Religious Activism in the Global Economy: Promoting, Reforming, or Resisting Neoliberal Globalization

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Protests of neoliberal globalization have proliferated in recent years, not least in response to the financial crisis, austerity and increasing inequality. But how do religious groups organize themselves in response to these issues This book systematically studies the relationship of religious activism towards neoliberal globalization. It considers how religious organizations often play a central role in the resistance against global capitalism, endeavouring to offer alternatives and developments for reform. But it also examines the other side of the coin, showing how many religious groups help to diffuse neoliberal values, promote and reinforce practices of capitalism. Drawing on a unique set of case studies from around the world, the chapters examine a range of groups and their practices in order to provide a thorough examination of the relationship between religion and the global political economy.

Reviews

This ground-breaking volume explores the relationship between religion and the global economy. Drawing on a constructivist view of religions as diverse, contested traditions, it examines the way in which religious forms offer sites of support as well as resistance to the neo-liberal project. The analysis it presents is wide-ranging and impressively thorough. -- Steven Kettell, Associate Professor in Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick
This is the book that finally confronts the multiple intersections between religion and economics in the contemporary world. The editors have accomplished a rare double feat: bringing together innovative and exciting work that explores the constitutive nature of religious movements and support for or resistance to neoliberalism across the globe, and showcasing authors from around the world to explicate these connections. The resulting volume is an impressive contribution that should be read widely. -- Cecelia Lynch, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Irvine
WithReligious Activism in the Global Economy, Dreher and Smith and their contributors have addressed an oversight in the discipline of international political economy, and their constructivist approach to the study of religion defines and illustrates a way of generating nuanced understandings of the relationship between religious communities and neoliberal economics. * Reading Religion *
This volume offers a wide range of religious engagements with global economic issues. In so doing, it is a more than welcome complement and absolutely original contribution to the existing debate on the return of the religious in the public sphere. * Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion *
The authors identify and analyze divergent forms of religious activism in relation to the forces of neoliberal globalization. * Prairie Forum *

Author Bio

Sabine Dreher is instructor in International Studies at Glendon College, York University, Canada Peter J. Smith is Professor of Political Science at Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada