Featuring A Newly Written Introduction And Conclusion Which Frame The Volume And Offer The Reader Guidance On How The Arguments Fit Together, This Book Brings Together Ten Previously Published Pieces Which Focus On The Institutional Forms And Concept Of Religion In The Context Of Globalizing And Modern Society. The Guiding Theme That They All Share Is The Idea That Religion And Globalization Are Historically, Conceptually, And Institutionally Related. What Has Come To Constitute Religion And What Social Roles Religion Plays Are Not Manifestations Of A Timeless Essence, Called Religion, Or Even A Requirement Of Human Societies. In Concept And Institutional Form, Religion Is An Expression Of The Historical Process Of Globalization, Above All During Modern Centuries. What Religion Has Become Is One Of The Outcomes Of The Successive Transformations And Developments That Have Brought About Contemporary Global Society. -- Provided By Publisher. Introduction -- Part 1: Observing Religion In The Contemporary Global Context. Purity As Hybridization: Religio-cultural Syncretisms In The Context Of Globalization; Globalization And Glocalization; Conceptions Of Religion: On Distinguishing Scientific, Theological, And 'official' Meanings. -- Part 2: The Formation Of Religion And Religions In Global Society. Social Forms Of Religion And Religions In Contemporary Global Society; What Counts As Religion In Global Society? From Practice To Theory; The City And Beyond As Dialogue: Negotiating Religious Authenticity In Global Society; Can The Tail Wag The Dog? Diaspora Reconstructions Of Religion In A Globalized Society. -- Part 3: Religion And The Political Domain. Defining Religion In Cross-national Perspective: Identity And Difference In Official Conceptions; Constitutional Privilege And Constituting Pluralism: Religious Freedom In National, Global, And Legal Context; Religion Out Of Place? The Globalization Of Fundamentalism. Peter Beyer. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 202-215) And Index.