This paper reports on one part of a larger longitudinal empirical study (2021–2023) that responds to the call for Religious Education (RE) to address religious plurality in the context of senior Catholic schooling within an Australian Archdiocese where students represent multiple faith traditions or no traditions. The research focuses on the level of satisfaction by students across Topics, Pedagogies, and Outcomes within a new and innovative senior school curriculum, Religion Meaning and Life (RML) based on national RE guidelines. Participants included 276 students across 17 schools who completed an online survey with 32 of these students participating in focus group interviews. Data analysis of quantitative data was both descriptive and inferential, and qualitative data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Topics of most interest were Ethics and Other World Religions; pedagogies entailing dialogue and use of media and technologies were rated highly; and learning outcomes entailed awareness of school mission, the religious dimension of the school, and pastoral care. Inferential statistical analyses confirm four core topics, pedagogies, and outcomes as significant to levels of satisfaction and in combination accounted for 42% of the variance of satisfaction with RML. Theoretical propositions for what matters most in senior secondary RE were advanced through four integrating principles (educational, formative, social, communitarian) and practice implications that preference Catholic tradition, and reference religious plurality.
This roundtable was first convened as part of the 6th Es’kia Colloquium hosted by the Department of African Literature at Wits University, South Africa on the 15th and 16th September 2022. The discussion engages questions regarding knowledge production, method and (inter)textualities in relation to the book, Sacred Queer Stories: Ugandan LGBTQ+ Refugee Lives and the Bible (2021), co-authored by Adriaan van Klinken and Johanna Stiebert with Brian Sebyala aand Fredrick Hudson.
Starting with the cultic remains of the goddess Allat in Palmyra and Hatra, this article explores the significance of co-existing iconographic representations for the character of a deity in the Graeco-Roman Near East. It can be shown that both in Palmyra and Hatra the original cult image is of paramount importance in temples dedicated to the goddess. This original iconography is typical of the temple, slow to change, and not easily combined with alternative representations of the goddess. Even the interpretatio Graeca of the goddess’s name did not have consequences for her original form. The cult statue personified the unique character of the goddess that was worshipped in a particular sanctuary.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) proposes “peaceful” religious discourse by supporting religious scholars such as Hamza Yusuf and Abdallah bin Bayyah and institutions such as the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies and the Emirates Fatwa Council. The UAE has attempted to present itself as promoting a moderate form of Islam to counter political Islam. This study is based on data from religious verdicts (<i>fatwās</i>), speeches, and conference records of these scholars and institutions. The main point of the research is to show to what extent providing additional support to recently established religious institutions and emerging scholars is used as soft power to promote the UAE’s version of Islam and present the UAE as a moderate and tolerant country. Applying critical discourse analysis, the study aims to uncover the existing connection between emerging religiopolitical discourse and UAE-based legal verdicts of scholars (<i>ulamā</i>) and the organizations that they initiated. This study further argues that “moderate Islam” and “tolerance”, used as religious soft power, are other tools that the UAE has applied in line with expectations for influence and power-seeking based on small state theory.
Many scholars view translations of the Chinese classics as inevitably lacking fidelity to the “original,” asserting language difference as a fundamental impediment to cross-cultural understanding. The present study disputes this viewpoint by employing the perspective of Global Laozegetics. This notion affirms a fundamental continuity between the native <i>Laozi</i> or <i>Daodejing</i> commentarial tradition and its corresponding foreign translation tradition. Specifically, I will investigate a range of interpretations of the term <i>ziran</i> found in <i>Laozi</i> Chapter 25, including 16 traditional and modern Chinese readings and 67 translations in 26 languages. My broad investigation of this narrow topic will reveal a rich historical development of interpretation and translation, highlight the philosophical ramifications of different exegetical choices, deepen our understanding of the core Daoist concept <i>ziran</i>, and assist in confirming the basic premise of Global Laozegetics that language, even the original language of Chinese, is secondary to interpretive strategy when engaging with classical works.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, religion re-emerged as a topic of pressing concern in a number of the most self-consciously secularized states of the global north. From disputes over the wearing of headscarves in schools to debates over accommodations for religious practices in the public sphere, religion, particularly the ‘foreign’ religiosity of migrants and other minority religious subjects, appeared on the scene as a phenomenon whose proper place and role in society required both urgent and careful deliberation. This article argues that in order to account for the affective potency produced by the immanence of the figure of the ‘foreign’ religious subject, it is necessary to understand secularization as fantasy. It is within the fantasy of secularization that the secular emerges as an object of desire—as something that, if attained, appears as a solution to the problem of ‘foreign’ religiosity—and figures of inassimilable religiosity assume the role of scapegoats for the failure to resolve these concerns. In this sense, within this fantasy scene, the secular promises to provide ‘us’ with something that we are lacking. However, this promise has been undermined by the apparent persistence of religious difference. As such, as a result of their continued religiosity, ‘they’ appear to be taking something from ‘us’.
Black somatic therapist Resmaa Menakem has persuasively argued that racism exist in our bodies more than our heads and that racial healing requires learning to become mindful of our embodied states. The reason that racism remains prevalent despite decades of anti-racist education and the work of diversity and inclusion programs, according to Menakem, is that racist reactions that shun, harm, and kill black bodies are programmed into white, black, and police bodies. The first step in racial healing, from this point of view, is to shift the focus from cognitive solutions to an embodied solution, namely, embodied composure in the face of stressful situations that enables everyone to act more skillfully. Similar to how racial healing has been hampered by a misguided overemphasis on cognitive interventions, might our teaching be analogously encumbered by lack of attention to the bodies of teacher and students? In this article, I emphasize the value of cultivating body awareness in the classroom. I introduce an embodied exercise that teaches students to recognize embodied clues of the experience of <i>dukkha</i>, the first <i>ārya</i><i>satya</i>. Through such exercises, students take a step towards acting more skillfully and intentionally in stressful situations.
The article analyses certain aspects of Kant’s conception of religion which testify to its affinity with what has been described as religious rationalism. These aspects include a critical reading of the Scriptures, proposed primarily in the Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason and The Conflict of the Faculties , as well as an attempt to identify God with practical reason, which can be found in the notes written for the unfinished work of the philosopher, published as the Opus postumum . I suggest that by reading Kant in light of the ideas of the early modern religious rationalists, especially those inspired by the thought of Baruch Spinoza, one can better explain the radicalization of Kant’s late views on religion, recognized by some contemporary scholars.
The myth of a nation reflects the collective memory of the nation and is the source of the philosophy, religion, and literature of the nation. Since the 1930s, mythological research has gradually emerged in China, but there are few comparative studies on Chinese and Arab mythology. Comparative study on myth between Chinese and Arabic: Phoenix as an example in terms of social values and national traits. This article is based on the specific exploration of the mythical image of Phoenix. The records of the Arab world for the phoenix are derived from some ancient Arabic books and this research on Arab mythology starts with basic old books and expands the research materials on Arab mythology. Therefore, providing more research texts for foreign Arab mythological researchers becomes the core task in this article. Under the background of the current research, we seek an updated perspective to focus on the imagery problems in Arab Chinese mythology, especially the image of Phoenix, not only for ancient China and Arab mythology. Research work injects new power, and more importantly, enriches the study of folk literature. This article introduces the meaning of mythology and carries out preliminary preparations such as text analysis, theoretical study, and translation tools, and also discusses the inheritance and development of Chinese Arab folk culture. Folk culture is the foundation of a nation's development. The writing of phoenix in Chinese mythology is an important part of ancient Chinese folk culture. Similarly, it is also important for Arab mythology. In short, the high and profound cultural endogenous and national spiritual connotations of myths better realize the function of cultivating their national spirit.
The necessity of consideration and usage of the modern sciences is the core of John Polkinginghorn's approach to theological problems. Although he is generally committed to a personal, sublime, and distinct conception of God, which can be ascertained in Thomistic well-known conception of God, he criticizes this Thomistic conception. The main focus of his critiques is God's active relationship with the world and creatures, especially human beings. In this article, after citing Pokinghorn's critique of the Thomistic model, his new model has been introduced. Being stemmed from the capacities of modern physics, especially information causality, this model stays far from the problems of the Thomistic model. His model, in addition to allowing the role of God's eternal creation, leaves room for the Lordship and the influence of God's Will in the universe. In the end, we will evaluate Palkinghorne's view, which has three aspects: scientific, religious, and philosophical.
Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
This article discusses the Islamic juristic position of virtual currencies. In the classical period, jurists differed on the reason behind Islam’s prohibition of usury when dealing with precious metals and their derivatives, with the majority arguing that this is because they are considered to hold value (<i>thamaniyya</i>). The cause (<i>ʿilla</i>) of “holding value” can therefore be applied through analogy (<i>qiyās</i>) to all things understood by the laity to hold value in any era. In the contemporary period, this cause can also be applied to virtual currencies such as Bitcoin if they fulfill the following ethical conditions: customary acceptance, legal validity, and value stability.
<p class="abstrak">This study examines the practice of <em>Kenduri Sko</em>,<em> </em>one of the local traditions of the Kerinci people that has been rarely practiced. Since 2017, the government of Sungai Penuh City took over the management of the practice turning it into an annual tourist attraction called as the <em>Festival of Kenduri Sko</em>. This paper argues that the articulation of this indigenous tradition, and its combination with religion and tourism has stimulated the attempt to preserve indigenous practices through a strategic relationship between government officials and local actors. To show how this the case, we discuss the theory of indigenous religions and the theory of articulation. We use qualitative methods and conducted field studies on the Kerinci People who live in Sungai Penuh City. The article concludes that this kind of articulation has succeeded in placing indigenous peoples as the main actors of the initiative, where the government plays a supporting role in preserving the traditions. This article also recommends a synergistic relationship between the local government and the community to maintain the tradition through various events such as festivals, art performances, and other such projects.</p><p class="abstrak"> </p><p class="abstrak"><em>Penelitian ini mengkaji praktek Kenduri Sko sebagai salah satu tradisi lokal masyarakat Kerinci yang sudah jarang dilakukan. Sejak tahun 2017, Pemerintah Kota Sungai Penuh mengambil alih praktik tersebut sebagai ikon pariwisata yang disebut dengan Festival Kenduri Sko yang diadakan setiap tahun. Artikel ini berpendapat bahwa artikulasi adat istiadat, agama, dan pariwisata telah mendorong upaya pelestarian praktik adat melalui hubungan strategis antara pejabat pemerintah dan aktor lokal. Untuk membangun argumen ini, artikel ini mengelaborasi teori agama leluhur dan teori artikulasi. Artikel ini menggunakan metode kualitatif serta melakukan studi lapangan terhadap Masyarakat Kerinci yang berdomisili di Kota Sungai Penuh. Artikel ini menyimpulkan bahwa artikulasi semacam itu telah berhasil menempatkan masyarakat adat sebagai aktor utama dimana peran pemerintah sebagai aktor pendukung dalam pelestarian tradisi. Artikel ini juga merekomendasikan adanya hubungan yang sinergis antara pemerintah lokal dan masyarakat untuk mempertahankan tradisi luluhur melalui berbagai macam acara seperti festival, pergelaran seni dan semacamnya</em></p>
India was known to the western world as “the land of snake charmers.” Ancient Indians both feared and revered the snakes. Snakes played a major role in majority of world mythologies and religions. Hindus most commonly worship cobras in temples and their natural habitat by offering them milk and prayers.[1] However, with rapid and widespread urbanization, snakes in their natural habitat come under threat due to encroachment leading to more and more instances of snake sightings in unusual places, particularly urban areas. Increased consumption of food in urban areas leads to increased food waste, attracting rodents which thereby leads more and more snakes to urban areas pursuing prey. This has, therefore, put both snakes and humans at risk of encounter and fatality.
Document Type Article Abstract Joseph Campbell was a scholar of mythology and comparative religion who attained great popularity by promoting the value of mythology in people's lives. Interestingly, he attained this status even though there was little scientific evidence for his ideas. In recent years, researchers have begun to evaluate Campbell's ideas in rigorous, empirical ways, with most of this research being focused on the implications of the hero's journey. There are still a number of Campbell's psychology-related ideas, however, that have not been evaluated scientifically. These are the ideas we evaluated in this paper. Because we focused on the underexplored ideas, we could find no research directly assessing them. So, we evaluated them indirectly, using research that seemed relevant but that was conducted for independent reasons. This evaluation led us to conclude that Campbell was right in many of his psychology-related ideas, and that researchers could benefit if they took these ideas seriously and incorporated them into their research and theorizing DOI 10.26736/hs.2019.01.01 Recommended Citation Martin, Leonard L.; Conners, James; and Newbold, Jacqueline A. (2019) "Evaluating Joseph Campbell's Underexplored Ideas In the Light of Modern Psychology," Heroism Science: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. DOI: 10.26736/hs.2019.01.01 Available at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/heroism-science/vol4/iss1/1 Download
This article analyses the narrative sources and epigraphic monuments of Muscovite Russia which are related to various cases of violent (“vain”) death (drowning, murder, etc.); these were traditionally regarded as an obstacle to being buried in a Christian cemetery and to the subsequent church commemoration. The data registered by ethnographers in the latter half of the 19th — 20th centuries made them believe that these views were leftovers of heathendom. The article draws on epitaphs of the 16th — early 18th centuries as well as on epistles of hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church and draws a conclusion about the absence of obstacles to being buried in a cemetery and to a regular commemoration of those who died a violent death. Besides, inscriptions on funerary crosses set up on the place of death symbolised martyrdom. The sources analysed allow us to believe that the death while being in czar’s service came to be regarded as one of the basic values of those in service since the 1560s. Moreover, my conclusion is that the superstitions in question are not related to heathendom. They originated in Christian times and were gradually overcome in the culture of commemoration during the 16th — 17th centuries being preserved in the background of the people’s consciousness.
History of Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics, History and principles of religions
Abstract: This study discusses the ethics of rationalism versus voluntarism ethics, where morals in principle have been debated by experts for a long time, among them Mu'tazilah with the ethics of rationalism and Ash'ariyah with voluntary ethics. For the Mu'tazila morality is a rational act of man in seeing which is good and what is bad, not merely determined by the demands of religion. While Asy'ariyah holds the opposite view that morality is under the control of God or with another understanding that morality presupposes religion. Keywords: Ethics, Rationalism, Voluntarism, Mu'tazilah, Asy'ariyah Abstrak: Studi ini membahas tentang etika rasionalisme versus etika voluntarisme, di mana moral pada prinsipnya telah menjadi perdebatan para ahli kalam sejak lama, di antaranya Mu’tazilah dengan etika rasionalisme dan Asy’ariyah dengan etika voluntarisme. Bagi Mu’tazilah moralitas adalah sebuah tindakan rasional manusia dalam melihat mana yang baik dan mana yang buruk, tidak semata ditentukan oleh tuntutan agama. Sedangkan Asy’ariyah berpandangan sebaliknya bahwa moralitas berada di bawah kontrol Tuhan atau dengan pengertian lain moralitas itu mengandaikan agama. Kata Kunci; Etika, Rasionalisme, Voluntarisme, Mu’tazilah, Asy’ariyah DOI: 10.15408/sjsbs.v5i1.7902
The small town of Minamata is infamous for the industrial disease named after the city. This disease resulted from having ingested methyl mercury, a substance released for more than three decades by a factory owned by the Chisso Corporation. Upon entering the human body, mercury affects the nervous system, resulting in paralysis, and often leading to a slow death. Examining how such violence was inflicted on human beings and on the environment involves a complex array of economic, environmental, and sociocultural issues, all revolving around the notions of justice and responsibility. This article analyzes the local residents’ responses to the irreparable damage done to them, focusing in particular on the thoughts and actions put forward by Ogata Masato and a group called Hongan no kai, who chose to carve bodhisattva statues. Investigating the victims’ religiosity, the author argues that the praxis put forward by the Minamata people resonates with the perspective articulated by Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben. After having witnessed how justice had been exhausted and their case had been lost in the Japanese legal system, the victims showed their resilience in coming up with original responses, which also offer valuable insight into current discussions centered on environmental ethics.