Religious Pluralism in Contemporary Society by Ruby Sain

An unprecedented and accelerated interchange among different cultures and societies over the last few decades has accentuated the need for understanding different cultures and religions. Religions and faith traditions touch the deepest core of human beings and mostly are causes of their world views. Understanding and being sensitized about different religions helps create a world with more peace and cooperation. This becomes necessary also because of religious freedom now being considered synonymous with personal freedom. Different disciplines of humanities and social sciences need to converge on the point of understanding religious pluralism. This book attempts to bring out this convergence by delving into various sub-themes of religion in the present-day context. This book is relevant to all readers especially undergraduate and postgraduate students, research scholar, academician. It should also be of interest to policy makers.

Ruby Sain (b.1956) has completed her studies from University of Kalyani (B.A.,M.A., Ph.D.), She has been serving the profession of Sociology for over 27 years at Jadavpur University. She served as Guest Faculty at University of Manitoba, in Canada, Lund University and Gothenborg University in Sweden, University of California, Berkeley  and Grand Valley State University, Michigan  in USA and Visiting Fellow in Oxford University, UK.

She has published many articles in different journals and contributed several chapters to many edited books and has also done various major and minor Research Projects for UGC (University Grants Commission, New Delhi) and also in collaboration with Gothenborg university in Sweden, Abo Academi University in Finland, University of Manitoba in Canada and  Lancaster  University in England. In addition, she has already authored and edited six books namely, “Sociology of Religion: Past, Present and Future”, “Depression among the Elderly”, “White Collar Worker’s Trade Unions in Bengal 2005-2008: A Sociological Study”,  “Contemporary Social Problems in India- Vol. 1” and Vol. II, “Ageing among the Muslim”.  She has also established the Centre for the Study of Religion and Society here in the Department of Sociology at Jadavpur and am now its Academic Advisor. This Centre is first of its kind in South Asia. She is Founding Editor of the first journal entitled “ Jadavpur University  Journal of Sociology” .