James A. Beckford's Books

New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change

By: James A. Beckford

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New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change

By: James A. Beckford

The book shows how rapid social change gives rise to novel religious interpretations and how new religious movements, in turn, try to influence the process of change. This analysis is illustrated by studies of the advanced societies of North America and Europe, of Japan during the first phase of industrialization, and of countries and regions in the developing world. New religious movements are revealed as a normal aspect of social life and as critical indicators of social change. This is reflected in each movement's social composition, teachings, values, religious practices and organizational structures as well as their engagement in politics, business and their structuring of social relationships."--Publisher's description.

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Page Count

268

Publisher

SAGE

Published Date

ISBN 10

1446233308

ISBN 13

9781446233306

Social Theory and Religion

By: James A. Beckford

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Social Theory and Religion

By: James A. Beckford

Many aspects of religion are puzzling these days. This book looks at ways of improving our understanding of religious change by strengthening the links between social theory and the social scientific study of religion. It clarifies the social processes involved in constructing religion and non-religion in public and private life. Taking illustrations of the importance of these boundaries from studies of secularisation, religious diversity, globalisation, religious movements and self-identity, James A. Beckford reviews the current state of social scientific knowledge about religion.

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268

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521774314

ISBN 13

9780521774314

A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood

The Bible and the American Civil War

By: James P. Byrd

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A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood

The Bible and the American Civil War

By: James P. Byrd

In his Second Inaugural Address, delivered as the nation was in the throes of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that both sides "read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other." He wasn't speaking metaphorically: the Bible was frequently wielded as a weapon in support of both North and South. As James P. Byrd reveals in this insightful narrative, no book was more important to the Civil War than the Bible. From Massachusetts to Mississippi and beyond, the Bible was the nation's most read and respected book. It presented a drama of salvation and damnation, of providence and judgment, of sacred history and sacrifice. When Americans argued over the issues that divided them -- slavery, secession, patriotism, authority, white supremacy, and violence -- the Bible was the book they most often invoked. Soldiers fought the Civil War with Bibles in hand, and both sides called the war just and sacred. In scripture, both Union and Confederate soldiers found inspiration for dying-and for killing-on a scale never before seen in the nation's history. With approximately 750,000 fatalities, the Civil War was the deadliest of the nation's wars, leading many to turn to the Bible not just to fight but to deal with its inevitable trauma. A fascinating overview of religious and military conflict, A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood draws on an astonishing array of sources to demonstrate the many ways that Americans enlisted the Bible in the nation's bloodiest, and arguably most biblically-saturated conflict.

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Page Count

393

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190902817

ISBN 13

9780190902810

Religion and Advanced Industrial Society

By: James A. Beckford

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Religion and Advanced Industrial Society

By: James A. Beckford

This book, first published in 1989, demonstrates that sociologists have much to gain from a strengthening of the connections between general theories about the changing character of modern western societies and specific studies of religion. It combines an exegesis of sociological classics in the study of religion, and a history of their influence upon the subject’s development; a criticism of Talcott Parson’s attempt to synthesise classical viewpoints into a single theory of modernity; a discussion of post-Parsonian theories of religion’s declining importance; and an argument that some quasi-Marxist thinkers may offer fresh insights into the place of religion in capitalist societies.

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Page Count

248

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

0429679149

ISBN 13

9780429679148

Social Theory and Religion

By: James A. Beckford

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Social Theory and Religion

By: James A. Beckford

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268

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Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521774314

ISBN 13

9780521774314

Religious Organization

A Trend Report and Bibliography

By: James A. Beckford

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Religious Organization

A Trend Report and Bibliography

By: James A. Beckford

No detailed description available for "Religious Organization".

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172

Publisher

Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published Date

ISBN 10

3112313607

ISBN 13

9783112313602

A Strange Business

By: James Hamilton

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A Strange Business

By: James Hamilton

Britain in the nineteenth century saw a series of technological and social changes which continue to influence and direct us today. Its reactants were human genius, money and influence, its crucibles the streets and institutions, its catalyst time, its control the market. In this rich and fascinating book, James Hamilton investigates the vibrant exchange between culture and business in nineteenth-century Britain, which became a center for world commerce following the industrial revolution. He explores how art was made and paid for, the turns of fashion, and the new demands of a growing middle-class, prominent among whom were the artists themselves. While leading figures such as Turner, Constable, Landseer, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Dickens are players here, so too are the patrons, financiers, collectors and industrialists; publishers, entrepreneurs, and journalists; artists' suppliers, engravers, dealers and curators; hostesses, shopkeepers and brothel keepers; quacks, charlatans, and auctioneers. Hamilton brings them all vividly to life in this kaleidoscopic portrait of the business of culture in nineteenth-century Britain, and provides thrilling and original insights into the working lives of some of the era's most celebrated artists.

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Page Count

367

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1605988715

ISBN 13

9781605988719

Diaries, 1971-1983

By: James Lees-Milne,Michael Bloch

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Diaries, 1971-1983

By: James Lees-Milne,Michael Bloch

Funny, indiscreet, candid, touching and sharply observed, this second compilation from James Lees-Milne's celebrated diaries covers his life during his sixties and early seventies, when he was living in Gloucestershire with his formidable wife Alvilde. It vividly portrays life on the Badminton estate of the eccentric Duke of Beaufort, meetings with many friends (including John Betjeman, Bruce Chatwin and the Mitford sisters) and the diarist's varied emotional experiences. Having made his name as the National Trust's country houses expert and a writer on architecture, he now established himself as a novelist and biographer. With some misgivings he published his wartime diaries, little imagining that it was as a diarist that he would achieve lasting fame.

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Page Count

431

Publisher

John Murray

Published Date

ISBN 10

1848547102

ISBN 13

9781848547100

Island Cup

Two Teams, Twelve Miles of Ocean, and Fifty Years of Football Rivalry

By: James Sullivan

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Island Cup

Two Teams, Twelve Miles of Ocean, and Fifty Years of Football Rivalry

By: James Sullivan

To most of us "wash-ashores," the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are resort destinations, summer homes for the Kennedys, the Obamas, and--yes--Bill Belichick. But the year-rounders see a different picture. After the tourists and jetsetters leave, the cold weather descends, and the local shop owners, carpenters, and fishermen ready themselves for the main event: high school football. For over fifty years, the local teams been locked in a fierce rivalry. They play for pride, a trophy, and very often, a shot at the league championship. Despite their tiny populations, both islands are dangerous on the football field. In this far-reaching book, James Sullivan tells the story not only of the Whaler-Vineyarder rivalry, but of two places without a country. Filled with empty houses nine months of the year, Nantucket and the Vineyard have long, unique histories that include such oddities as an attempt to secede from the U.S., and the invention of a proprietary sign language. Delving into the rich history of both places, Sullivan paints a picture of a bygone New England, a place that has never stopped fighting for its life--and for the rights to coveted Island Cup.

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305

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1608199061

ISBN 13

9781608199068

Social Theory For A Changing Society

By: Pierre Bourdieu,James S. Coleman,Zdzislawa Walaszek Coleman

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Social Theory For A Changing Society

By: Pierre Bourdieu,James S. Coleman,Zdzislawa Walaszek Coleman

There is in modem society a structural change that underlies many of the social changes with which the conference was concerned. My argument here will be that this is a qualitative change in the way society is organized, a change with many implications. I will call this a change from primordial and spontaneous social organization to constructed social organization (see Coleman 1990, Chapters 2, 3, and 24 for an extended examination of this change). The common definitions of these terms contain some hint of what I mean, but I will describe the change more fully to ensure that it is clearly understood. By primordial social organization I mean social organization that has its origins in the relationships established by childbirth. Not all these relations are activated in all cultures, but some subset of these relations forms the basis for all primitive and traditional social organization. From these relations, more complex structures unfold. For example, from these relations come families; from families come clans; from clans, villages; and from villages, tribes, ethnicities, or societies.

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349

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1000311945

ISBN 13

9781000311945

The Centrality of Religion in Social Life

Essays in Honour of James A. Beckford

By: Eileen Barker

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The Centrality of Religion in Social Life

Essays in Honour of James A. Beckford

By: Eileen Barker

A collection of the themes that are important for today's sociology of religion... this volume is essential for anyone interested in religion's place in contemporary society - it answers many questions and raises many new ones The breadth of topics examined in this collection is evidence of James Beckford's many contributions to the sociology of religion and, more importantly, to advancing the argument that we cannot understand society---even presumably today's "secular" society - without some appreciation for the role of religion. A much deserved recognition. A fitting tribute to a distinguished career: this book is a celebration of James Beckford's lifelong endeavor to make religion central to social theory. An excellent collection of thoughtful and often innovative essays, from some of the best sociologists of religion, developing many of the important themes so masterfully treated in Jim Beckford's work. Chock full of helpful new insights; everyone in the sociology of religion will find something of interest and significance in this book. Befitting the career of James Beckford, this book contributes to a genuinely comparative sociology of religion

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264

Publisher

Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published Date

ISBN 10

1409403432

ISBN 13

9781409403432

The Glamour of Strangeness

Artists and the Last Age of the Exotic

By: Jamie James

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The Glamour of Strangeness

Artists and the Last Age of the Exotic

By: Jamie James

From the early days of steamship travel, artists stifled by the culture of their homelands fled to islands, jungles, and deserts in search of new creative and emotional frontiers. Their flight inspired a unique body of work that doesn't fit squarely within the Western canon, yet may be some of the most original statements we have about the range and depth of the artistic imagination. Focusing on six principal subjects, Jamie James locates "a lost national school" of artists who left their homes for the unknown. There is Walter Spies, the devastatingly handsome German painter who remade his life in Bali; Raden Saleh, the Javanese painter who found fame in Europe; Isabelle Eberhardt, a Russian-Swiss writer who roamed the Sahara dressed as an Arab man; the American experimental filmmaker Maya Deren, who went to Haiti and became a committed follower of voodoo. From France, Paul Gauguin left for Tahiti; and Victor Segalen, a naval doctor, poet, and novelist, immersed himself in classical Chinese civilization in imperial Peking. In The Glamour of Strangeness, James evokes these extraordinary lives in portraits that bring the transcultural artist into sharp relief. Drawing on his own career as a travel writer and years of archival research uncovering previously unpublished letters and journals, James creates a penetrating study of the powerful connection between art and the exotic.

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Page Count

374

Publisher

Macmillan + ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

0374711321

ISBN 13

9780374711320

Book's by James A. Beckford

New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change

New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change

Social Theory and Religion

Social Theory and Religion

A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood

A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood

Religion and Advanced Industrial Society

Religion and Advanced Industrial Society

Social Theory and Religion

Social Theory and Religion

Religious Organization

Religious Organization

A Strange Business

A Strange Business

Diaries, 1971-1983

Diaries, 1971-1983

Island Cup

Island Cup

Social Theory For A Changing Society

Social Theory For A Changing Society

The Centrality of Religion in Social Life

The Centrality of Religion in Social Life

The Glamour of Strangeness

The Glamour of Strangeness

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