Showing papers by "Bryan S. Turner published in 2011"

Religion and Modern Society: Citizenship, Secularisation and the State

Abstract: Religion is now high on the public agenda, with recent events focusing the world's attention on Islam in particular. This book provides a unique historical and comparative analysis of the place of religion in the emergence of modern secular society. Bryan S. Turner considers the problems of multicultural, multi-faith societies and legal pluralism in terms of citizenship and the state, with special emphasis on the problems of defining religion and the sacred in the secularisation debate. He explores a range of issues central to current debates: the secularisation thesis itself, the communications revolution, the rise of youth spirituality, feminism, piety and religious revival. Religion and Modern Society contributes to political and ethical controversies through discussions of cosmopolitanism, religion and globalisation. It concludes with a pessimistic analysis of the erosion of the social in modern society and the inability of new religions to provide 'social repair'.

Neurosurgery and elderly: analysis through the years

Abstract: The aging of the population in westernized countries constitutes an important issue for the health systems struggling with limited resources and increasing costs. Morbidity and mortality rates reported for neurosurgical procedures in the elderly vary widely. The lack of data on risk benefit ratios may result in challenging clinical decisions in this expanding group of patients. The aim of this paper is to analyze the elderly patients cohort undergoing neurosurgical procedures and any trend variations over time. The medical records of elderly patients (defined as an individual of 70 years of age and over) admitted to the Neurosurgical and Neuro-ICU Departments of a major University Hospital in Paris over a 25-year period were retrospectively reviewed. The analysis included: (1) number of admissions, (2) percentage of surgically treated patients, (3) type of procedures performed, (4) length of hospital stay, and (5) mortality. The analysis showed a progressive and significant increase in the proportion of elderly presenting for neurosurgical elective and/or emergency procedures over the last 25 years. The number of procedures on patients over 70 years of age increased significantly whereas the mortality dropped. Though the length of hospital stay was reduced, it remained significantly higher than the average stay. The types of procedures also changed over time with more craniotomies and endovascular procedures being performed. Age should not be considered as a contraindication for complex procedures in neurosurgery. However, downstream structures for postoperative elderly patients must be further developed to reduce the mean hospital stay in neurosurgical departments because this trend is likely to continue to grow.

The Contradictions of Israeli Citizenship : Land, Religion, and State

Abstract: Introduction: Contemporary Dilemmas of Israeli Citizenship Guy Ben-Porat and Bryan S Turner 1 Collective Identities, Public Spheres, Civil Society and Citizenshipin the Contemporary Era - with some Observations on the Israeli Scene S N Eisenstadt 2 Military Hierarchies and Collective Action: The Case of Israel Yagil Levi 3 Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion in the Israeli Welfare State: State-Building and Political Economy Zeev Rosenhek 4 Corporatism and Multiculturalism as Responses to Ethnic Claims and Socio-economic Inequality: The Case of Shas David Lehmann and Batia Siebzehner 5 Citizenship, Identity, and Ethnic Mobilization in Israel: The Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow - Between Universalism and Particularism Ofir Abu 6 Fundamentalist Citizenships: The Haredi Challenge Nurit Stadler, Edna Lomsky-Feder and Eyal Ben-Ari 7 NGOization of the Israeli Feminist Movement: Depoliticizing or Redefining Political Spaces? Hanna Herzog 8 Parading Pridefully into the Mainstream: Gay and Lesbian Immersion in the Civil Core Amit Kama 9 Inward Turns: Citizenship, Solidarity and Exclusion Guy Ben-Porat 10 Civic Associations, Empowerment and Democratization: Arab Civil Society in Israel Amal Jamal 11 All by Myself? The Paradox of Citizenship Among the FSU Immigrants in Israel Michael Philippov and Evgenia Bystrov 12 The Rise and Fall of Liberal Nationalism Yoav Peled

Shari’a and legal pluralism in the West

Abstract: Since 9/11, the possibilities for pluralism and tolerance have been severely tested by a discourse of terrorism and security. The development of an intelligent and cosmopolitan understanding between religious communities in Europe and America has been compromised by a range of legal and political responses to terrorism. While the debate about the berqa has clearly indicated the problems relating to Muslim cultural differences, we argue that legal pluralism and in particular the question of Shari’a tribunals may prove to be a more decisive test of Western multiculturalism. This article examines the many criticisms raised against religious arbitration in domestic affairs and considers the presence of the Shari’a at various levels of society, claiming that the evolution of Sharia-mindedness is compatible both with a faith-based life and with liberal ideals. However, the problem with religious courts lies elsewhere, namely with the fragmentation of social life and the erosion of citizenship. The article concl...

Max Weber and the spirit of resentment: The Nietzsche legacy

Abstract: This article considers three aspects of the sociology of resentment. Firstly I describe Nietzsche’s relationship to Max Weber. Secondly this article outlines Weber’s account of resentment as the driving force behind religious beliefs as a theodicy, specifically an ideology of disprivileged social groups. Whereas the dominant class seeks legitimacy for its position in society, disprivileged groups seek compensation. While the dominant pity such subordinate groups, the disprivileged resent their superiors. Thirdly, the article concludes with a preliminary elaboration of a theory of social status, competitive relationships and resentment. The hypothesis is that in modern societies the fluidity of social structures, the apparent absence of any clear relationship between success and worth, and the propinquity and visibility of competitive social groups have an inflationary effect on resentment. This hypothesis leads to a question that is largely beyond the scope of this discussion about the conditions under wh...

Introduction: preliminary reflections on the legacy of Pierre Bourdieu

Abstract: Book synopsis: Pierre Bourdieu is widely regarded as one of the most influential sociologists of his generation, and yet the reception of his work in different cultural contexts and academic disciplines has been varied and uneven. This volume maps out the legacy of Pierre Bourdieu in contemporary social and political thought from the standpoint of classical European sociology and from the broader perspective of transatlantic social science. It brings together contributions from prominent scholars in the field, providing a range of perspectives on the continuing relevance of Bourdieu’s oeuvre to substantive problems in social and political analysis.

Legal Pluralism, State Sovereignty, and Citizenship

Abstract: Early British colonialism was originally driven by the pragmatic trading needs of the East India Company, which only interfered with local custom and tradition in the interests of company profit. To some extent subsequent British governments adopted similar policies, and this strategy partly explains why postcolonial states such as Singapore, Malaysia, and most African states have always had legal pluralism. In many postcolonial societies in the late twentieth century, there was a political drive by indigenous peoples for customary law, and hence the principle of the unitary sovereign state was, at least in Latin America, weakened. In the contemporary situation, the prospect of accepting Shari'a in many European and North American societies has been rejected on precisely the issue of sovereignty, despite the fact that, for example, religious courts (both Jewish and Muslim) have often operated in such societies. The recent protest against the Archbishop of Canterbury's public lecture 1 is an obvious exampl...

Introduction to the special issue On shmuel noah eisenstadt

Abstract: This article provides an introduction to "Bryan S. Turner and Simon Susen (eds.) (2011) Special Issue: Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt, Journal of Classical Sociology, 11(3), pp. 229-335".

The Short History of Human Rights

Abstract: Directions: During the reading process, record text information on individual sticky notes by creating picture notes of relevant ideas and concepts. The belief that everyone, by virtue of his or her humanity, is entitled to certain human rights is fairly new. Its roots, however, lie in earlier tradition and teachings of many cultures. It took the catalyst of World War II to propel human rights onto the global stage and into the global conscience. Throughout much of history, people acquired rights and responsibilities through their membership in a group—a family, indigenous nation, religion, class, community, or state. Most societies have had traditions similar to the ―golden rule‖ of ―Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.‖ The Hindu Vedas, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the Bible, the Qur’an (Koran), and the Analects of Confucius are five of the oldest written sources that address questions of people’s duties, rights, and responsibilities. In addition, the Inca and Aztec codes of conduct and justice and an Iroquois Constitution were Native American sources that existed well before the eighteenth century. In fact, all societies, whether in oral or written tradition, have had systems of propriety and justice as well as ways of tending to the health and welfare of their members.

Introduction States, Consumption and Managing Religions

Abstract: When sociologists refer to the contemporary crisis of multiculturalism, they are typically talking about how modern states, especially liberal democratic states, respond to the rise of “public religions.” These religious conflicts and uncertainties about appropriate state responses to them have produced a general retreat from multiculturalism – at least in Europe (Joppke, 2004). More specifically, the contemporary problem of politics and religion has been increasingly orchestrated around the global revival of Islam and the emergence of a global Muslim community. However, the particular issues surrounding Muslim minorities in non-Muslim secular societies can be seen as simply one instance of the more general issue of state and religion relationships in modern complex societies. There is growing awareness about the limitations of the Westphalian solution to religious conflicts and hence political theory is undertaking a serious reconsideration of liberalism as the philosophical basis of political strategies to manage conflicting cultural, religious and ethnic interests. In the modern global world where state boundaries have been contested, there is a need to rethink how the competing claims of secular and religious citizens can be articulated and respected within public discourse (Habermas, 2008). This question – how to manage the public expression of religion in multicultural and therefore multifaith societies – is not simply an issue for conventional liberal societies, because religious revivalism and community conflict raise political issues across a wide spectrum of modern societies.

Public religions and the state: A comparative perspective

Abstract: The preceding chapters highlight a number of aspects of religion which depart from, fundamentally modify and recontextualize the received wisdom about religion, especially as it has been understood through the prism of classical sociology. Each of the distinct sources of the classical perspective outlines an understanding of religion that – while contrasting with other understandings – has been taken with the others to represent the various facets of religion in the modern world. And yet none of these facets of religion is today found in forms projected by the sociological luminaries. Emile Durkheim famously characterized religion in terms of a distinction he believed inherent in all religions, namely that between the sacred and the profane. The sacred, Durkheim held, was a symbolic form of the enduring and defining values of the society itself in which the religion in question resides. But the coherence of a more or less societally wide normative consensus that Durkheim assumes in making this claim is in fact not to be found in modern societies. This is largely because the populations of modern societies are not unitary in terms of their origins and historical memory, either through geographic mobility that accompanies modern occupational careers or through international migration, which has been a major demographic factor throughout the twentieth century and promises to continue in the present. Associated with these trends, the idea of the sacred – which requires a traditional understanding of received meaning supported by ritual practices – has given way if not to a scientific to at least a mundane utilitarian and therefore market set of values.

Religion and Modern Society: Introduction: the state of the sociology of religion

Abstract: Defining the field In this Introduction, I outline some of the major issues in the contemporary sociology of religion and in the process offer a short overview of recent developments in the sub-field. Within this framework, I provide an interpretation of various key issues, such as secularisation, the state and the regulation of religious life, youth cultures and spirituality, the complex relationships between the sacred and the profane, and the nature of religion itself. However, the major issues confronting any understanding of religion in modern societies are all related to globalisation. Two obvious examples are fundamentalism and religious violence. Perhaps the dominant interpretation of these phenomena is that, with the massive disruption to traditional societies and economies, religious cultures provide the raw ideological material of violent protest. The violent secular groups of the 1960s and 1970s – the Red Brigade and the Baader-Meinhof – have simply been replaced by the jihardists of this century. However, my approach in this volume is to downplay the themes of religious violence and radicalism, looking instead at the development of religious revivalism and piety among diverse urban communities and the consequences of these pious practices for secular societies.

Judith N. Shklar and American citizenship: Thinking citizenship series

Abstract: It is claimed that although the European debate about social rights has concentrated on the formation of citizenship, American political and social theory has focused almost exclusively on civil liberties and individual rights. The specific characteristics of American history – the Declaration of Independence, slavery, the Civil War, the persistence of the race issue and the civil rights movement – explain this fundamental difference. This article explores some of the exceptions to this claim in the work of sociologists and political scientists such as W.E. DuBois, Talcott Parsons, Morris Janowitz, Rogers Smith and Michael Schudson, but the contrast between individual rights and social rights remains important. The American tradition is explored primarily through the work of Judith N. Shklar whose approach to cruelty, misfortune and inequality represented a major and innovative approach to what we might call the phenomenological foundation of justice and rights. She emphasised the importance of earning a ...