Why Politics Can't be Freed From Religion is an original, erudite, and timely new book from Ivan Strenski. Itinterrogates the central ideas and contexts behind religion, politics, and power, proposing an alternative way in which we should think about these issues in the twenty-first century.

• A timely and highly original contribution to debates about religion, politics and power - and how historic and social influences have prejudiced our understanding of these concepts
• Proposes a new theoretical framework to think about what these ideas and institutions mean in today&'s society
• Applies this new perspective to a variety of real-world issues, including insights into suicide bombers in the Middle East
• Includes radical critiques of the religious and political perspectives of thinkers such as Talal Asad and Michel Foucault
• Dislodges our conventional thinking about politics and religion, and in doing so, helps make sense of the complexities of our twenty-first century world

About the Author
Ivan Strenski is Holstein Family and Community Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of numerous books, including: Contesting Sacrifice: Religion, Nationalism and Social Thought (2002); Theology and the First Theory of Sacrifice (2003); The New Durkheim: Essays on Philosophy, Religious Identity and the Politics of Knowledge (2006); Thinking About Religion: An Historical Introduction to Theories of Religion and Thinking About Religion: A Reader (both Wiley-Blackwell, 2006).

Reviews

"Overall the book is an excellent contribution." (Political Studies Review, 1 January 2013)

"But as a powerful myth-buster of some of the great fallacies about religion and politics, or even as a primer in the study of religion for undergraduates, it works very well and would serve to provoke lively debate." (Modern Believing, 1 April 2012)

"The book is written in an accessible and engaging style, and readers who are new to the field of religion and politics will find it readable and helpful". (Religion, September 2010)

Book Information
ISBN 9781405176484
Author Ivan Strenski
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 318g
Dimensions(mm) 231mm * 153mm * 14mm