In recent years, state legislatures in the United States have been transformed based on the social identities of their membership. At its most fundamental level, the debate over LGBTQ rights always has been a debate over the right of LGBTQ people to exist. While the role faith plays in legislative decision making is rooted within government functions, careful examination and change must be conducted to protect the humanity of those at risk through these influences. Faith-Based Influences on Legislative Decision Making: Emerging Research and Opportunities explores the balance between religious freedoms of legislators and the human rights of members of the LGBTQ community. Examining the politics and institutional forces brought to bear on LGBTQ claims for visibility, recognition, and dignity, this book is organized into three sections, each of which uses a distinct institutional lens—historical, legal, and religious. The author attempts to demonstrate that while the clash of cultures between these groups is real, it is not simple. The faith worldviews of each share common structural features but often reach extremely different conclusions. Covering topics such as marriage equality, religious liberty, and court cases, this book is an essential resource for students and educators in political science, policymakers, legislators, historians, sociologists, researchers, universities, administrations, community leaders, and academicians.

In recent years, state legislatures in the United States have been transformed based on the social identities of their membership. At its most fundamental level, the debate over LGBTQ rights always has been a debate over the right of LGBTQ people to exist. While the role faith plays in legislative decision making is rooted within government functions, careful examination and change must be conducted to protect the humanity of those at risk through these influences. Faith-Based Influences on Legislative Decision Making: Emerging Research and Opportunities explores the balance between religious freedoms of legislators and the human rights of members of the LGBTQ community. Examining the politics and institutional forces brought to bear on LGBTQ claims for visibility, recognition, and dignity, this book is organized into three sections, each of which uses a distinct institutional lens--historical, legal, and religious. The author attempts to demonstrate that while the clash of cultures between these groups is real, it is not simple. The faith worldviews of each share common structural features but often reach extremely different conclusions. Covering topics such as marriage equality, religious liberty, and court cases, this book is an essential resource for students and educators in political science, policymakers, legislators, historians, sociologists, researchers, universities, administrations, community leaders, and academicians.

Increased diversity and shifting social identities have created significant effects on contemporary legislative systems. These shifts have altered how legislative bodies conduct, implement, and pass various policies and bills. Impacts of Faith-Based Decision Making on the Individual-Level Legislative Process: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an innovative source of scholarly material on the religious influences of modern society on marital law. Including perspectives on topics such as same-sex marriage, religious values, and bill sponsorship, this book is ideally designed for researchers, academics, professionals, graduate students, and policy makers interested in the latest developments on legislative decision making.

Despite several idealistic efforts towards a united Africa, the term remains a hypothetical concept symbolizing a desired federal state on the continent. While globalization and interconnectedness have brought prosperity in some parts of the world, Africa has not generally benefited from global decisions. These decisions, policies, and practices have tended to be wholly influenced by the rich and powerful countries and their transnational agencies and corporations in pursuit of their national interests. Faced with such enormous external economic and political forces, the divided and powerless African states have been unable to bargain for lucrative economic deals or pursue national interests for the benefit of their people, hence the need to examine what exists in varied fields and the emerging trends for the future. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Future of Africa and Policy Development addresses critical issues and challenges in Africa and seeks to examine and understand the future trends in Africa through a deconstructive interrogation of present trends. Covering a wide range of topics such as sustainability, equality, and democracy, it is ideal for researchers, academicians, students, economists, policymakers, political parties, trade unions, and NGOs.

As healthcare, culture, and the environment remain crucial aspects of modern society, the current issues and opportunities within each sector must be examined and considered in order to ensure their success in the future. These critical fields should be studied in relation to each other as they must work in tandem to create a better society. The Handbook of Research on Interdisciplinary Studies on Healthcare, Culture, and the Environment presents innovative ideas and emerging research to highlight critical trends focusing on the relationship between healthcare, environmental wellbeing, and society and culture. Covering a range of topics such as sustainability, leadership, and food security, this reference work is ideal for industry professionals, researchers, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Despite all efforts to create a political union capable of improving European citizens’ quality of life, there are several barriers to the European Union’s (EU) expansion to the Balkan Region. The EU enlargement and expansion to the Balkan Region is one of the Union’s greatest challenges and political objectives in recent years. In the turmoil of economic, social, and sanitarian crises, where is the space to debate the enlargement of the EU? Challenges and Barriers to the European Union Expansion to the Balkan Region presents the EU’s structure, the process of enlargement, and the challenges related to the Balkan region. This book addresses critical issues and challenges in the EU and the emerging trends for the EU’s future. Covering topics such as enlargement policy, integration, NATO, and political challenges, this book is a valuable resource for post-grad students of political science and international affairs, faculty of higher education, researchers, academicians, politicians, world leaders, and policymakers.

Direct democracy, or pure democracy, is a concept spreading throughout the world, now adopted by nearly 30 countries on the national level. While the concept is not new, it is important to investigate the current benefits or hinderances of direct democracy related to local governments so that they may be implemented further. Direct Democracy Practices at the Local Level deepens the knowledge of direct democracy in political science. This book explores how local governments utilize these instruments in international governments and analyzes a series of popular initiatives and local referenda to how successful these initiatives are. Covering topics such as religious rights, street committees, and climate change, this book is essential for political science students and professors, policymakers, faculty, local governments, academicians, and researchers in political science with an interest in direct democracy procedures in representative systems.