Oxford University Press

The Virgin Mary at War and Peace in the Old and New WorldsWhile most books about Mary emphasize her role as the compassionate mother of God, this book uncovers her significant role as an active and often belligerent patron of warfare, as seen from the mosques and castles of medieval Iberia to the cities and shrines of colonial Mexico and finally to...

Portraits of Soviet ScientistsA chronicle of the lives of twelve notable and celebrated Soviet scientists from the Cold War era, a time of great scientific achievement in the USSR....

Experience, Meaning, and PowerThree understandings of the nature of religion--religion as experience, symbolic meaning, and power--have dominated scholarly discussions, in succession, for the past hundred years. Proponents of each of these three approaches have tended to downplay, ignore, or actively criticize the others.  But why should the three...

This book assesses whether a new category of actors-religious actors-has been constructed within international law. Religious actors, through their interpretations of the religion(s) they are associated with, uphold and promote, or indeed may transform, potentially oppressive structures or discriminatory patterns. This study moves beyond the...

Aboriginal Music and Dance in Public PerformanceMusical Intimacies and Indigenous Imaginaries explores several musical styles performed in the vital aboriginal musical scene that has emerged in the western Canadian province of Manitoba. Focusing on fiddling, country music, and Christian hymnody, as well as step dancing and the pow-wow, author Byron...

Sex, Speech, and the Politics of Concerned Women for AmericaScholars who study the Christian Right often claim that the movement&'s distinction lies in its moral absolutism and religious fervor. Through a detailed study of the sexually-charged rhetoric of one of America&'s largest conservative women&'s organizations, Concerned Women for America...