Religion, Politics, and Identity in a Changing South Africa

Download or read book Religion, Politics, and Identity in a Changing South Africa written by Abdulkader Tayob, Wolfram Weisse, David Chidester and published by Waxmann Verlag. This book was released on with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the role of religion in society? In the wake of September 11, public intellectuals provided easy answers. According to some, religion was the problem, others commented, religion was the solution. Generally, public debate about the force of religion in society has been organized by either/or propositions. Religion is a force for either freedom or bondage, for either peace or war, for either mutual recognition or antagonistic polarization. Analysis of religion and social change has also tended to be framed in terms of oppositions that inform research agendas and public policy. In this book, authors from South Africa, the United States of America, the Netherlands, and Germany test these oppositions.