Religion As A Conversation Starter

Religion as a Conversation Starter is the first comprehensive analysis of the present state of interreligious dialogue for peacebuilding in Southeast Europe. It is based on empirically grounded and policy-oriented research, carried out throughout the Balkans. The study maps recent interreligious relations in this part of the world, throwing light on both the achievements and challenges of interreligious dialogue for peacebuilding in particular, and offering a set of up-to-date policy recommendations, whilst contributing to a greater understanding of the local particularities and how they relate to broader trends transnationally. Interreligious dialogue has been a central tool in the continuous international efforts to promote peaceful living together in multicultural and multireligious societies. This fascinating monograph explores the place of interreligious dialogue as a primary method in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and will be of interest to scholars of religious and peace studies, as well as those who advocate and carry out organized interventions in religion-related spheres.

Do you want to share the good news of Jesus, but not sure how to get started? Need some tips on how to break the ice and talk about your faith to family, friends and acquaintances? "100 Conversation Starters: Practical Help for Sharing Your Faith" is a wonderful "how to" that will provide you with ways to easily talk about your faith in everyday conversation that is not off-putting or threatening. Understanding and following these conversation starters is a stress-free way to help you reach a deeper level in conversing with others without the fear of offending them. You will learn to share your faith in a truly authentic way that those around you will come to appreciate. In a recent survey, a third of all believers asked had never once shared the gospel, or even their testimony, with a non-believer. Practical help is needed. That's why this book was written. Most of us have experienced the frustration of not knowing what to say or how to get started. But we can learn to start conversations by using associations from everyday life; to share our faith in a way that is easy for others to understand. Jesus himself did this. He invited fishermen to become fishers of men. To a woman drawing water from a well, He offered living water that would never run dry. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus knew just what to say and how to relate to every person He met. The same Spirit that enabled Jesus to hear and perceive what His Father wanted said and done is now inside of each of His disciples! God often will bring people into your life just so you can share your faith with them. "100 Conversation Starters" will help you do that.

It has often been said that people will talk about anything other than religion and politics. But why? Why are so many people so reluctant to talk? Perhaps, when it comes to religion and spirituality, our fear stems from our uncertainty. At a very basic level, most of us want to talk about these topics, but unfortunately many of us do not know how to talk about them.Let's Talk has been written to tackle this problem head on, and it provides thought-provoking questions and brief conversation starters about a wide range of religious and spiritual topics. Not only will you be informed about relevant topics in an accessible way, you will also be equipped to ask some initial conversational questions. No more fear and uncertainty! The list of topics includes:* Where do I begin?* Who killed religion?* The origin of the world* World religions* Views of sacred scripture* Religious fundamentalism* Sacred rituals and religious holidays* Many more ...

WELL HELLO includes a wide range of questions (over 300) to use for ice-breakers and conversation starters with your small groups and events. Questions range from light and fun to some that could generate deeper discussions, all appropriate for Christian communities of women, teens, and college girls. Also included are nearly 100 quick 'this or that' prompts, a purse/bag/backpack scavenger hunt list, and more geared toward warming everyone up for meaningful community time.

Civil Society in Malerkotla, Punjab: Fostering Resilience through Religion by Karenjot Bhangoo Randhawa explores the direct role that religion plays in conflict and peace that has often been difficult to isolate. This study extends previous work on peace and conflict resolution by looking at a town which has witnessed many outbreaks of violence in the past but still holds peace as the norm. The former princely state of Malerkotla, Punjab is a place where riots did not occur during Partition. In this unique Muslim majority town, there are four distinct religious groups that live in close proximity to each other. Yet, the overall pattern of peaceful plurality in the town has resulted in the transcendence of violence even when the threat looms close by. The unique case of Malerkotla, Punjab provides an opportunity to look more closely and critically at Sikhs and their relationship with Muslims in India. As a case study, this work captures the overall pattern of Sikh-Muslim interaction in a town that can transcend conflict and make peace the norm. Randhawa uncovers how religious associations, expressions and activities have helped to build social capital and stabilize peace. This book also emphasizes interreligious understanding, cross-cultural awareness, and conflict transformation, and discusses how interfaith communities can work together to bridge understanding in order to prevent violence.

In recent years, there has been growing awareness across a range of academic disciplines of the value of exploring issues of religion and the sacred in relation to cultures of everyday life. Exploring Religion and the Sacred in a Media Age offers inter-disciplinary perspectives drawing from theology, religious studies, media studies, cultural studies, film studies, sociology and anthropology. Combining theoretical frameworks for the analysis of religion, media and popular culture, with focused international case studies of particular texts, practices, communities and audiences, the authors examine topics such as media rituals, marketing strategies, empirical investigations of audience testimony, and the influence of religion on music, reality television and the internet. Both academically rigorous and of interest to a wider readership, this book offers a wide range of fascinating explorations at the cutting edge of many contemporary debates in sociology, religion and media, including chapters on the way evangelical groups in America have made use of The Da Vinci Code and on the influences of religion on British club culture and electronic dance music.

Narratives of War considers the way war and battle are remembered and narrated across space and time in Europe in the twentieth century. The book reflects on how narratives are generated and deployed, and on their function as coping mechanisms, means of survival, commemorative gestures, historical records and evidence. The contributions address such issues as the tension and discrepancy between memory and the official chronicling of war, the relationship between various individuals’ versions of war narratives and the ways in which events are brought together to serve varied functions for the narrators and their audiences. Drawing upon the two World Wars, the Spanish Civil War and the ex-Yugoslav wars, and considering narrative genres that include film, schoolbooks, novels, oral history, archives, official documents, personal testimony and memoirs, readers are introduced to a range of narrative forms and examples that highlight the complexity of narrative in relation to war. Approached from a multidisciplinary perspective, and taken together, analysis of these narratives contributes to our understanding of the causes, experience, dynamics and consequences of war, making it the ideal book for those interested in twentieth-century war history and the history of memory and narrative.

1001 Conversation Starters for Any OccasionMost of us realize that raising questions is a powerful way to get interesting dialogue. But asking good ones can be another matter—they’re not always that easy to think up! That’s where The Complete Book of Questions comes in. This book is one big compilation of questions—1001 of them you can use to launch great conversations in almost any context. And many of these questions are likely to trigger other questions you may also wish to discuss. Think of this book as a tool to spark interaction—and to know and understand others, and yourself, better. The questions in The Complete Book of Questions have been divided into ten categories for easy reference as shown in the chart below. There are probably as many ways to put this book to use, as there are questions within it! So be creative. Experiment with these 1001 questions in different contexts—and be sure to make the most of the conversations that ensue!

Energy security, at the heart of energy policy, has become central to the dynamics of international relations. Political turmoil has overwhelmed many oil and gas producing countries, forcing them to adapt their national energy policies according to this continuous change. Specifically, because of the wars and instability in the Middle East and the Ukrainian crisis, global energy security is no longer guaranteed. One of the foremost experts on the energy industry, Daniel Yergin, identifies energy security as “the availability of sufficient supplies at affordable prices.” He also comments that every country interprets the definition of energy security with its own dynamics. In practice, the definition of energy security is polysemic and the topic of energy security is being explored daily, under the lens of numerous new studies, by scholars, energy experts, government officials, activists, and journalists.

Like any other subject, the study of religion is a child of its time. Shaped and forged over the course of the twentieth century, it has reflected the interests and political situation of the world at the time. As the twenty-first century unfolds, it is undergoing a major transition along with religion itself. This volume showcases new work and new approaches to religion which work across boundaries of religious tradition, academic discipline and region. The influence of globalizing processes has been evident in social and cultural networking by way of new media like the internet, in the extensive power of global capitalism and in the increasing influence of international bodies and legal instruments. Religion has been changing and adapting too. This handbook offers fresh insights on the dynamic reality of religion in global societies today by underscoring transformations in eight key areas: Market and Branding; Contemporary Ethics and Virtues; Intimate Identities; Transnational Movements; Diasporic Communities; Responses to Diversity; National Tensions; and Reflections on ‘Religion’. These themes demonstrate the handbook’s new topics and approaches that move beyond existing agendas. Bringing together scholars of all ages and stages of career from around the world, the handbook showcases the dynamism of religion in global societies. It is an accessible introduction to new ways of approaching the study of religion practically, theoretically and geographically.