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Defending the Faith

Global Histories of Apologetics and Politics in the Twentieth Century

Hugh McLeod editor Todd Weir editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:11th Jan '21

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Defending the Faith cover

This volume explores the many ways in which conflicts between secular worldviews and religions shaped the history of the twentieth century. It introduces the notion of 'apologetics' to highlight a common feature of these conflicts: both secular and religious groups employed a mixture of learned argument and popular propaganda to defend their faith, but also to come up with new forms of outreach and mission. By bringing the dynamics of religious and secular apologetics into a comparative perspective, and drawing on examples from Western Europe, the USSR, the USA, North Africa and Asia from the 1920s to the present, the volume offers important historical perspectives on current debates over the place of religion in contemporary politics.

The book conforms to the chronological boundaries 1917-1989 of the "short 20th century". Its tripartite organization starts from the European hearth, approached in the five articles of the first part, "Apologetics in Europe between the two wars" (p. 17-116). * Cornelius Crowley, Archives de sciences sociales des religions *
Indeed, the volume as a whole will stimulate much useful thought and discussion. For those in scholarly circles, it offers much food for thought on subjects from the Cold War and decolonization to American evangelicalism and world religions. It also has much potential for use in university courses. * Erik Benson, Fides Historia Review *
The book is distinctive in extending the notion of apologetics to include non-Christian and even anti-Christian contentions. * David Bebbington, The English Historical Review *
scholars and students of religion and politics in the twentieth century —especially those interested in thinking comparatively, theoretically,and internationally — will find this collection of essays a valuable addition to their libraries and classrooms. * Matthew S. Hedstrom, Church History *
Defending the Faith nicely captures much of the variety and complexity of 20th century religious conflicts, and its use of apologetics to facilitate meaningful comparison is intriguing. * Graham G. Dodds, Politics, Religion & Ideology *
The book presents a great variety of contributions... * Arie L. Molendijk, University of Groningen, NTT JOURNAL FOR THEOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF RELIGION 76.1 *
It would be invidious to pick out particular chapters for praise: they all open interesting doors and make for worthwhile reading. * Andrew Chandler, Modern Believing *
After reading this conceptually stimulating volume, there can be no question about the fact that religion and secularism formed a powerful pair of concepts in the 20th century and the conflicts between the two influenced contemporary politics and decisively shaped culture. * Eveline G. Bouwers, Historische Zeitschrift *
After reading this conceptually stimulating volume, there can be no question about the fact that religion and secularism formed a powerful pair of concepts in the 20th century and the conflicts between the two influenced contemporary politics and decisively shaped culture. * Historische Zeitschrift *

ISBN: 9780197266915

Dimensions: 240mm x 165mm x 25mm

Weight: 660g

336 pages