Paul Hanly Furfey S Quest For A Good Society

In A Quest for Humanity, Menno Boldt presents a persuasive new framework for achieving a human social order in the global age. Boldt explores the concept of 'the good society' as a world in which every person can realize their potential for humanity through liberty, social justice, and equal human dignity. A Quest for Humanity innovatively positions globalization as a deterministic phenomenon of expanding interdependence and shared knowledge — resulting in ever-larger economic and political jurisdictions, but also creating social and psychological links between peoples across the world. Boldt challenges mainstream certainty that Western democracy and constitutional human rights are the exemplary doctrines for the global good society. With a fresh vision designed to inspire a universal acknowledgement of human dignity, A Quest for Humanity powerfully affirms the value of each human being.

As the new millennium approaches, the sacred and profane interface, conflict, and intermingle in novel ways. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society provides a guide map for these developments. From succinct, brief notes to essay-length entries, it covers world religions, religious perspectives on political and social issues, and religious leaders and scholars -- present and past -- in the United States and the world. This comprehensive volume is an essential reference for studies in the anthropology, psychology, politics, and sociology of religion. Topics include: abortion, adolescence, African-American religious experience, anthropology of religion, Buddhism, commitment, conversion, definition of religion, ecology movement, Emile Durkheim, ethnicity, fundamentalism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, new religious movements, organization, parish, Talcott Parsons, racism, research methods, Roman Catholicism, sexism, Unification Church, Max Weber, and many others.

Introduced to social scientific audiences by Max Weber, the concept of secularization has had a major influence on the way in which religion has been understood in the West. But at least since the late 1980s both the predictive and the descriptive adequacy of this concept have been seriously challenged. In the face of this challenge, The Secularization Debate offers a timely summary of the critical issues that have arisen over the past decade. With its wide range of essays by prominent international scholars, The Secularization Debate is sure to become a pivotal volume for anyone interested in the hotly contested concept of secularization and its continued relevance to the study of religion.