New Books in Religion

One of the best things about co-hosting New Books in STS is the opportunity to discover books like this one. Sherine Hamdy has given us something special in Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt (University of California Press, 2012). Framed as a study of the history and ethnography of organ transplantation in modern Egypt, Hamdy’s work uses a wide range of sources to encourage readers to think in a much more nuanced way about categories that we tend to generalize: bodies, family, religion, Islam, the idea of a “black market.” The story ranges from printed texts and interviews, to television programs, participant observation in classes on Islamic jurisprudence, and fieldwork in hospitals, private clinics, and other medical institutions. At every stage, Hamdy offers accounts (often quite moving) of individuals who are in the process of weighing the risks and benefits of transplantation, reminding us that none of these individuals exists outside of a complex web of social, political, familial, and other relationships. It is an inspiring book that ought to be read and assigned widely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

In his new book The Crisis of Zionism, (Times Books, 2012), Peter Beinart, Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at The City University of New York, questions the long-term viability of the American Jewish community’s support for Israel. Beinart feels that liberal American Jews are feeling increasingly distanced from Israel as a result of Israel’s handling of its conflict with the Palestinians. In our interview, we talked about whether Barack Obama is America’s first “Jewish President,” how Debbie Wasserman Schultz let Democrats know when and whether they could applaud for Binyamin Netanyahu, and how Beinart’s critics have reacted to his arguments. Read all about it, and more, in Beinart’s controversial new book. Please become a fan of New Books in Public Policy on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Popular atheist blogger Greta Christina has now written a book Why Are you Atheists so Angry? 99 Things that Piss off the Godless (Dirty Heathen, 2012) counters the widespread view (at least in America) that atheists are snarky and perpetually angry people, and explains the legitimate reasons why atheists should be rightfully angry (99 of them, to be precise). Greta cites a wide list of malpractices endorsed, caused, or perpetuated by religion, from the teaching of creationism in schools to female mutilation to the Catholic church’s stance on condoms. However, she goes beyond the usual criticisms of religion: she also speaks out against the way some theists perceive atheists, such as the belief that nonbelievers are immoral, ignorant, or simply sad. he protests the flaws in logic and disregard for truth which she perceives to be present in all supernatural beliefs, from organized religions like Islam and Christianity to less structured but equally unvalidated forms of woo. She denounces the cherry-picking that both fundamentalist and progressive Christians engage in when interpreting the Bible, and explains how religion’s lack of an external reality check contributes to the unique harm it can inflict. An entire chapter is devoted to the questions that she knows she’ll get asked, and she provides clear and in-depth answers. Greta also explains in the book why she’s an atheist to begin with. Those who follow her blog will already be familiar with most of the content in this book, but it is useful to have it in a condensed format and for handy access. Even for those who disagree with her, Greta’s impeccably clear and direct writing makes it a great read nonetheless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

It is not uncommon for many Americans to believe that morality and order comes from God and religion. A society without these elements would consequently be immoral and chaotic. When Phil Zuckerman traveled to Scandinavia, however, where he would spend the next fourteen months, he found a stable and content nonbelieving population, who often have high scores on the “happiness index”, low crime and corruption rates, and efficient educational systems. His book Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment (New York University Press, 2010)summarizes his qualitative research – mainly in the form of interviews – on the people of Scandinavia, and on their relationship to religion and society. He found that many people he interviewed for example, consider themselves Christian in a cultural historic sense, but do not at all believe in the notion of God – a position that would baffle many Americans. In addition, though many reject the notion of God, atheists in Scandinavia seem to be marked by indifference to religion overall – an indifference that would be unheard of in America, where religion is still significantly powerful enough to have protesters. In this fascinating book, Zuckerman explores possible historical and cultural reasons why Scandinavia came to be the irreligious niche that it is today, and why it so differs from other countries who seem to be becoming more and more religious. Most of all,  he uses his research to dispel the belief that a society needs to believe in God to thrive and prosper. The secular nonbelievers in Scandinavia, it seems, are doing just fine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

In December of 2011, Oprah Winfrey appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to talk about her new big plans and her inspirations for the future. Oprah replied, “For me at this particular time in my life I recognize that everything is about moving closer to that which is God. And without a full, spiritual center — and I’m not talking about religion — I’m talking about without understanding the fullness from which you’ve come, you can’t really fulfill your supreme moment of destiny. And I think everybody has a supreme moment of destiny.” Oprah has been providing the path to achieve this (Aha!) moment for decades now through the rituals of contemporary consumer culture and spirituality that enable individuals to live their best life. Kathryn Lofton, Professor of Religion at Yale University, cleverly unravels Oprah’s story within the broader context of American religiosity and the academic study of religion in her book Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon (University of California Press, 2011). In this excellent work, Lofton contends that modern religion is not something distinct that we can analyze but should be conceived of as the interaction of various modalities, which are often bracketed off as “Spirituality,” “Commodity,” and “Corporatism.” In our interview we explore various topics, weaving in and out of the content of the book, covering politics, public policy, ritual, capitalism, 9/11, among many others. We also had time to discuss freq.uenci.es, a co-curated project funded by the Social Science Research Council, as well as the various reactions to the project from critics on The Immanent Frame. Lofton was a delight to talk to as you can tell from her engaging presence but for those who have not yet read the book be reassured that her personality and sharp insight shines throughout the text. It was a joy to read and there should be no wonder why she has received such a wide response by commentators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

In this episode, we talk with Prof. Hank Glassman who’s written a new book titled The Face of Jizo : Image and Cult in Medieval Japanese Buddhism (University of Hawaii Press, 2012). Jizo is a Buddhist Bodhisattva whose presence has become ubiquitous throughout Japan as the protector of travelers, women, and children and childbirth. Historically, though, he has also been closely associated with death and is known as the protector of the six realms of rebirth. In some accounts, this bodhisattva is also conflated with King Yama, the lord of the hell realms, and it according to his mythology, Jizo has vowed now to enter full awakening until all the hell realms have been emptied of suffering sentient beings. Prof. Glassman’s book is the culmination of decades of interest and research on the cult of Jizo . He is interested in how Jizo came to take such a prominent place in Japanese Buddhism and religious life and practice. His book is extremely well written and accessible, conveying through numerous stories and narratives the life this particular bodhisattva has had in Japanese religious history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

“Islam isn’t a religion – it is a way of life.” I have heard both Muslims and non-Muslims express this sentiment. For believers this statement is meant to demonstrate how comprehensive God’s message is, covering not only the so-called spiritual aspects of life but also the seemingly secular components too. For polemicist denying Islam the status of being a religion serves to contribute to their agenda of challenging Muslim rights in western society. How should Islam be understood? And for that matter, what exactly is religion and how should we define it? Should we consider Islam a religion? Robert F. Shedinger, Professor of Religion at Luther College, addresses these questions in Was Jesus a Muslim?: Questioning Categories in the Study of Religion (Fortress Press, 2009). In this fascinating study Shedinger brings a broad spectrum of literature into dialogue to probe what we mean by religion, how Islam fits into that category, and how dialogue can exist between Muslims and non-Muslims based on these definitions. He outlines the problems with Comparative Religions, Interreligious Dialogue, and several other analytical categories more generally. Overall, he challenges us to rethinking how we conceive of the terms we use and their practical implications within real world circumstances. In our interview we explore the question if Islam is not a religion then what is it? Then with our new working meaning we ask was Jesus a Muslim? Take a listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Elizabeth West has written an insightful study about the presence of African spirituality in the autobiographies, poetry, speeches and novels of African American women, ranging from Phylis Wheatley to Harriet Wilson to Zora Neale Hurston. West’s book is titled African Spirituality in Black Women’s Fiction: Threaded Visions of Memory, Community, Nature, and Being (Lexington Books, 2011). It’s a powerful read! West’s two blubists, literary critics Georgene Bess Montgomery and Dana Williams, do not hold back in expressing their admiration of the work . Both detail how useful the book is to readers, students, and teachers of African American studies. Montgomery writes that “while [the authors West studies] have received much critical attention and analysis, [West’s] analysis is quite original and provocative.” And Williams adds that West’s book “is an important first step in advancing new frameworks through which to read African American literature.” This provocative examination of how Motherland spirituality inflects, influences, and sometimes challenges and often times mingles with Anglo-Christianity as a rhetorical device for black female authors is too important to miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Zellig Harris’s name is famous in linguistics primarily for his early work on transformational grammar and his influence on his most famous student, Noam Chomsky. However, much of his linguistic work has since fallen into comparative obscurity. Moreover, his political research and activism – about which he was especially guarded throughout his lifetime – has received scant attention. In this meticulously-researched biography, Zellig Harris: From American Linguistics to Socialist Zionism (MIT Press, 2011), Robert Barsky casts a great deal more light upon Harris’s story. Exploring his involvement in the Avukah student group in the 1930s and 40s, Barsky shows how Harris not only strove to advance the cause of socialist Zionism, but also shaped the destinies of several influential thinkers. He also traces the course of the revolutionary programme of linguistic enquiry that Harris laid out, inspired by the example of theoretical physics, and how this ongoing work came to be regarded as eccentric by practitioners of the dominant contemporary research trends. In this interview, we discuss the utopian ideals of socialist Zionism, and the influence of Harris upon Chomsky’s political thought. We look at the contradictory facets of Zellig Harris as an individual. And we consider whether rationality is an unreasonable assumption, when it comes to inter-personal dynamics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Recent events revolving around the Qur'an, such as the accidental burning of it in Afghanistan or the intentional provocations of radical American Christian pastors, suggest that Westerns often still fail to understand the role of the Qur'an in Muslims lives. On occasion, the mere suggestion of having Westerners read the Qur'an in order to gain a better understanding of its message has incited anger and lawsuits, as was the case at the University of North Carolina in 2002.The inability to bridge these cultural differences and the many inherent challenges the Qur'an possesses inspired Carl W. Ernst, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina, to write his new book How to Read the Qur'an: A New Guide, with Select Translations (University of North Carolina Press, 2011). He wondered how should the non-Muslim read the Qur'an? This comprehensive introduction presents a literary historical approach that enables the reader to understand how the Qur'an's initial audience encountered it through a chronological reading, traditionally understood through the early Meccan, later Meccan, and Medinan periods of Muhammad's career. It introduces a reading that understands the structure and form of the text as informing the meaning. Thus, Ernst examines the symmetry and balanced composition of verses, the tripartite structure of certain chapters, intertexuality within the Qur'an, and uses rhetorical analysis and ring composition as a means to approach and understand seemingly contradictory religious claims. Ernst's text is engaging and informative while achieving its goal of making the Qur'an accessible to the non-Muslim. His new book will certainly motivate a future group of Qur'anic studies scholars and will allow the uninitiated reader to better understand what the previously veiled text says about the cosmos and Muslims position in it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion