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In this final volume in a national survey of the study of religion in Canada, Bowlby (Chair, Religious Studies, St. Mary's U., Nova Scotia) reviews the religious studies departments of the four Atlantic Provinces of Canada (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick). The author begins with a brief history of the foundation of universities in the Atlantic region, then moves on to examine the curriculum, degree programs, and both the strengths and weaknesses of departments, acknowledging that religious studies programs are often at risk, and offers suggestions for future growth, or for some colleges, even survival. c. Book News Inc.

Annotation Explains why the Christian churches were among the first to publicly protest apartheid, and how they provided international support for the struggle against it. Pratt, the first coordinator of the Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility--one of Canada's leading anti-apartheid advocates for nearly 20 years--picks up where her previous book, "Investment in Oppression" (1973) left off, and continues through the end of apartheid. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

In this final volume in a national survey of the study of religion in Canada, Bowlby (Chair, Religious Studies, St. Mary's U., Nova Scotia) reviews the religious studies departments of the four Atlantic Provinces of Canada (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick). The author begins with a brief history of the foundation of universities in the Atlantic region, then moves on to examine the curriculum, degree programs, and both the strengths and weaknesses of departments, acknowledging that religious studies programs are often at risk, and offers suggestions for future growth, or for some colleges, even survival. c. Book News Inc.

Is it possible to write an artistically respectable and theoretically convincing religious novel in a non-religious age? Up to now, there has been no substantial application of theological criticism to the works of Hugh MacLennan and Morley Callaghan, the two most important Canadian novelists before 1960. Yet both were religious writers during the period when Canada entered the modern, non-religious era, and both greatly influenced the development of our literature. Faith and Fiction: A Theological Critique of the Narrative Strategies of Hugh MacLennan and Morley Callaghan is a significant contribution to the relatively new field studying the relation between religion and literature in Canada.

Annotation The author brings the theoretical and methodological insights of socio-rhetorical analysis to examine Mishnah, the first document authored by the early rabbinic movement and its principal object of study for several centuries.

Far more than a bibliographic account of the major works in Canadian Studies, Interdisciplinary Approaches to Canadian Society provides a broad examination of the state of this growing field of study. Each chapter stresses the importance of the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches which have come to characterize Canadian Studies. Also, in an unprecedented collaborative effort, almost all the chapters are jointly authored by anglophone and francophone scholars. The works on Quebec and the francophone community respect the distinct nature of this facet of Canada. As stated in the introduction, this work is "a primer in the field and a guide to further pursuits. Its users will welcome it as a friendly introduction to an exciting country."

Annotation Avoiding the study of specific religions, religious communities, and comparative theology, Perry (theology, Providence College and Seminary, Manitoba) focuses narrowly on Christian theology concerning other religions. The treatise is revised from his 1996 Ph. D. dissertation for the University of Durham. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Trothen (systematic theology and ethics, Queen's U., Canada) argues that the Church's approaches to sexuality and gender contributed to the length of time it took for the issue of violence against women to be identified as a concrete issue on its agenda. She reviews its long tradition of grappling with issues of sexuality and gender, then analyzes three case studies to demonstrate its contemporary approach. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Provides a new understanding of the relationship between Church and State in 20th-century Costa Rica. Understanding the relationship between religion and social justice in Costa Rica involves piecing together the complex interrelationships between Church and State — between priests, popes, politics, and the people. This book does just that. Dana Sawchuk chronicles the fortunes of the country’s two competing forms of labour organizations during the 1980s and demonstrates how different factions within the Church came to support either the union movement or Costa Rica’s home-grown Solidarity movement. Challenging the conventional understanding of Costa Rica as a wholly peaceful and prosperous nation, and traditional interpretations of Catholic Social Teaching, this book introduces readers to a Church largely unknown outside Costa Rica. Sawchuk has carefully analyzed material from a multitude of sources — interviews, newspapers, books, and articles, as well as official Church documents, editorials, and statements by Church representativesto provide a firmly rooted socio-economic history of the experiences of workers, and the Catholic Church’s responses to workers in Costa Rica.

How do we deal with difference personally, interpersonally, nationally? Can we weave a cohesive social fabric in a religiously plural society without suppressing differences? This collection of significant essays suggests that to truly honour differences in matters of faith and religion we must publicly exercise and celebrate them. The secular/sacred, public/private divisions long considered sacred in the West need to be dismantled if Canada (or any nation state) is to develop a genuine mosaic that embraces fundamental differences instead of a melting pot that marginalizes. An ethics of difference starts with a recognition of difference, not as deviance or deficit that threatens but as otherness to connect with, cherish, and celebrate. The book begins with the suggestion that our inability to come to terms with social plurality is not fundamentally the fault of religious differences, and that a public/private split inadequately deals with matters of basic difference. It then explores how encouraging people to live out their respective faiths may open new possibilities for respectful, honourable, and just negotiations of contemporary dilemmas arising out of the multicultural fabric of Canadian life. Towards an Ethics of Community introduces readers to some of the most challenging and divisive dilemmas we face in this increasingly pluralistic, postmodern world — issues such as family and domestic violence, Aboriginal rights, homosexuality and public policy, and female genital mutilation. This is a book truly global in scope and significance.