Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 256
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-5381-7793-8 • Hardback • May 2023 • $110.00 • (£85.00)
978-1-5381-7794-5 • Paperback • May 2023 • $37.00 • (£28.00)
978-1-5381-7795-2 • eBook • May 2023 • $35.00 • (£27.00) (coming soon)
Robert E. Sterken Jr. is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Tyler. Sterken’s research is focused on religion and the state in Southeast Asia. He is the author of Teaching Barefoot in Burma, Bill Ratliff: A Profile of Courage and Leadership in American Politics, and numerous articles and chapters. In 2015-2016, Sterken was a Fulbright Scholar at Yangon University and the Myanmar Institute of Theology. As a Fulbright Specialist in 2018, Sterken taught religion and politics at Jilin University in Changchun, China, where he was awarded Jilin University’s Distinguished Visiting Professor Award.
- Provides the reader with an excellent case study of the impact of state/religion entanglement.
- Applies rational choice theoretical model to a country where the model has rarely been applied.
- Provides the reader with a broad look at religion in Myanmar – not only Buddhism.
- Raises questions about the manipulation of the religion for government and political use.
- Provides readers a useful comparative look at the impact of religious nationalism.
- Provides readers with a general overview of the Locke/Jefferson ideas of freedom of religion.
- Provides an excellent discussion about the importance of religious convictions in politics.
- Provides readers with a vivid look at the animist beliefs of the Myanmar people.