The interaction of faith and governance is an undeniable reality of the contemporary global scene. The last two decades have witnessed the takeover of Iran by Islamic reactionaries, the involvement of the Catholic hierarchy in the issues of abortion and nuclear war, acts of religious terrorism, and the rising influence of Christian evangelists in American politics.

This book explores the relationships of religion to political and social change. It is the second in a four-volume series examining the interaction of politics and religion around the world.

In this volume, renowned scholars address such topics as the role of the Catholic church in the redemocratization of Brazil, the Hindu-Muslim conflict in India, Mormon assimilation and politics, and alturnative views of Zionism. Our grasp of international affairs depends on our understanding or how religion and politics interface. Thus, the essays in this volume offer important and valuable insight.

Table of Contents

Religion and Social Change: The Critical Connection
Anson Shupe and Jeffrey K. Hadden

PART I: THE POLITICS OF WORLDTRANSFORMING RELIGION
1. A Theory of Prophetic Religion and Politics
Theodore E. Long
2. Kingdoms of Heaven on Earth: New Religious Movements and Political Orders
Eileen Barker
3. Mormon Assimilation and Politics: Toward a Theory of Mormon Church Involvement in National U.S. Politics
Armand L. Mauss and M. Gerald Bradford
4. State-Within-a-State Diplomacy: Mormon Missionary Efforts in Communist and Islamic Countries
Anson Shupe and John Heinerman

PART II: VARIETIES OF LIBERATION THEOLOGY
5. The Role and Response of the Catholic Church in the Redemocratization of Brazil
Thomas C. Bruneau
6. Nicaragua: The Struggle for the Church
Michael Dodson
7. Liberation Theology and the Concept of Human Rights
William R. Garrett
8. The Influence of Certain Political Movements in South Africa on the Church's Role in the Struggle for Liberation
Bonganjalo Goba

PART III: RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND INTEGRATION
9. Muslims in Communist Nations: The Cases of Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union
Jerry G. Pankhurst
10. The Roots of Hindu-Muslim Conflict in India: British Colonialism and Religious Revival
K. L. Sesbagiri Rao
11. The Sikh Crisis in India: A Question of Identity
Arvind Sbarma

PART IV: PRECARIOUS PLURALISM: THE CASE OF ISRAEL
12. Self-Preservation and the Embattled Church: The Case of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Donald A. Luidens
13. Christian Zionism and Jewish Zionism: Points of Contact
Roland Robertson
14. A Christian Love for Israel
Grace Halsell
Contributors
Index

ANSON SHUPE is a coauthor of Televangelism: Power and Politics on God’s Frontier, The New Vigilantes, and The Mormon CorporateEmpire. He is also Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University.

JEFFREY K. HADDEN is the. author of Prime Time Preachers, the most frequently cited work on the rising political power of television evangelists, and a coauthor of Televangelism: Power and Politics on God’s Frontier. He is professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, Charlottville, and a former president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.