scholars and students researching politics and religion, regional studies, geography and urban studies. It should also prove useful to policymakers in the military and other international organisations.

From Huntington to Trump argues that the “clash of civilizations,” an idea first raised three decades ago by Bernard Lewis and endorsed by Samuel Huntington, has created a template for understanding the world which has been adopted by both the United Nations and right-wing populist politicians in Europe and the United States of America. Haynes traces the development of the “clash of civilizations” from the colonial period through the end of the Cold War and 9/11 and analyzes its effects on society.

In the early twenty-first century, it is now clear that religion is increasingly influential in the political realm in ways which call into question the principles and practices of secularism. The Iranian revolution of 1978-9 marked the decisive ‘reappearance’ of political religion in global politics, highlighting a major development which is the subject of this edited volume. Addressing a highly salient and timely topic, this book examines the consequences of political interactions involving the state and religious actors in Christian, Muslim and Judaist contexts. Building on research, the basic premise of this text is that religious actors – including Islamist groups, the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches – pose various challenges for citizenship, democracy, and secularisation in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The key questions on which the book focuses are: Why, how, and when do religious actors seek to influence political outcomes in these regions? Providing a survey of what is happening in relation to the interaction of religion and politics, both domestically and internationally, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, religion, European and Middle East studies.