Religion and social policy

Presents a collection of essays that explore the complexities inherent when religious organizations, leaders, and lay people of faith try to shape both religious and secular policy development. Covers a diverse set of religious traditions, a wide variety of ways religion centered policy formation processes, and a range of outcomes for such religious engagement.Outlines three themes namely; the relationship between religious freedom and identity, minority religions, and the law, in U.S. and European contexts, religious involvement in broad social policy development in the areas of social service provision in U.S. immigrant congregations, extending women's rights in Muslim Kuwait, addressing women abuse in Canadian evangelical churches, and unemployment policies in Britain and Germany and lastly identifies the consequences of religious groups actively coming to terms with a multi-religious world.