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Implications of discussing religious topics for the development of critical theory are considered. Bertolt Brecht's essay on communism & religious struggles in early-20th-century Germany is reviewed, contending that Brecht's identification of three perspectives on the Nazi-Christian conflict illustrates the benefits of religious discourse for expanding critical social theory. Friedrich Schleiermacher's essay on religious indifference in the educated elite is viewed as a precursor to Brecht's perspective. Despite significant differences in the respective critics' approaches, it is asserted that both authors facilitate critical theory's exploration of the connection between politics & religion. Critical theory's concern with the issue of addressing religion from certain historical & civilizational frameworks is reviewed. Noting that previous scholarship has emphasized the political aspects of certain religions, it is concluded that approaches of critical theory to religion could offer secularized accounts of particular religious practices. J. W. Parker

This article argues that nationalism has connected religion with secular politics in Serbia but that their rapprochement has been a gradual process. In order to demonstrate the transition from a limited influence of religion on politics to a much tighter relationship between the two, this article discusses the abortion legislation reform and the introduction of religious education in public schools, respectively. It argues that, while illustrative of different types of connection between religion and politics, these two issues had similar implications for gender equality-they produced discourses that recreated and justified patriarchal social norms. After religion gained access to public institutions, its (patriarchal) discourses on gender were considerably empowered. The article points to some tangible evidence of a re-traditionalisation and re-patriarchalisation of gender roles within the domestic realm in Serbia. Adapted from the source document.

This article explores the influence of religious actors on the elaboration of two public policies that are key to the advancement of women's rights and have long formed part of the women's movement's agenda in Chile: the introduction of sexual education in secondary schools in the 1990s and the distribution of emergency contraception in the 2000s. Our analysis of how different actors-from a variety of ideological and power positions-have influenced the two policy debates suggests that their discourses and strategies are highly contingent on the political environment. While conservative religious forces retain an enormous capacity to hinder policy making and implementation in the arena of family and sexuality, the government's determination to confront such interference seems to have grown in a context of fewer authoritarian enclaves, a more pluralist society and a strong sexual and reproductive rights movement. The diversification of religious positions on issues of family and sexuality has also affected the room for manoeuvre in the policy arena. Adapted from the source document.

Religion is a central force in the lives of the overwhelming majority of African Americans. However, psychology has been conspicuously silent about the role of religion in African American political life. This work endeavors to challenge the longstanding argument that religiosity promotes an escapist, apolitical stance among African Americans. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which our understanding of the link between religion & African American political behavior is complicated by expanded definitions of what is political & by increased attention to various forms of religious participation. Future directions for research are discussed. 47 References. Adapted from the source document.

This essay explores the existence of a political religion, or the sacralization of politics, in the former East German party-state. Ulbricht & Honecker were very charismatic leaders in the GDR, & their political 'ideology' closely resembled a secular-religious vision based on faith in science, legitimated with political rituals & mass festivals. The authors consider political religion against the background of the equally charismatic Max Weber's sociology of religion & theory of rationalization, the latter of which supports secular beliefs such as nationalism & socialism. They point out how a sacralized politics can meet the people's yearning for something beyond themselves in their everyday lives. The history of this rationalization in the Soviet Union & later in the GDR & elsewhere in Eastern Europe is closely examined. J. Stanton