Religion, Theology and the Human Sciences

by Richard H. Roberts

Overview

This study explores the religious consequences of the so-called "end of history" and "triumph of capitalism" as they have impinged upon key institutions of social reproduction in recent times. The book explores the imposition of managerial modernity upon successive sectors of society and shows why many people now feel oppressed by systems of management that seem to leave no option but conformity. Richard Roberts attempts to challenge such seamless, oppressive modernity, through a reconfiguration of the religious and spiritual field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521791519
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2001
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)
Lexile:	1700L (what's this?)

About the Author

Richard Roberts is Professor of Religious Studies at Lancaster University. He has not shrunk from controversy and is known among senior British academic figures for his pursuit of a consistently critical line against the managerialisation and bureaucratisation of both universities and churches. His publications include Hope and its Hieroglyph: A Critical Decipherment of Ernst Bloch's 'Principle of Hope' (1990), A Theology on its Way: Essays on Karl Barth (1992), The Recovery of Rhetoric: Persuasive Discourse and Disciplinarity in the Human Sciences (co-edited with J. M. M. Good, 1993), Religion and the Transformations of Capitalism: Comparative Approaches (editor, 1995), Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World (co-edited with Jo Pearson and Geoffrey Samuel, 1998), and Time and Value (co-edited with Scott Lash and Andrew Quick, 1998).

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Spirits of Capitalism and the Commodification of the Soul: 1. The closed circle: Marxism, Christianity and the 'end of history'; 2. Religion and the 'enterprise culture': the British experience from Thatcher to Blair (1979–99); 3. Power and empowerment: New Age managers and the dialects of modernity/postmodernity; 4. The end of the university and the last academic?; Part II. Theology and Power in the Matrix of Modernity/Postmodernity: 5. Lord, bondsman, and churchman: integrity, identity and power in Anglicanism; 6. Ruling the body: the care of souls in a managerial church; 7. Theology and the social sciences; Part III. Religion and Social Science: Identity, Globalisation and the Transmutations of the Religious Field: 8. The souls of Europe: identity, religion and theology; 9. Globalized religion: the Parliament of the World's Religions (Chicago 1993) in theoretical perspective; 10. Time, virtuality and the goddess: transmutations of the religious field; Conclusion: 11. Identity as vocation: the prospect for religion.

Editorial Reviews

"Roberts's critical analysis is compelling and worth the effort...his perceptive analysis of the capitalist times in which we live makes this book worth the read." Interpretation

From the Publisher