Faith-Based Health Justice: Transforming Agendas of Faith Communities

Ville Päivänsalo is Adjunct Professor (Docent) in Theological and Social Ethics, The University of Helsinki, and previously served in the same university as Acting University Lecturer in Systematic Theology and as Assistant Professor in Global Theology, Worldviews, and Ideologies. Ville Päivänsalo is the author of Balancing Reasonable Justice (2007) and Maallinen Oikeudenmukai suus [Earthly Justice] (2011).

Ayesha Ahmad is a lecturer in global health at St. Georges University of London, and honorary lecturer in Global Health, University College London. She specializes in religion and culture in mental health and gender-based violence during conflict, disasters, and humanitarian crises. Her forthcoming book, Humanitarian Action and Ethics, is co-edited with Dr. James Smith.

George Zachariah is on the faculty of theological studies at Trinity Methodist Theological College, Auckland, New Zealand. He has previously served as professor of theology and ethics at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India, and the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai, India. He is the author of Alternatives Unincorporated: Earth Ethics from the Grassroots (2011) and Gospel in a Groaning World: Climate Injustice and Public Witness (2012).

Mari Stenlund is a Finnish social ethicist and doctor of theology whose special research interest deal with religion, mental health, and human rights. She has published several international articles concerning the ethical and philosophical challenges of psychotic delusions, psychiatric involuntary treatment, and human rights theory.

"The comprehensive well-being or health of individuals and communities, a potent indicator of justice and injustice in any society, is at the heart of what most faith traditions seek, however ambiguously. Because faith traditions are equally capable of causing harm and damaging the comprehensive well-being they otherwise intend, the task of drawing out and strengthening any vision of justice that lies at their core is indispensable. That's what this book sets out to explore." --James R. Cochrane, Professor Emeritus religious studies & senior scholar, School of Public Health & Family Medicine, University of Cape Town

"This highly recommended volume analyzes and illustrates ways in which faith beliefs and practices from different religions may contribute to health justice promotion, especially in favor of poor people globally. Dialogue and cooperation across cultures and religions will benefit by using the entry points and cases studies presented in it." --Johannes Eurich, Chair for practical theology and diaconal studies, Heidelberg University, Germany

"The issue of health justice has been central to many faith-based organizations long before the term was established. In this timely volume, we encounter researchers and practitioners who introduce the reader to the many struggles of coming to terms with health practices and policies in a context of social justice." --Kajsa Ahlstrand, professor of world Christianity and interreligious studies, Uppsala University, Sweden