Jack Barbalet is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University. Adam Possamai is Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Western Sydney and President of the Research Committee on Religion at the International Sociological Association. Bryan S. Turner is the Presidential Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies, University of Western Sydney.
'Edited by three sociologists and comprised of essays from a distinguished group of social scientists, 'Religion and the State' considers the uniquely modern frictions between politics, economics, and traditional faiths. Far from a simplistic exploration of secularisation [...] The tensions of religious liberty and religious conviction are familiar, yet the authors of this volume consistently urge us to stop seeing the secular and the religious as distinct realms. [...] A giant step toward greater sophistication is found through evidence provided here.' -Gerardo Marti, 'LSE Review of Books' blog