Drawn from over fifty-eight individual, in-depth, qualitative interviews with women of faith in Malaysia and Britain, Women of Faith and the Quest for Spiritual Authenticity is a multifaith, multicultural and cross-cultural comparative focus that explores women’s religious expressions, as derived from practising Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Wiccans and Druids among others. Despite social advances towards women’s emancipation and the lacerating critiques from feminist theologians across the Abrahamic religions and beyond, women’s religious experiences remain submerged beneath the weight of patriarchal religious leadership and ongoing masculinised, dogmatic interpretations. Even feminism itself has yet to move the spiritual onto their main agenda of inequity in women’s lives. This extensive, feminist research monograph challenges these exclusions to centre and amplify women’s voices in speaking powerfully of their religious experiences, interpretations and practices. This is an ecumenical and entertaining ethnography where women’s narratives and life stories ground faith as embodied, personal, painful, vibrant, diverse, illuminating and shared. This book will of interest not only to academics and students of the sociology of religion, feminist and gender studies, politics, ethnicity and Southeast Asian studies, but is equally accessible to the general reader broadly interested in faith and feminism.
This volume draws on a trove of unpublished original material from the pre-1940s to the present to offer a unique historiographic study of twentieth-century Methodist missionary work and women’s active expression of faith, practised at the critical confluence of historical and global changes. The study focuses on two English Methodist missionary nursing Sisters and siblings, Audrey and Muriel Chalkely, whose words and experiences are captured in detail, foregrounding tumultuous socio-political changes of the end of Empire and post-Independence in twentieth century Kenya and South India. The work presents a timely revision to prevailing postcolonial critiques in placing the fundamental importance of human relationships centre stage. Offering a detailed (auto)biographical and reflective narrative, this ‘herstory’ pivots on three main thematic strands relating to people, place and passion, where socio-cultural details are vividly explored. The book will appeal to a wide range of readers, both the interested public and the academic alike, where a lively, entertaining, literary style introduces readers to the politics of women’s lives, and principle and professional service foreground ethno-class-caste oppression, emancipation, conflict, commitments and religious tensions. It reveals the human, vulnerable qualities of these women, illuminating their stories and courageous choices.
Social services have typically addressed equality and diversity issues through the lens of race and ethnicity, while the faith identities of minority ethnic communities have been largely bypassed. But in our contemporary world, there is a strong need for policies and services that are sensitive to faith in general and to Islam in particular. This unique book enables social work practitioners to gain a deeper understanding of how Islamic principles inform and influence the lives of Muslim populations. Designed to support work with families and faith communities, it examines religious precepts, cosmologies, philosophies, and daily practices, while acknowledging cultural variants and population heterogeneity. The second edition includes a comprehensive update of the research literature; detailed description and explanation of contemporary social work practice with Muslim service users, using an updated and expanded collection of international case studies; and new sections on religious extremism, aging, and end-of-life care. The only book specifically addressing social work with Muslim communities, Islam and Social Work provides an essential toolkit for culturally sensitive social work practice.
Drawn from over fifty-eight individual, in-depth, qualitative interviews with women of faith in Malaysia and Britain, Women of Faith and the Quest for Spiritual Authenticity is a multifaith, multicultural and cross-cultural comparative focus that explores women’s religious expressions, as derived from practising Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Wiccans and Druids among others. Despite social advances towards women’s emancipation and the lacerating critiques from feminist theologians across the Abrahamic religions and beyond, women’s religious experiences remain submerged beneath the weight of patriarchal religious leadership and ongoing masculinised, dogmatic interpretations. Even feminism itself has yet to move the spiritual onto their main agenda of inequity in women’s lives. This extensive, feminist research monograph challenges these exclusions to centre and amplify women’s voices in speaking powerfully of their religious experiences, interpretations and practices. This is an ecumenical and entertaining ethnography where women’s narratives and life stories ground faith as embodied, personal, painful, vibrant, diverse, illuminating and shared. This book will of interest not only to academics and students of the sociology of religion, feminist and gender studies, politics, ethnicity and Southeast Asian studies, but is equally accessible to the general reader broadly interested in faith and feminism.
This unique textbook enables social work practitioners to gain a deeper understanding of how Islamic principles inform and influence the lives of Muslim populations. Designed to support work with families and faith communities, this completely revised and updated edition examines religious precepts, cosmologies, philosophies and daily practices, while acknowledging cultural variants and population heterogeneity. It includes a comprehensive update of the research literature, international case studies, and new sections on religious extremism and ageing and end-of-life. This is the only book specifically on social work with Muslim communities and provides an essential toolkit for culturally sensitive social work practice.
Social workers, whatever their specialism, practise with people at the margins of society. It is therefore essential that all social work students not only understand the powers and processes that lead to disadvantage and marginalisation but develop the knowledge and skills needed to bring about change and uphold social justice in all aspects of their professional practice. Split into three parts, this book considers what is meant by disadvantage and marginalisation, how this can come about and the impact this may have on lives, before unpicking the key knowledge and skills needed to practice effectively with individuals and groups. It then goes on to show what good ethical and reflective practice looks like, going step-by-step through the ins and outs of using the law and policy to bring about change before considering key ethical dilemmas in practice.
This volume draws on a trove of unpublished original material from the pre-1940s to the present to offer a unique historiographic study of twentieth-century Methodist missionary work and women’s active expression of faith, practised at the critical confluence of historical and global changes. The study focuses on two English Methodist missionary nursing Sisters and siblings, Audrey and Muriel Chalkely, whose words and experiences are captured in detail, foregrounding tumultuous socio-political changes of the end of Empire and post-Independence in twentieth century Kenya and South India. The work presents a timely revision to prevailing postcolonial critiques in placing the fundamental importance of human relationships centre stage. Offering a detailed (auto)biographical and reflective narrative, this ‘herstory’ pivots on three main thematic strands relating to people, place and passion, where socio-cultural details are vividly explored. The book will appeal to a wide range of readers, both the interested public and the academic alike, where a lively, entertaining, literary style introduces readers to the politics of women’s lives, and principle and professional service foreground ethno-class-caste oppression, emancipation, conflict, commitments and religious tensions. It reveals the human, vulnerable qualities of these women, illuminating their stories and courageous choices.
Malaysian psychiatric services and policy show some developments similar to those of the West-yet much of the rhetoric that has informed these changes internationally, such as the discourse of service-user empowerment, has yet to be fully embraced within Malaysia itself. The author argues that an important factor here is that psychiatric services in Malaysia retain many of the premises of colonial psychiatry, particularly in relation to attitudes towards mental illness and psychiatric patients. On the other hand, the geographical and cultural location of Malaysian health services introduces features unique to this region (such as the wide diversity of ethnic groups and the continuing popularity of traditional healing practices). Within this diversity exist belief systems and normative values that are not congruent with the colonial premises that continue to cast an influence over service delivery and associated professional attitudes in Malaysia. The author draws extensively on her own research on psychiatric care in Malaysia, in which the narratives of Malaysian service users and psychiatric staff are interwoven with historical accounts of asylum care in Britain and Europe. The similarities across regions and between the past and the present are thus made apparent. The importance of the book goes beyond its interpretation of the Malaysian context. It will interest to anyone seeking to understand other post-colonial societies (for example, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and India). Although there are differences in history and current developments in relation to attitudes, and the policy and practice of mental health among these countries, we should be aware of the common legacy of the past and its implications for the present and future of their mental health systems. The book will also provide important insights for professionals working in any healthcare system with a culturally diverse client base.
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