In commemoration of Constantine's grant of freedom of religion to Christians, this wide-ranging volume examines the ambiguous legacy of this emperor in relation to the present world, discussing the perennial challenges of relations between religions and governments. The authors examine the new global ecumenical movement inspired by Pentecostals, the role of religion in the Irish Easter rebellion against the British, and the relation between religious freedom and government in the United States. Other essays debate the relation of Islam to the violence in Nigeria, the place of the family in church-state relations in the Philippines, the role of confessional identity in the political struggles in the Balkans, and the construction of Slavophile identity in nineteenth-century Russian Orthodox political theology. The volume also investigates the contrast between written constitutions and actual practice in the relations between governments and religions in Australia, Indonesia, and Egypt. The case studies and surveys illuminate both specific contexts and also widespread currents in religion-state relations across the world.

Autorentext
Leo D. Lefebure is Matteo Ricci, S.J., Professor of Theology at Georgetown University, USA. He is the author of True and Holy: Christian Scripture and Other Religions and the co-author of The Path of Wisdom: A Christian Commentary on the Dhamma.

Inhalt
Foreword; His Holiness, Orthodox Patriarch of Serbia Irinej.- Introduction; Leo D. Lefebure.- Part I: International Perspectives.- 1. Specters of a New Ecumenism: In Search of a Church 'Out of Joint'; Dale Irvin.- 2. Religion and the State: Contexts, Controversies, and Conjectures in Australia, Indonesia and Egypt; Patricia Madigan.- Part II: Asia and Africa.- 3. A Postcolonial Theological Reading of the Philippines: Church-State Relation and a Familia Dei Response; Pascal Bazzell.- 4. Diagnosing the Politics of Christian-Muslim Conflicts in the West African Sub-Region: Going beyond the Western Paradigm; Chukwumamkpam Vincent Ifeme.- 5. Islamic Extremism in West Africa: A Historical and Theological Reading of the Religious Conflicts between Muslims and Non-Muslims in the West African Sub-Region; Ikenna Okafor.- Part III: United States of America.- 6. The Reign of God and Constantine's Disputed Legacy: Religious Freedom, Sacred Empire, and the American Experience; Leo D. Lefebure.- 7. The U.S. Bishops' Campaign for Religious Freedom during the 2012 Presidential Election Year: A Critical Analysis; Dennis M. Doyle.- Part IV: Europe.- 8. Confessional Belonging and National Identity: A Case-study of Serbia, Croatia and Germany; Vladimir Latinovic.- 9. Sobornost', State Authority, and Christian Society in Slavophile Political Authority; Nathaniel Wood.- 10. Church and State in England: A Fragile Establishment; Mark Chapman.- 11. Religion and the Rising: Patrick Pearse and Easter 1916; Gerard Mannion.