Synopses & Reviews
Family and religion face a myriad of challenges in the modern age. Although many social theorists think these institutions would be greatly weakened or eliminated in the course of modernization, this book rejects that notion and demonstrates that both family and religion--no matter what significant transformations they may be undergoing--are nevertheless well rooted in societies throughout the world. The persistence and vitality of these two institutions contradict the secularization thesis or the family decline thesis. Though the importance of religion and family is manifested in different ways and in different contexts, these institutions are important virtually everywhere, in both the public and private spheres.
Family, Religion, and Social Change in Diverse Societies deals with family and religion together, examining their unique relationship as institutions as well as the way in which they interact with other social institutions, including politics and economics. Authored by an international group of scholars in sociology and anthropology, the fourteen essays are complex analyses of social change processes occurring within societies. Taking an inter-institutional perspective, each essay explores the special link between religion and family in a specific society. Together, the introduction and essays in the book cover societies on five continents, examining varying levels of economic development, diverse religious traditions, and differing degrees of cultural homogeneity. Providing informative and compelling studies, Family, Religion, and Social Change in Diverse Societies offers a good mix of both descriptive and statistical information.
Synopsis
This book explores the special link between religion and family and the interconnections between them and other social institutions.
Table of Contents
Introduction: the religion-family linkage and social change--a neglected area of study / Jerry G. Pankhurst and Sharon K. Houseknecht -- pt. 1. Societal conflict and accommodation. Religion and the family in modern American culture / Kevin J. Christiano ; Social change in Egypt: the roles of religion and family / Sharon K. Houseknecht ; Family and religion in Sweden / Irving Palm and Jan Trost ; Religion and family formation in Taiwan: the decline of ancestral authority / Li-shou Yang, Arland Thornton, and Thomas Fricke -- pt. 2. Dramatic societal transformation. Belarus on the cusp of change: the relationship between religion and family in a newly open religious market / Andrei Vardomatskii and Jerry G. Pankhurst ; The state, religion, and the family in Indonesia: the case of divorce reform / Mark Cammack, Lawrence A. Young, and Tim B. Heaton ; Religious and familial networks as entrepreneurial resources in South Africa / Gillian Godsell -- pt. 3. The context of innovation. Mormonism in France: the family as a universal value in a globalizing religion / John Jarvis ; The rebirth of Judaism in Kiev after Babi Yar and communism: the interplay of family and religion / M. Herbert Danzger ; "We don't celebrate Christmas, we just give gifts": adaptations to migration and social change among Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh children in England / Heidi Larson -- pt. 4. Economic factors as a force for change. Land of the rising son? domestic organization, ancestor worship, and economic change in Japan / Stephen R. Smith ; A woman's pillow and the political economy of Kedjom family life in Cameroon / Susan Diduk and Kent Maynard -- pt. 5. Gender and social change. Women, family, and Catholicism in Brazil: the issue of power / Maria Josâe Fontelas Rosado Nunes ; Converted women redefining their family roles in Mexico / Patricia Fortuny Loret de Mola.