| 1. |
- Džalto, Davor, Professor, 1980-
(author)
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The Aesthetic Face of the Sacred
- 2019
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In: Special Issue "Religion and Art: Rethinking Aesthetic and Auratic Experiences in 'Post-Secular' Times". - Basel : MDPI. - 2077-1444.
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Review (peer-reviewed)abstract
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| 2. |
- Larsson, Ernils, 1986-
(author)
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“Cutting Up a Chicken with a Cow-Cleaver” : Confucianism as a Religion in Japan’s Courts of Law
- 2022
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In: Religions. - Basel, Switzerland : MDPI AG. - 2077-1444. ; 13:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper explores the Naha Confucius Temple case, resolved by the Supreme Court in February 2021, in light of postwar decisions on Articles 20 and 89 of the Japanese constitution. Religion is a contested category in Japanese legislation, appearing both in the constitution and in laws regulating the freedoms and restrictions of legally registered religious organizations. While the organization behind the Confucius Temple in Naha was registered as a general corporate juridical person, the majority opinion sided with the plaintiffs’ argument that the free lease granted to the temple by the municipality of Naha constituted a violence of the ban on public sponsorship of religious institutions and activities. In order to reach their decision, the Supreme Court and the lower courts not only had to decide on whether Confucianism was a religion or not, but also on whether the organization behind the temple—a group dedicated to the history and memory of the Chinese immigrant community in Naha—should in fact be considered a religious organization. The outcome of the case is a good example of religion-making in courts of law, with a central institution of power employing notions of sui generis religion to regulate and define civil actors.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Catharina
(author)
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Cistercian monasteries in medieval Sweden—foundations and recruitments, 1143–1420
- 2021
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In: Religions. - : MDPI. - 2077-1444. ; 12:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article presents an overview of the Cistercian monasteries that were founded in Sweden in the 12th and 13th centuries. The first were Alvastra and Nydala, founded in 1143, both male monasteries. However, eventually the nunneries came to outnumber the male monasteries (7/5). The purpose of the article is also to discuss the social background of the monks and nuns who inhabited these monasteries. As for the nuns, previous studies have shown that they initially came from the society’s elite, the royal families, but also other magnates. Gradually, social recruitment broadened, and an increasing number of women from the aristocratic lower levels came to dominate the recruitment. It is also suggested that from the end of the 14th century, the women increasingly came from the burghers. The male monasteries, on the other hand, were not even from the beginning populated by men from the nobles. Their family backgrounds seem rather to be linked to the aristocratic lower layers. This difference between the sexes can most probably be explained by the fact that ideals of monastic life—obedience, equality, poverty and ban on weapons—in a decisive way broke with what in secular life was constructed as an aristocratic masculinity.
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| 4. |
- Bobrowicz, Ryszard, et al.
(author)
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Divided by the Rainbow : Culture War and Diffusion of Paleoconservative Values in Contemporary Poland
- 2021
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In: Religions. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-1444. ; 12:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Over the last decade, representations of the rainbow were repeatedly disputed in Poland, revealing the country’s ongoing socio-political changes and its drift away from the generally liberal and secular values of the European mainstream. These cases show a political growth and an increasing social diffusion of Polish ‘national paleoconservatism.’ The aim of this article is to (1) discuss the intellectual roots of this distinct form of conservatism built upon the confrontational notions of national identity, patriotism, and Catholicism; (2) propose a novel concept in the studies of Polish politics (‘national paleoconservatism’); and (3) present the social diffusion of such conservatism based on conflicts over representations of the rainbow. By combining the historical and intellectual background with the contemporary case studies, the authors aim to facilitate a deeper understanding of the vitality of national conservative ideas among internationally unknown conservative intellectuals, who participate in a discursive ‘culture war’ against their liberal, progressive and secular opponents in present-day Poland. The ideological conflicts revolve around the meaning of Polish national identity, the essential character of the country’s culture, and the position of Poland within the framework of European integration.
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| 5. |
- Bürge, Teresa, 1986
(author)
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Mortuary landscapes revisited: dynamics of insularity and connectivity in mortuary ritual, feasting, and commemoration in Late Bronze Age Cyprus
- 2021
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In: Religions. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-1444. ; 12:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the paper is to discuss mortuary contexts and possible related ritual features as parts of sacred landscapes in Late Bronze Age Cyprus. Since the island was an important node in the Eastern Mediterranean economic network, it will be explored whether and how connectivity and insularity may be reflected in ritual and mortuary practices. The article concentrates on the extra-urban cemetery of Area A at the harbour city of Hala Sultan Tekke, where numerous pits and other shafts with peculiar deposits of complete and broken objects as well as faunal remains have been found. These will be evaluated and set in relation to the contexts of the nearby tombs to reconstruct ritual activities in connection with funerals and possible rituals of commemoration or ancestral rites. The evidence from Hala Sultan Tekke and other selected Late Cypriot sites demonstrates that these practices were highly dynamic in integrating and adopting external objects, symbols, and concepts, while, nevertheless, definite island-specific characteristics remain visible.
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| 6. |
- Cetrez, Önver, Associate Professor, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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A Comparative Survey Study on Meaning-Making Coping among Cancer Patients in Turkey
- 2020
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In: Religions. - : MDPI. - 2077-1444. ; 11:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- (1) Background: The role of culture in secular, spiritual, and religious coping methods is important, but needs more attention in research. The aim has been to (1) investigate the meaning-making coping methods among cancer patients in Turkey and (2) whether there were differences in two separate samples (compared to Study 2, Study 1 had a younger age group, was more educated, and grew up in a big city), (3) paying specific attention to gender, age, education, and area of residence. (2) Methods: Quantitative study using a convenience sampling in two time periods, Study 1 (n= 94) and Study 2 (n= 57). (3) Results: In Study 2, there is a significant increase in several religious and spiritual coping strategies. Additionally, there is a positive correlation between being a woman and using more religious or spiritual coping strategies. Secular meaning-making coping strategies also increase significantly in Study 2. The results confirmed the hypotheses for gender, educational, and age differences in seeking support from religious leaders. The results also confirmed the hypotheses for gender and educational level in a punishing God reappraisal and demonic reappraisal. (4) Conclusions: As Turkey is a country at the junction of strong religiosity and deep-rooted secularism, dividing up the meaning-making coping methods into the religious and spiritual, on one hand, and the secular, on the other, reveals interesting results.
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| 7. |
- Flensner, Karin K, 1973-
(author)
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Teaching controversial issues in diverse religious education classrooms
- 2020
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In: Religions. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-1444. ; 11:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In educational contexts, certain issues are perceived as controversial, since they reflect conflicts of interest and reveal divergent views. This is especially evident in debates related to religion in societies regarding themselves as secular but whose population is multi-religious. The aim of this article is to analyse how some issues that are considered controversial in the public debate are represented in the teaching of non-denominational and integrative Religious Education in a Swedish multicultural classroom practice, where the majority of students have a Muslim cultural background. The ethnographic empirical material consists of classroom observations of Religious Education lessons in upper secondary school. The analysis is based on the debate about how controversial issues ought to be taught—as empirically or politically open/settled or in a directive/non-directive way. The results indicate that a number of issues—divergent interpretations of religious narratives and religiously motivated rules, holidays, views of forgiveness, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and abortion—were regarded as open political issues in classroom practice and these were taught in an open, non-directive way. Issues represented as settled were value-oriented issues related to female genital mutilation, forced marriage and child marriage and gender equality. The arguments supporting these values were mainly rooted in religion. © 2020 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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| 8. |
- Grinell, Klas, 1969
(author)
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Muhammad at the Museum: or Why the Prophet is not present
- 2019
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In: Religions. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-1444. ; 10:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article analyses museum responses to the contemporary tensions and violence in response to images of Muhammad, from The Satanic Verses to Charlie Hebdo. How does this socio-political frame effect the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY, the V&A and British Museum in London, and the Louvre in Paris? Different genres of museums and histories of collections in part explain differences in approaches to representations of Muhammad. The theological groundings for a possible ban on prophetic depictions is charted, as well as the widespread Islamic practices of making visual representations of the Prophet. It is argued that museological framings of the religiosity of Muslims become skewed when the veneration of the Prophet is not represented.
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| 9. |
- Hedenborg-White, Manon, et al.
(author)
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The Scythe and the Pentagram : Santa Muerte from Folk Catholicism to Occultism
- 2017
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In: Religions. - : MDPI. - 2077-1444. ; 8:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Santa Muerte is establishing a presence among practitioners of contemporary occultism in Europe and North America. The occult milieu is highly different from the Mexican cult of Santa Muerte, having a strong heritage of secrecy and tradition as social capital and being mostly middle-class in orientation. Nonetheless, this Catholic folk saint with a mostly pragmatic, popular, and grassroots cult is becoming increasingly popular among occultists. Based on a survey of three recent books on Santa Muerte geared towards an Anglophone, occult audience, it is therefore the aim of this article to understand how and why the Skeleton Saint is attracting adherents in the occult milieu, by analyzing the underlying causes of this growing trend, as well as the conditions shaping it. It is the overall argument of this article that the beginning reception of Santa Muerte in occultism is a result of perceived needs and demands specific to the occult milieu rather than characteristics inherent in the symbol itself, and that an analysis of the ways in which she is spreading outside of her original sociocultural context must be guided by an understanding of the novel one she is integrated in.
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| 10. |
- Hill, Caroline
(author)
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Framing of Abortion and Church-State Relations in Russian Orthodox Online Portals
- 2021
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In: Religions. - : MDPI. - 2077-1444. ; 12:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Over the past two decades, clerics in the Russian Orthodox Church have found a new outlet for morality policy discussions: news portals, blogs, and other sites that comprise a virtual public sphere of Russian Orthodox online media. One prominent issue discussed herein is abortion in Russia, a subject that has spawned debates about possible regulation and prevention measures. This article analyzes statements regarding abortion made by clerics and others serving in the Russian Orthodox Church via Russian Orthodox online portals. Using typologies for framing strategies established through research of morality policy and church-state relations in Russia, this analysis will show that rational-instrumental frames were employed more frequently than religiously based or procedural arguments, and frames expressing affinity and disillusionment with the state were utilized more often than those evoking church-state symphony or anti-government disestablishment. In addition, it will shed light on framing strategies between online portals with varying degrees of proximity to the Moscow Patriarchate.
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