The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion (Oxford Handbooks)

The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion offers a comprehensive exploration of the dynamics of religious conversion, which for centuries has profoundly shaped societies, cultures, and individuals throughout the world. Scholars from a wide array of religions and disciplines interpret both the varieties of conversion experiences and the processes that inform this personal and communal phenomenon. This volume examines the experiences of individuals and communities who change religions, those who experience an intensification of their religion of origin, and those who encounter new religions through colonial intrusion, missionary work, and charismatic and revitalization movements. The 32 innovative essays provide overviews of the history of particular religions, disciplinary perspectives on a range of methods and theories deployed in understanding conversion, and insight into various forms of deconversion. This Handbook Offers A Comprehensive Exploration Of The Dynamics Of Religious Conversion, Which For Centuries Has Profoundly Shaped Societies, Cultures, And Individuals Throughout The World. History And Religious Conversion / Marc David Baer -- Demographics Of Religious Conversion / Todd M. Johnson -- Geographies Of Religious Conversion / Lily Kong And Seeta Nair -- Anthropology Of Religious Conversion / Henri Gooren -- The Role Of Language In Religious Conversion / Peter G. Stromberg -- Sociology Of Religious Conversion / Fenggang Yang And Andrew Abel -- Conversion And The Historic Spread Of Religions / Robert L. Montgomery -- Migration And Conversion Of Korean American Christians / Rebecca Y. Kim -- Psychology Of Religious Conversion And Spiritual Transformation / Raymond F. Paloutzian -- Religious Conversion And Cognitive Neuroscience / Kelly Bulkeley -- Dreaming And Religious Conversion / Kelly Bulkeley -- Deconversion / Heinz Streib -- Feminist Approaches To The Study Of Religious Conversion / Eliza F. Kent -- Seeing Religious Conversion Through The Arts / Diane Apostolos-cappadona -- Religious Conversion As Narrative And Autobiography / Bruce Hindmarsh -- Religious Conversion And Semiotic Analysis / Massimo Leone -- Political Science And Religious Conversion / Timothy J. Steigenga -- Hinduism And Conversion / Arvind Sharma -- Conversion To Jain Identity / Andrea R. Jain -- Buddhist Conversion In The Contemporary World / Dan Smyer Yü -- Conversion To Sikhism / Gurinder Singh Mann -- Adherence And Conversion To Daoism / Louis Komjathy -- Conversion And Confuciansim / Anna Sun -- Conversion And The Resurgence Of Indigenous Religion In China / Lizhu Fan And Na Chen -- Conversion To Judaism / Alan F. Segal -- Conversion To Christianity / David W. Kling -- Conversion To Islam In Theological And Historical Perspectives / Marcia Hermansen -- Conversion To Islam And The Construction Of A Pious Self / Karin Van Nieuwkerk -- Conversion To New Religious Movements / Douglas E. Cowan -- Disengagement And Apostasy In New Religious Movements / Stuart A. Wright -- Legal And Political Issues And Religious Conversion / James T. Richardson -- Conversion And Retention In Mormonism / Seth L. Bryant, Henri Gooren, Rick Phillips, And David G. Stewart, Jr. Edited By Lewis R. Rambo And Charles Farhadian. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion Copyright Dedication Contents Contributors The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion Introduction Part I Disciplinary Perspectives Chapter 1 History and Religious Conversion Chapter 2 Demographics of Religious Conversion Chapter 3 Geographies of Religious Conversion Chapter 4 Anthropology of Religious Conversion Chapter 5 The Role of Language in Religious Conversion Chapter 6 Sociology of Religious Conversion Chapter 7 Conversion and the Historic Spread of Religions Chapter 8 Migration and Conversion of Korean American Christians Chapter 9 Psychology of Religious Conversion and Spiritual Transformation* Chapter 10 Religious Conversion and Cognitive Neuroscience Chapter 11 Dreaming and Religious Conversion Chapter 12 Deconversion Chapter 13 Feminist Approaches to the Study of Religious Conversion Chapter 14 Seeing Religious Conversion Through the Arts Chapter 15 Religious Conversion as Narrative and Autobiography Chapter 16 Religious Conversion and Semiotic Analysis Chapter 17 Political Science and Religious Conversion Part II Religions Chapter 18 Hinduism and Conversion Chapter 19 Conversion to Jain Identity Chapter 20 Buddhist Conversion in the Contemporary World Chapter 21 Conversion to Sikhism Chapter 22 Adherence and Conversion to Daoism Chapter 23 Conversion and Confucianism Chapter 24 “Conversion” and the Resurgence of Indigenous Religion in China Chapter 25 Conversion to Judaism Chapter 26 Conversion to Christianity Chapter 27 Conversion to Islam in Theological and Historical Perspectives Chapter 28 “Conversion” to Islam and the Construction of a Pious Self Chapter 29 Conversion to New Religious Movements Chapter 30 Disengagement and Apostasy in New Religious Movements Chapter 31 Legal and Political Issues and Religious Conversion Chapter 32 Conversion and Retention in Mormonism Index Religious conversion has long played a major role in the transformation of people, societies, and cultures worldwide. However, in recent decades, academic and personal interest in religious conversion has burgeoned, along with increasing controversy about its ethics, direction, and social, cultural, political consequences. The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion draws on the expertise of an international team of scholars who provide original essays that illuminate the multifaceted nature of the phenomena of conversion in a global context. Moving past earlier, narrow definitions, this book provides the first major survey of both religions and theoretical perspectives on religious change. These innovative essays underscore the complex nature of religious change. An overview of current scholarship on religious change encourages new thinking and reflection on familiar and emergent themes to stimulate new scholarship and debate on conversion. The thirty-two original essays in this volume consist of two parts. Part I invites readers to consider global themes of religious change through disciplinary perspectives, including history, demography, geography, anthropology, sociology, psychology, gender studies, art, semiotics, politics, and autobiography. Part II explores the character of major religious traditions that advocate for change, conversion, and intensification. Individual essays offer unparalleled analysis of religious change within Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Chinese indigenous religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, and New Religious Movements, along with chapters on deconversion and the legal and political aspects of religious conversion. The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion provides an invaluable resource for research and teaching in the immensely relevant theme of religious change The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion offers a comprehensive exploration of the dynamics of religious conversion, which for centuries has profoundly shaped societies, cultures, and individuals throughout the world. Scholars from a wide array of religions and disciplines interpret both the varieties of conversion experiences and the processes that inform this personal and communal phenomenon. This volume examines the experiences of individuals and communities who change religions; those who experience an intensification of their religion or origin; and those who encounter new religions through colonial intrusion, missionary work, and charismatic and revitalization movements. The thirty-two innovative essays provide overviews of the history of particular religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, indigenous religions, and new religious movements. The essays also offer a wide range of disciplinary perspectives--psychological, sociological, anthropological, legal, political, feminist, and geographical--on methods and theories deployed in understanding conversion, and insight into various forms of deconversion. (Book jacket) The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion offers a comprehensive exploration of the dynamics of religious conversion, which for centuries has profoundly shaped societies, cultures, and individuals throughout the world. Scholars from a wide array of religions and disciplines interpret both the varieties of conversion experiences and the processes that inform this personal and communal phenomenon. This volume examines the experiences of individuals and communities who change religions, those who experience an intensification of their religion of origin, and those who encounter new religions through colonial intrusion, missionary work, and charismatic and revitalization movements. The thirty-two innovative essays provide overviews of the history of particular religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, indigenous religions, and new religious movements. The essays also offer a wide range of disciplinary perspectives-psychological, sociological, anthropological, legal, political, feminist, and geographical-on methods and theories deployed in understanding conversion, and insight into various forms of deconversion.