How evangelical activism in England contributes to the secularizing forces it seeks to challenge Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal strategies of their American peers, these claimants—registrars who conscientiously object to performing the marriages of same-sex couples, say, or employees asking for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid visible crucifixes—highlight the uneasy truce between law and religion in a country that maintains an established Church but is wary of public displays of religious conviction. Representing God charts the changing place of public Christianity in England through the rise of Christian political activism and litigation. Based on two years of fieldwork split between a conservative Christian lobby group and a conservative evangelical church, Méadhbh McIvor explores the ideas and contested reception of this ostensibly American-inspired legal rhetoric. She argues that legal challenges aimed at protecting “Christian values” ultimately jeopardize those values, as moralities woven into the fabric of English national life are filtered from their quotidian context and rebranded as the niche interests of a cultural minority. By framing certain moral practices as specifically Christian, these activists present their religious convictions as something increasingly set apart from broader English culture, thereby hastening the secularization they seek to counter. Representing God offers a unique look at how Christian politico-legal activism in England simultaneously responds to and constitutes the religious life of a nation.

"Over the past two decades, increasing numbers of Britons possessing Christian views and beliefs have taken to the courts to enforce what are framed as "religious rights" under both European and domestic legislation. These cases typically involve Christians who have been penalized for seeking faith-based exemptions from their conditions of employment - e.g. Christian registrars who claim a conscientious objection to registering the marriages or civil partnerships of same-sex couples, or employees who ask for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid the visible wearing of religious jewellery (crosses and crucifixes). Observers of American politics and culture will be familiar with the view that devout Christians are victims of secular intolerance. American right-wing evangelical groups have launched well-funded legal challenges to federal and state laws with a view to establishing opt-out or conscientious objection provisions of the sort noted above. (Some of these cases will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court soon.) The American connection to the English controversies is direct, as the legal activism of English lobby organizations such as the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) is inspired by American conservative legal strategies - and CLC also receives donations from American sources. (Although it should be noted that most of CLC's donor base is English.) This is an especially delicate matter in England - a country which maintains an established Church but which remains wary of those who "do God" in public. This book is an ethnographic investigation of this contemporary issue and is based on the author's two years of ethnographic research split between a conservative Christian lobby group (CLC) and a conservative evangelical church in London. The author reveals that evangelicals on the ground are deeply ambivalent about the impact of this "legal theology". Although some wholeheartedly support the legal battles waged by organizations like CLC and see them as essential for allowing them to discharge their missionary obligations, others are concerned about the possible negative consequences of using secular law as a vehicle for their faith and the potential damage such legal strategies might do to their efforts to spread the Gospel"--

In this groundbreaking collection, Edward L. Cleary and Allen D. Hertzke bring together nine new essays that provide the first systematic, comparative view of religion and politics at the state level. These essays take an in-depth look at the pressing issues facing states across the nation and how religious lobbies and organizations are addressing them. By examining the responses of different denominations and their rationales for involvement, the contributors explore the enormous diversity of interests being represented at the state level.

The greatest error one could make in life is to get involved without understanding. This book explains in clear terms what it means to represent God on earth.

Moshe Idel, the Max Cooper Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Senior Researcher at the Shalom Hartman Institute, is a world-renowned scholar of the Jewish mystical tradition. His historical and phenomenological studies of rabbinic, philosophic, kabbalistic, and Hasidic texts have transformed modern understanding of Jewish intellectual history and highlighted the close relationship between magic, mysticism, and liturgy. A recipient of two of the most prestigious awards in Israel, the Israel Prize for Jewish Thought (1999) and the Emmet Prize for Jewish Thought (2002), Idel’s numerous studies have uncovered persistent patterns of Jewish religious thought that challenge conventional interpretations of Jewish monotheism, while offering a pluralistic understanding of Judaism. His explorations of the mythical, theurgical, mystical, and messianic dimensions of Judaism have been attentive to history, sociology, and anthropology, while rejecting a naïve historicist approach to Judaism.

Revision of author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of St Andrews, 2006 under title: Re-imaging election: the Holy Spirit and the dynamic of election to representation.