Is Europe Christian

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Is Europe Christian?

Author : Olivier Roy
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197513913
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (975 download)

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Book Synopsis Is Europe Christian? by : Olivier Roy

Download or read book Is Europe Christian? written by Olivier Roy and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Europe wrangles over questions of national identity, nativism and immigration, Olivier Roy interrogates the place of Christianity, foundation of Western identity. Do secularism and Islam really pose threats to the continent's 'Christian values'? What will be the fate of Christianity in Europe? Rather than repeating the familiar narrative of decline, Roy challenges the significance of secularized Western nations' reduction of Christianity to a purely cultural force- relegated to issues such as abortion, euthanasia and equal marriage. He illustrates that, globally, quite the opposite has occurred: Christianity is now universalized, and detached from national identity. Not only has it taken hold in the Global South, generally in a more socially conservative form than in the West, but it has also 'returned' to Europe, following immigration from former colonies. Despite attempts within Europe to nationalize or even racialize it, Christianity's future is global, non-European and immigrant-as the continent's Churches well know. This short but bracing book confirms Roy's reputation as one of the most acute observers of our times. It represents a persuasive and novel vision of religion's place in national life today.

Europe, was it Ever Really Christian?

Author : Antonie Wessels
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780334025696
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (256 download)

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Book Synopsis Europe, was it Ever Really Christian? by : Antonie Wessels

Download or read book Europe, was it Ever Really Christian? written by Antonie Wessels and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The decline of Christian beliefs and Christian practice in modern Europe has often been commented on, and there have been calls for a 're-evangelization' of Europe. But how far has Europe really been Christian? That is the fascinating issue explored in this book. In a historical survey of the Graeco-Roman, Celtic and Germanic backgrounds against which the gospel was first preached, Anton Wessels asks how Christianity came to be related to pre-Christian cultures. Were these swept away or just given a new significance? Which elements of them were abolished and which Christianized? Did Christianity prevail only by incorporating much of what had previously existed? These questions are not just asked out of curiosity. What has long fascinated the author is whether an insight into the spread of Christianity through Europe can be of any help in presenting the gospel in today's secularized world. There is much talk of the cinculturation' of the gospel in other cultures: African, Asian and Latin American; but Europe can be no exception here and the inculturation of the gospel in European countries is something of which Europeans should be far more aware. Here is a wealth of fascinating information, from the Graeco-Roman mystery religions through the Arthurian legends to the German festivals. And here is an area of exploration which is likely to prove increasingly important.

The Rise of Christian Europe

Author : H. R. Trevor-Roper
Publisher : W. W. Norton
ISBN 13 : 9780393958027
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (58 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rise of Christian Europe by : H. R. Trevor-Roper

Download or read book The Rise of Christian Europe written by H. R. Trevor-Roper and published by W. W. Norton. This book was released on 1988-12-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Rise of Christian Democracy in Europe

Author : Stathis N. Kalyvas
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501731416
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rise of Christian Democracy in Europe by : Stathis N. Kalyvas

Download or read book The Rise of Christian Democracy in Europe written by Stathis N. Kalyvas and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-05 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although dominant in West European politics for more than a century, Christian Democratic parties remain largely unexplored and little understood. An investigation of how political identities and parties form, this book considers the origins of Christian Democratic "confessional" parties within the political context of Western Europe. Examining five countries where a successful confessional party emerged (Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Italy) and one where it did not (France), Stathis N. Kalyvas addresses perplexing questions raised by the Christian Democratic phenomenon. How can we reconcile the religious roots of these parties with their tremendous success and resilience in secular and democratic Western Europe? Why have these parties discarded their initial principles and objectives to become secular forces governing secular societies? The author's answers reveal the way in which social and political actors make decisions based on self-interest under conditions that constrain their choices and the information they rely on—often with unintended but irrevocable consequences.Kalyvas also lays a foundation for a theory of the Christian Democratic phenomenon which would specify the conditions under which confessional parties succeed and would determine the impact of such parties, and the way they are formed, on politics and society. Drawing from political science, sociology, and history, his analysis goes beyond Christian Democracy to address issues related to the methodology of political science, the theory of party formation, the political development of Europe, the relationship between religion and politics, the construction of collective political identities, and the role of agency and contingency in politics.

Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe

Author : Mary Lee Nolan
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 9780807843895
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (438 download)

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Book Synopsis Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe by : Mary Lee Nolan

Download or read book Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe written by Mary Lee Nolan and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 1992-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe is a commanding exploration of the importance of religious shrines in modern Roman Catholicism. By analyzing more than 6,000 active shrines and contemporary patterns of pilgrimage to them, the authors establish the cultural significance of a religious tradition that today touches the lives of millions of people. Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites in Western Europe range from obscure chapels and holy wells that draw visitors only from their immediate vicinity to the world-famous, often-thronged shrines at Rome, Lourdes, and Fatima. These shrines generate at least 70 million religiously motivated visits each year, with total annual visitation exceeding 100 million. Substantial numbers of pilgrims at major shrines come from the Americas and other areas outside Western Europe. Mary Lee Nolan and Sidney Nolan describe and interpret the dimensions of Western European pilgrimage in time and space, a cultural-geographic approach that reveals regional variations in types of shrines and pilgrimages in the sixteen countries of Western Europe. They examine numerous legends and historical accounts associated with cult images and shrines, showing how these reflect ideas about humanity, divinity, and environment. The Nolans demonstrate that the dynamic fluctuations in Christian pilgrimage activities over the past 2,000 years reflect socioeconomic changes and technological transformations as well as shifting intellectual orientations. Increases and decreases in the number of shrines established coincide with major turning points in European history, for pilgrimage, no less than wars, revolutions, and the advent of urban-industrial society, is an integral part of that history. Pilgrimage traditions have been influenced by -- and have influenced -- science, literature, philosophy, and the arts. Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe is based on ten years of research. The Nolans collected information on 6,150 shrines from published material, correspondence with bishops and shrine administrators, and interviews. They visited 852 Western European shrines in person. Their book will be of interest to many general readers and of special value to historians, cultural geographers, students of comparative religion, anthropologists, social psychologists, and shrine administrators.

The Jews in Christian Europe

Author : Jacob R. Marcus
Publisher : Hebrew Union College Press
ISBN 13 : 0822981238
Total Pages : 746 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (229 download)

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Book Synopsis The Jews in Christian Europe by : Jacob R. Marcus

Download or read book The Jews in Christian Europe written by Jacob R. Marcus and published by Hebrew Union College Press. This book was released on 2016-12-31 with total page 746 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1938, Jacob Rader Marcus's The Jews in The Medieval World has remained an indispensable resource for its comprehensive view of Jewish historical experience from late antiquity through the early modern period, viewed through primary source documents in English translation. In this new work based on Marcus's classic source book, Marc Saperstein has recast the volume's focus, now fully centered on Christian Europe, updated the work's organizational format, and added seventy-two new annotated sources. In his compelling introduction, Saperstein supplies a modern and thought-provoking discussion of the changing values that influence our understanding of history, analyzing issues surrounding periodization, organization, and inclusion. Through a vast range of documents written by Jews and Christians, including historical narratives, legal opinions, martyrologies, memoirs, polemics, epitaphs, advertisements, folktales, ethical and pedagogical writings, book prefaces and colophons, commentaries, and communal statutes, The Jews in Christian Europe allows the actors and witnesses of events to speak for themselves.

The Formation of Christian Europe

Author : Owen M. Phelan
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191027901
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Formation of Christian Europe by : Owen M. Phelan

Download or read book The Formation of Christian Europe written by Owen M. Phelan and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-10-23 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Formation of Christian Europe analyses the Carolingians' efforts to form a Christian Empire with the organizing principle of the sacrament of baptism. Owen M. Phelan argues that baptism provided the foundation for this society, and offered a medium for the communication and the popularization of beliefs and ideas, through which the Carolingian Renewal established the vision of an imperium christianum in Europe. He analyses how baptism unified people theologically, socially, and politically and helped Carolingian leaders order their approaches to public life. It enabled reformers to think in ways which were ideologically consistent, publically available, and socially useful. Phelan also examines the influential court intellectual, Alcuin of York, who worked to implement a sacramental society through baptism. The book finally looks at the dissolution of Carolingian political aspirations for an imperium christianum and how, by the end of the ninth century, political frustrations concealed the deeper achievement of the Carolingian Renewal.

Orthodox Christian Identity in Western Europe

Author : Sebastian Rimestad
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 100022810X
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Orthodox Christian Identity in Western Europe by : Sebastian Rimestad

Download or read book Orthodox Christian Identity in Western Europe written by Sebastian Rimestad and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-19 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses the discourses of Orthodox Christianity in Western Europe to demonstrate the emerging discrepancies between the mother Church in the East and its newer Western congregations. Showing the genesis and development of these discourses over the twentieth century, it examines the challenges the Orthodox Church is facing in the modern world. Organised along four different discursive fields, the book uses these fields to analyse the Orthodox Church in Western Europe during the twentieth century. It explores pastoral, ecclesiological, institutional and ecumenical discourses in order to present a holistic view of how the Church views itself and how it seeks to interact with other denominations. Taken together, these four fields reveal a discursive vitality outside of the traditionally Orthodox societies that is, however, only partly reabsorbed by the church hierarchs in core Orthodox regions, like Southeast Europe and Russia. The Orthodox Church is a complex and multi-faceted global reality.Therefore, this book will be a vital guide to scholars studying the Orthodox Church, ecumenism and religion in Europe, as well as those working in religious studies, sociology of religion, and theology more generally.

European Christian Democracy

Author : Thomas Albert Kselman
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 358 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis European Christian Democracy by : Thomas Albert Kselman

Download or read book European Christian Democracy written by Thomas Albert Kselman and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this engaging and innovative new book, French scholar Jacques Proust analyzes the image Europe presented to Japan, deliberately or otherwise, from the mid-sixteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century. Appearing for the first time in an American translation, Europe through the Prism of Japan relies on a large quantity of underexplored documents from which Proust has tried to reconstruct, like a puzzle, Japanese-European relations during the age of European exploration. This fascinating book describes in careful detail developments in Japanese culture and civilization during three hundred years of interaction between Japanese and Europeans, including Dutch merchants, Spanish Catholic missionaries, and German and Portuguese Jesuits. Proust examines not only Europeans' influence on Japan but also the unique Japanese interpretation of European culture. This fresh perspective offers a prism through which Europe may be viewed and frequently sheds light on facets of European civilization of which not even the Europeans, at the time, were aware. Proust's lively study is especially valuable because of its interdisciplinary nature. Covering topics as wide ranging as art history, theology, philosophy, political and social history, and even the history of medicine, Proust interweaves these fields to present a unified historical and intellectual fabric. This round-trip journey between Japan and the West, which in the sixteenth century took about four years and can be done today in twenty-four hours, has the advantage of imposing on comparative studies a unique geographical and historical framework. Proust broadens our understanding of two very different cultures by providing new insight into both European and Japanese history.

Is Europe Christian?

Author : Olivier Roy
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780197520710
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (27 download)

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Book Synopsis Is Europe Christian? by : Olivier Roy

Download or read book Is Europe Christian? written by Olivier Roy and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Europe wrangles over questions of national identity, nativism and immigration, Olivier Roy interrogates the place of Christianity, foundation of Western identity. Do secularism and Islam really pose threats to the continent's 'Christian values'? What will be the fate of Christianity in Europe? Rather than repeating the familiar narrative of decline, Roy challenges the significance of secularised Western nations' reduction of Christianity to a purely cultural force--relegated to issues such as abortion, euthanasia and equal marriage. He illustrates that, globally, quite the opposite has occurred: Christianity is now universalised, and detached from national identity. Not only has it taken hold in the Global South, generally in a more socially conservative form than in the West, but it has also 'returned' to Europe, following immigration from former colonies. Despite attempts within Europe to nationalise or even racialise it, Christianity's future is global, non-European and immigrant--as the continent's Churches well know. This short but bracing book confirms Roy's reputation as one of the most acute observers of our times. It represents a persuasive and novel vision of religion's place in national life today. --

Congregations in Europe

Author : Christophe Monnot
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319772619
Total Pages : 219 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (197 download)

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Book Synopsis Congregations in Europe by : Christophe Monnot

Download or read book Congregations in Europe written by Christophe Monnot and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-14 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume describes and maps congregations of Christian confessions and denominations, as well as groups with Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, and various other spiritual faiths, in different European countries. Consisting of three parts, it presents concrete sociological studies addressing how established and not established, old and new congregations of various faiths create a new kind of religious diversity at the country level; how religious congregations are challenged and thrive in large cities; and how religious congregations change in the 21st century. The book enlightens by its descriptive analysis and the theoretical questions it raises concerning the religious transformations happening all over Europe. It addresses issues of religious diversity in the cities of Europe by presenting large studies conducted in cities such as Barcelona in Spain, and Aarhus in Denmark. By means of large-scale censuses taken in areas such as North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and in countries like Switzerland and Italy, the book shows how the historically established churches restructure their congregations and activities. It clarifies for the new gatherers where and how a new diversity of religious congregations is in the process of being established. Finally, the book covers two important topical issues: pluralisation and secularisation. It provides new data on religious diversity, painting a new picture of secularisation: the impact and structural consequences of the long-term decrease of membership in the established churches.

Reimagining Europe

Author : Christian Raffensperger
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674065468
Total Pages : 340 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Reimagining Europe by : Christian Raffensperger

Download or read book Reimagining Europe written by Christian Raffensperger and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Main description: An overriding assumption has long directed scholarship in both European and Slavic history: that Kievan Rus' in the tenth through twelfth centuries was part of a Byzantine commonwealth separate from Europe. Christian Raffensperger refutes this conception and offers a new frame for two hundred years of history, one in which Rus' is understood as part of medieval Europe and East is not so neatly divided from West. With the aid of Latin sources, the author brings to light the considerable political, religious, marital, and economic ties among European kingdoms, including Rus', restoring a historical record rendered blank by Rusianmonastic chroniclers as well as modern scholars ideologically motivated to build barriers between East and West. Further, Raffensperger revises the concept of a Byzantine Commonwealth that stood in opposition to Europe-and under which Rus' was subsumed-toward that of a Byzantine Ideal esteemed and emulated by all the states of Europe. In this new context, appropriation of Byzantine customs, law, coinage, art, and architecture in both Rus' and Europe can be understood as an attempt to gain legitimacy and prestige by association with the surviving remnant of the Roman Empire. Reimagining Europe initiates an expansion of history that is sure to challenge ideas of Russian exceptionalism and influence the course of European medieval studies.

Beyond the Feminization Thesis

Author : Patrick Pasture
Publisher : Leuven University Press
ISBN 13 : 9058679128
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (586 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond the Feminization Thesis by : Patrick Pasture

Download or read book Beyond the Feminization Thesis written by Patrick Pasture and published by Leuven University Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Case studies upon the use of concepts like feminization and masculinization in relation to christianity. Since the 1970s the feminization thesis has become a powerful trope in the rewriting of the social history of Christendom. However, this 'thesis' has triggered some vehement debates, given that men have continued to dominate the churches, and the churches themselves have reacted to the association of religion and femininity, often formulated by their critics, by explicitly focusing their appeal to men. In this book the authors critically reflect upon the use of concepts like feminization and masculinization in relation to Christianity.

Europe as the Other

Author : Judith Becker
Publisher : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN 13 : 3647101311
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (471 download)

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Book Synopsis Europe as the Other by : Judith Becker

Download or read book Europe as the Other written by Judith Becker and published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. This book was released on 2013-12-11 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been much academic debate over recent years on Europe defining itself over against the »Other.« This volume asks from the opposite perspective: What views did non-Europeans hold of »European Christianity«? In this way, the volume turns the agency of definition over to non-Europeans. Over the last centuries, the contacts between Europeans and non-Europeans have been diverse and complex. Non-Europeans encountered Europeans as colonialists, traders, missionaries and travellers. Most of those Europeans were Christians or were perceived as Christians. Therefore, in terms of religion Europe was often identified with Christianity. Europeans thus also conveyed a certain image of Christianity to non-European countries. At the same time, non-Europeans increasingly travelled to Europe and experienced a kind of Christianity that often did not conform to the picture they had formed earlier. Their descriptions of European Christianity ranged from sympathetic acceptance to harsh criticism. The contributions in this volume reveal the breadth of these opinions. They also show that there is no clear line of division between »insiders« and »outsiders«, but that Europeans could sometimes perceive themselves as being »outsiders« in their own culture while non-Europeans could adopt »insider« perspectives. Furthermore, from these encounters new religious and cultural expressions could emerge.

Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe

Author : James A. Brundage
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226077896
Total Pages : 714 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (26 download)

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Book Synopsis Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe by : James A. Brundage

Download or read book Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe written by James A. Brundage and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009-02-15 with total page 714 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monumental study of medieval law and sexual conduct explores the origin and develpment of the Christian church's sex law and the systems of belief upon which that law rested. Focusing on the Church's own legal system of canon law, James A. Brundage offers a comprehensive history of legal doctrines–covering the millennium from A.D. 500 to 1500–concerning a wide variety of sexual behavior, including marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, concubinage, prostitution, masturbation, and incest. His survey makes strikingly clear how the system of sexual control in a world we have half-forgotten has shaped the world in which we live today. The regulation of marriage and divorce as we know it today, together with the outlawing of bigamy and polygamy and the imposition of criminal sanctions on such activities as sodomy, fellatio, cunnilingus, and bestiality, are all based in large measure upon ideas and beliefs about sexual morality that became law in Christian Europe in the Middle Ages. "Brundage's book is consistently learned, enormously useful, and frequently entertaining. It is the best we have on the relationships between theological norms, legal principles, and sexual practice."—Peter Iver Kaufman, Church History

The Handbook of Religions in Ancient Europe

Author : Lisbeth Bredholt Christensen
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317544536
Total Pages : 471 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis The Handbook of Religions in Ancient Europe by : Lisbeth Bredholt Christensen

Download or read book The Handbook of Religions in Ancient Europe written by Lisbeth Bredholt Christensen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-11 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Handbook of Religions in Ancient Europe" surveys the major religious currents of Europe before Christianity - the first continental religion with hegemonic ambition - wiped out most local religions. The evidence - whether archaeological or written - is notoriously difficult to interpret, and the variety of religions documented by the sources and the range of languages used are bewildering. The "Handbook" brings together leading authorities on pre-Christian religious history to provide a state-of-the-art survey. The first section of the book covers the Prehistoric period, from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age. The second section covers the period since writing systems began. Ranging across the Mediterranean and Northern, Celtic and Slavic Europe, the essays assess the archaeological and textual evidence. Dispersed archaeological remains and biased outside sources constitute our main sources of information, so the complex task of interpreting these traces is explained for each case. The "Handbook" also aims to highlight the plurality of religion in ancient Europe: the many ways in which it is expressed, notably in discourse, action, organization, and material culture; how it is produced and maintained by different people with different interests; how communities always connect with or disassociate from adjunct communities and how their beliefs and rituals are shaped by these relationships. The "Handbook" will be invaluable to anyone interested in ancient History and also to scholars and students of Religion, Anthropology, Archaeology, and Classical Studies.

Christian Masculinity

Author : Yvonne Maria Werner
Publisher : Leuven University Press
ISBN 13 : 9058678733
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (586 download)

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Book Synopsis Christian Masculinity by : Yvonne Maria Werner

Download or read book Christian Masculinity written by Yvonne Maria Werner and published by Leuven University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the mid-nineteenth century, when the idea of religion as a private matter connected to the home and the female sphere won acceptance among the bourgeois elite, Christian religious practices began to be associated with femininity and soft values. Contemporary critics claimed that religion was incompatible with true manhood, and today's scholars talk about a feminization of religion. But was this really the case? What expression did male religious faith take at a time when Christianity was losing its status as the foundation of society? This is the starting point for the research presented in Christian Masculinity. Here we meet Catholic and Protestant men struggling with and for their Christian faith as priests, missionaries, and laymen, as well as ideas and reflections on Christian masculinity in media, fiction, and correspondence of various kinds. Some men engaged in social and missionary work, or strove to harness the masculine combative spirit to Christian ends, while others were eager to show the male character of Christian virtues. This book not only illustrates the importance of religion for the understanding of gender construction, but also the need to take into consideration confessional and institutional aspects of religious identity.