* A riveting cross-cultural analysis of imperial myths and their subversion * Color images of contemporary murals showing the power of the la Guadalupena in Chicana/o imagination and resistance today

While the links between conservative Christians and politics have been drawn strongly in recent years, coming to embody what many think of as religious activism, the profoundly religious nature of community organizing and other more left-leaning justice work has been largely overlooked. Prophetic Activism is the first broad comparative examination of progressive religious activism in the United States. Set up as a counter-narrative to religious conservatism, the book offers readers a deeper understanding of the richness and diversity of contemporary religious activism. Helene Slessarev-Jamir offers five case studies of major progressive religious justice movements that have their roots in liberative interpretations of Scripture: congregational community organizing; worker justice; immigrant rights work; peace-making and reconciliation; and global anti-poverty and debt relief. Drawing on intensive interviews with activists at all levels of this workOCofrom pastors and congregational leaders to local organizers and the executive directors of the national networksOCoshe uncovers the ways in which they construct an ethical framework for their work. In addition to looking at predominantly Christian organizations, the book also highlights the growth of progressive activism among Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists who are engaged in reinterpreting their religious texts to support new forms of activism. Religion and Social Transformation series"

This volume addresses the problematic relationship between colonialism and the Bible. It does so from the perspective of the Global South, calling upon voices from Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The contributors address the present state of the problematic relationship in their respective geopolitical and geographical contexts. In so doing, they provide sharp analyses of the past, the present, and the future: historical contexts and trajectories, contemporary legacies and junctures, and future projects and strategies. Taken together, the essays provide a rich and expansive comparative framework across the globe.

A vital collection of interdisciplinary essays that illuminates the significance of Marian shrines and promises to teach scholars how to “read” them for decades to come. American Patroness: Marian Shrines and the Making of US Catholicism is a collection of twelve essays that examine the historical and contemporary roles of Marian shrines in US Catholicism. The essays in this collection use historical, ethnographic, and comparative methods to explore how Catholics have used Marian devotion to make an imprint on the physical and religious landscape of the United States. Using the dynamic malleability of Marian shrines as a starting place for studying US Catholicism, each chapter reconsiders the American religious landscape from the perspective of a single shrine to Mary and asks: What does this shrine reveal about US Catholicism and about American religion? Each of the contributors in American Patroness examines why and how Marian shrines persist in the twenty-first century and subsequently uses that examination to re-read contemporary US Catholicism. Because shrines are not neutral spaces—they reflect and shape the elastic yet strict boundaries of what counts as Catholic identity, and who controls prayer practices—the studies in this collection also shed light on the contested dynamics of these holy sites. American Patroness demonstrates that Marian shrines continue to be places where an American Catholic identity is continuously worked on, negotiations about power occur, and Marian relationships are fostered and nurtured in spaces that are simultaneously public and intimate.

* A riveting cross-cultural analysis of imperial myths and their subversion * Color images of contemporary murals showing the power of the la Guadalupena in Chicana/o imagination and resistance today

As younger generations drift away from evangelical churches, the number of religiously unaffiliated young adults grows. Is the drift because of politics, personal morality, rebelliousness, culture wars, or something else? In this project, 16 young adults from the Churches of Christ participate in qualitative interviews over a five-year span. They describe messages they learned about success and survival from their faith communities as children, and how they have embraced and reinterpreted those messages into helpful life principles as adults. The resulting study explores issues of ethnicity in evangelical borderland communities and contrasts Latinx narratives with white narratives in religious and educative contexts. Findings also revealed gendered narratives, class-based narratives, and the glaring absence of helpful narratives around sexuality, filtered through the lenses of religion and education. The central finding of the interviews is this: participants experienced the Church of Christ as rewarding conformity with community, a strategy (when it works) which secures the future of the denomination and cements a conservative doctrine in the next generation of leadership. However, the study concludes that true survival narratives were the narratives participants constructed in response to the narratives provided by Churches of Christ.

The new edition of the standard resource for those teaching or learning Latinoax theology Now in its second edition, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Latinoax Theology remains the most up-to-date, fully ecumenical collection of scholarship in the field. Bringing together contributions by a diverse panel of established scholars and newer voices within various theological disciplines, this comprehensive volume challenges Western readings of Christianity and offers fresh insights into theological truth from varied cultural and ethnic perspectives. The Companion addresses a wide range of Latinoax contexts while highlighting the thought of female, male, and LGBTQ+ Latinoax scholars in theology, introducing readers to this significant movement. Each chapter provides the historical background of a particular topic, explores its treatment by Latinoax theologians, discusses the current state of the topic, and offers the unique perspective of internationally recognized authors. The revised second edition incorporates recent developments within Latinoax studies, featuring new and expanded chapters that reflect numerous traditions of thought, up-to-date sources and methodologies, diverse intra-Latinoax communities, and contemporary Latinoax theologies and theologians. This invaluable and unique companion: Provides a systematic account of the past, present, and future of Latinoax theology Features new essays by the most influential voices in the field, incorporating recent research from Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical scholars Addresses the Latinoax experience of alienation and marginalization Represents the wide range of ecclesial and theological traditions Discusses Latinoax in timely contexts such as politics, immigration, feminism, gender, queer theory, and social and economic justice Edited by one of the world’s leading Latino theologians, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Latinoax Theology, Second Edition is an indispensable resource for academic scholars, undergraduate and graduate students, and instructors in universities and seminaries covering courses in theology, political thought, Latinoax studies, religion in the United States, and related topics.

When Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego at Tepeyac, she sent him to the bishop with the message that she desired a hermitage where all people would be welcomed and would experience her love. And yet, until recently, the message of Guadalupe has been limited to Catholics, particularly Mexicans and Mexican Americans. With this volume of essays, however, a variety of Protestant theologians engage the tradition surrounding Our Lady of Guadalupe to demonstrate that she has a place in Protestant churches. The multicultural dynamic of today's churches, Catholic and Protestant alike, means that cultural elements of people's faith cannot be dismissed. Rather, they are to be explored and contemplated, possibly embraced and integrated into the broader church life. By critically and thoughtfully engaging the Guadalupe story, the authors in this volume provide insights on how Our Lady can be welcomed into the prayer life and worship of Protestant communities. With a foreword by Timothy Matovina and concluding reflection by Virgil Elizondo.

In 2017 Christians around the world will mark the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation. In the midst of many appeals for reformation today, a growing number of theologians, scholars, and activists around the world believe Reformation celebrations in 2017 and beyond need to focus now on the urgent need for an Eco-Reformation. The rise of industrial, fossil fuel-driven capitalism and the explosive growth in human population endanger the fundamental planetary life-support systems on which life as we know it has evolved. The collective impact of human production, consumption, and reproduction is undermining the ecological systems that support human life on Earth. If human beings do not reform their relationship with God's creation, unspeakable suffering will befall many--especially the weakest and most vulnerable among all species. The conviction at the heart of this collection of essays is that a gospel call for ecological justice belongs at the heart of the five hundredth anniversary observance of the Reformation in 2017 and as a--if not the--central dimension of Christian conversion, faith, and practice into the foreseeable future. Like Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, this volume brings together critical biblical, pastoral, theological, historical, and ethical perspectives that constructively advance the vision of a socially and ecologically flourishing Earth.

Spirituality and culture are both recognized as important elements for providing culturally competent mental health services to ethnically and religiously diverse populations. They rarely, however, are considered together within a common conceptual framework. In this chapter, relationships between religiousness, spirituality, acculturation, and theological understandings of inculturation (e.g., how religious/spiritual beliefs and practices cannot be understood apart from their cultural context) are explored. Empirical evidence regarding the influence of religion and spirituality on mental health, as well as the effectiveness of spiritually and culturally accommodative approaches to treatment is also examined. Finally, the impact of spirituality and culture on mental health interventions is considered within two different paradigms: (a) how psychotherapy may be adapted to be more culturally sensitive to diverse populations, and (b) how indigenous notions of well-being, illness, and healing may help mental health providers broaden their notions of interventions.