Under the auspices of top international commentators, The Freedom to do God's Will considers the global impact of fundamentalism on religious traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. With special reference to human rights issues, women's rights and the influence of social factors, it brings a new dimension to a field of study often dominated by purely religious or political perspectives, whilst challenging received ideas about the violence and conservatism of fundamentalist movements. Illustrated with original case studies, the ten investigative essays from a multicultural panel of experts, each with specific local and academic knowledge of the faiths and issues they discuss, offer an intimate and highly specific portrait of why and how fundamentalism occurs.

Gerrie ter Haar, Institute of Social Studies, Religious Fundamentalism and Social Change; Abdullahi Ahmed An-na'im, Emory University, Georgia, Islamic Fundamentalism and Social Change; Sharifah Zaleha binti Syed Hassan, Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia, Strategies to Public Participation: Women and Islamic fundamentalism in Malaysia; Alice Shalvi, Seminary of Judaic Studies, Jerusalem, 'Renew Our Days as of Old'; Nancy T. Ammerman, Hartford Seminary, Re-Awakening a Sleeping Giant; Walter E. A. van Beek, University of Utrecht; Pathways of Fundamentalization; H. L. Seneviratne, University of Virginia, The Monk's New Robes; Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Lancaster University, Being Hindu and/or Governing India?; R. Scott Appleby, University of Notre Dame, Religions, Human Rights and Social Change; James J. Busuttil, Institute of Social Studies, Policy Responses to Religious Fundamentalism