• ISBN13: 9780745331218
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: Sociology and Anthropology
• Publisher: Pluto
• Publisher Imprint: Pluto
• Publication Date: May 16, 2014
• Pages: 224
• Original Price: GBP 19.99
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 259 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Anthropology / Cultural & Social

About the Book Is religion best seen as only a cause of war, or is it a source of comfort for those caught up in conflict? In Checkpoint, Temple, Church and Mosque six senior figures in Anthropology, Sociology, Geography and Development Studies set out to answer this question. Based on fieldwork conducted in Sri Lanka's most religiously diverse and politically troubled region during the country's civil war (1983-2009), it provides a series of new and provocative arguments about the promise of a religiously based civil society, and the strengths and weaknesses of religious organisations and religious leaders in conflict mediation. The authors argue that for people trapped in long and violent conflicts, religion ultimately plays a contradictory role, and that its institutions are themselves profoundly affected by war - producing a complex picture in which Catholic priests engage with Buddhist monks and new Muslim leaders, and where Hindu temples and Pentecostal churches offer the promise of healing.

Jonathan Spencer is Regius Professor of South Asian Language, Culture and Society at the University of Edinburgh. Jonathan Goodhand is Professor of Development Studies at the University of Melbourne and Professor in Conflict and Development Studies at SOAS, University of London. Shahul Hasbullah is Professor of Geography at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Bart Klem is Lecturer in Geography at the University of Zurich. Benedikt Korf is Professor of Geography at the University of Zurich. Kalinga Tudor Silva is Professor of Sociology at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka