www.WageningenAcademic.com/religion

Jeffrey Haynes adopts a chronological and conceptual approach to introduce students to the central themes and theoretical perspectives in the study of religion and development in the developing world, focusing on key themes including environmental sustainability, health and education.

"Religion is high on the agenda of international politics today. Though there has been a retreat from religion in Europe, the international debate on the meaning and relevance of religion has intensified after the Iranian revolution and has gained new strength with the recent terror attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the proliferation of intrastate conflict, and the process of European integration. The issues of secularism and its relationship to democracy, globalization and foreign policy are explored in this book. It is most relevant for politicians, policymakers, academic researchers, non-governmental organisations, peace and development practitioners, as well as the media. The book deals with the practical and policy-related consequences of the debate for development organisations and their views on poverty, religion and conflict. The Society for International Development (SID) has brought together eminent international writers and leading authorities in the field of religion, coming from different backgrounds and regions. Among the contributors are Peter Berger, Leonardo Boff, Abdullahi An-Na’im, Riffat Hassan, Thomas Pogge, Scott M. Thomas and Jonathan Fox."

This unique and fascinating book illustrates that in moving the research agenda forward despite whatever methodological pitfalls that may await in the attempt the dynamics of religion must now be considered to be of central and abiding importance in the study of world politics. An illuminating case study of the World Bank s engagements with religion/faith communities, institutions and social movements provides insights into the current discourse on religion in international relations. John A. Rees argues that religion is of equal importance to other structures of international relations (IR), and questions where religion is operating in world politics rather than what religion is in an essential sense. He constructs a new model for differentiating three distinct discourses of religion in the theory and practice of world politics, which he applies to the IR sphere of international development, and encourages new thinking in the field by answering conceptual and methodological challenges in religion research. This book will prove an enlightening point of reference for academics and researchers in the fields of religion, world politics, international relations, and development studies, as well as for international organisations, development theorists and practitioners working in conjunction with faith-based organisations.

This comprehensive Handbook examines the relationship between religion and international relations, mainly focusing on several world religions – Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. Providing a timely update on this understudied topic, it evaluates how this complex relationship has evolved over the last four decades, looking at a variety of political contexts, regions and countries.

This book is about the global resurgence of culture and religion in international relations, and how these social changes are transforming our understanding of International Relation theory, and the key policy-related issue areas in world politics. It is evident in the on-going debates over the 'root causes' of 9/11 that there are many scholars, journalists and members of the public who still believe culture and religion can be explained away by appeals to more 'basic' economic, social or political forces in society. Therefore The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations presents an argument for taking culture - and particularly religion - as social forces that are important for understanding world politics in the post-Westphalian era.

Discussions of religion in international relations have often focused narrowly on religious fundamentalism and on the potentially negative consequences of religious differences. This book attempts to take a more balanced and much broader view of the subject, bringing together new research-based studies by specialists from international relations, history and theology. Case-studies and thematic analyses examine both seldom-discussed issues - such as the political consequences of large-scale religious change - and review old themes in new ways.