About the Book
Why do some strategies for critique of religion seem to be more beneficial for constructive engagement, whereas others increase intolerance, polarization, and conflict?
Through an analysis of the reasons underpinning a critique of religion in institutional contexts of secular democratic societies, A Constructive Critique of Religion explores how constructive interaction and critique can be developed across diverse interests. It shows how social and cultural conditions shaping these institutions enable and structure a critical and constructive engagement across diverging worldviews.
A key argument running through the book is that to develop constructive forms of critique a more thorough and systematic investigation of resources for criticism located within religious worldviews themselves is needed. Chapters also address how critique of Islam and Christianity in particular is expressed in areas such as academia, the law, politics, media, education and parenting, with a focus on Northern Europe and North America. The interdisciplinary approach, which combines theoretical perspectives with empirical case studies, contributes to advancing studies of the complex and contentious character of religion in contemporary society.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Constructive Criticism in Secular and Religiously Diverse Society, Mia Lövheim, (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Mikael Stenmark (Uppsala University, Sweden)
Part One: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives
1. Criticizing Religion in a Secular Democratic Society, Mikael Stenmark (Uppsala University, Sweden)
2. Secular Criticism of Religion, Stephen LeDrew (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada)
3. Academic Feminism as Immanent Critique: Three Feminist Theological Critiques of Patriarchy,
Ulf Zackariasson (Uppsala University, Sweden)
4. Internal Critique in Muslim Context, Mohammad Fazlhashemi (Uppsala University, Sweden)
5. Criticism and Christianity, Charles Taliaferro (St Olaf College, USA)
Part Two: Law, Politics and Education
6. Courts as Critics: Nuancing the Insider/Outsider Binary, Effie Fokas (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Greece)
7. Framing Religious Criticism in a Secular Cultural and Legal Order: Subsidiaries to Muslim Youth Organizations, Pia Karlsson Minganti (Stockholm University, Sweden)
8. Criticism of Religion in Public Commissions on Cultural and Religious Diversity,
Solange Lefebvre (Université de Montreal, Canada) and Lori G. Beaman (University of Ottawa, Canada)
9. The Crocodile and the Gardener: Swedish Radical Nationalism and Critique of Religion,
Per-Erik Nilsson (Uppsala University, Sweden)
10. Tolerance and Criticism within Religious Education, Malin Löfstedt (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Anders Sjöborg (Uppsala University, Sweden)
Part Three: Civil Society, Media, and Family
11.Illusive Religion in the Public Sphere: The Debate on Confessional Independent Schools in Sweden, Johan von Essen (Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Sweden)
12. Criticizing Religion in Mediatized Debates, Linnea Jensdotter (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Mia Lövheim (Uppsala University, Sweden)
13. Religious Faith, Parenting Choices and Critical Engagement, Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Ninna Edgardh (Uppsala University, Sweden)
14. Postscript: Toward Constructive Criticism of Religion, Mia Lövheim, (Uppsala University, Sweden) and Mikael Stenmark (Uppsala University, Sweden)
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Mia Lövheim is Professor of Sociology of Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden. She is editor of Media, Religion and Gender (2013) and co-editor of Reconsidering Religion, Law, and Democracy. New Challenges for Society and Research (2016).
Mikael Stenmark is Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden. He is co-editor of Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society (2018), and Naturalism and Beyond: Religious Naturalism and Its Alternatives (2016).
Review :
A must read for scholars and researchers in the field of religion and non-religion ... calls for an urgent and engaged conversation so that the current debate can contribute toward constructive critique in religiously diverse democratic societies
Combining philosophical and theological analyses of arguments with sociological and legal analyses of social institutions, this unique book points beyond mere toleration to an engagement with religious diversity characterized by 'agonistic respect'.
At a time when public dialogue about religion has never been more necessary, this fine collection of essays offers considerable insight into how a constructive yet critical conversation is possible.
The contemporary presence and plurality of religious manifestations call for nuanced criticism that can counter religious illiteracy and provide constructive forms of criticism of religion. This book contributes in a valuable way to that aim. It is an original and important contribution that fills a lacuna in the existing literature.
