Religions, Volume 15, Issue 4

In this paper I discuss Moses Mendelssohn’s argumentation on religious tolerance in his “Vorrede” (“preface”) that he added to his translation of Rabbi Manasseh Ben Israel’s letter “Vindiciae judaeorum”...

This article aims to share the experience of the renewal of congregational singing in Cuban churches since the 1960s as a testimony to the links that exist between liturgical renewal and theological renewal with a special focus on the dialogue betwee...

The Gospel of John, without having its own liturgical year, is typically assumed to have a supplemental homiletical role in the Revised Common Lectionary, and yet the Fourth Gospel is the designated Gospel reading for the festival Sundays of Christma...

This paper aims to decode medieval theology from the vantage point of ancient Chinese poetry, employing a cross-textual methodology that encourages a fusion of horizons. It highlights Saint Bernard’s profound and influential theological exegesi...

In the famous medieval magical manual called the Picatrix, the unknown author describes the phenomenon of magic with the term nigromantia. As is well known, the original meaning of the Greek term necromantia has a more concise meaning. It is used for...

The purpose of this research is to examine whether Buddhist ethics can improve the health and well-being of Buddhist practitioners during pandemics like COVID-19. It is hypothesized that diseases are part of suffering, and Buddhist teachings aim to e...

In recent years, the number of Chinese Christian organizations in Europe has grown considerably compared to other overseas Chinese community organizations. They can mobilize transnational networks and resources to expand religious space in host socie...

Modern Orthodoxy is a sect of Judaism which aims to combine a high level of commitment to Jewish observance with immersion in modern society. Alumni of Modern Orthodox parochial high schools have varying degrees of commitment towards religion. This s...

I am happy to present to the scholarly audience this Special Issue of Religions on the theme of “Continuity and Change according to Hindu and Buddhist Religious Philosophies” [...]

Thomas Merton’s interfaith dialogue with the Jewish rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel sets a resonating example of how these two religious figures from the twentieth century can learn from each other and respect their theological differences while s...

Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a medieval mystic. From a young age, she had many colorful visions and became well known and influential not only in her own time but in ours as well. Her music reached the mellow house scene in the 1990s, re...

This article centers around the early translation of the term Li 礼 in the Analects of Confucius (论语). This Latin translation shows that the interpretation of the Confucian term Li 礼 mostly did not include any religious mea...

The mystical thinker Muhyi al-Din ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) had many audiences with the dead. This article explores who Ibn ‘Arabī interacted with, and how. Usually as dreams and visions, the meetings Ibn ‘Arabī had wi...

As a discipline taught and debated in universities and seminaries, philosophy of religion has traditionally been understood as a form of apologetics: that is, it pursues with concentrated effort what proof for the existence of God the human mind can...

The dove, the most frequently mentioned bird in the Hebrew Bible, appears in diverse contexts, spanning its appearance as an element in the narrative (as in the case of Noah’s ark), and as an allegory and metaphor (as in the cryptic “swor...

The call for papers for this Special Issue Iidentifies contemporary humanity as experiencing a global “biogeochemical … political, economic, technological, ethical, and therefore, biocultural” crisis and asks scholars to consider h...

Our study wants to clarify the structure of spirituality by applying existing multidimensional theories of religiosity and spirituality to in-depth interviews conducted among a sample of students. The current research analyzes 15 qualitative semi-str...

On 14 December 2021, the extraordinary event called “touching the Sun” has been heralded as a “monumental moment for solar science”, in which the Parker Solar Probe opened up a new frontier of research for Space exploration, p...

The warnings about Turkey’s not-so-near accession to the EU are explored as a strategic tool in the Brexit campaign, linking concerns about sovereignty and immigration compounded with the anxieties surrounding Islam and the threat of terrorism....

The pontificate of Pope Francis is proving to be one of the most controversial within the Catholic world, particularly because of the several objections and protests it has raised in the most traditional currents of Catholicism. This theological and...

The importance of spirituality in the treatment of mental illness is increasingly acknowledged, but mental healthcare professionals often feel they lack specific competence. An instrument is missing to quantify the spiritual care competence of mental...

How did an Arab Jew read the Quran against the backdrop of contradictory ideologies and the rise of key movements, including nationalism, colonialism, and Zionism, in Mandate Palestine? Approaching Isaac Yahuda as an Arab Jew challenges the binary op...

The Easter controversy of the late second century unveiled a profound theological and cultural debate within early Christianity. Originating from differing practices regarding the calculation of Easter dates, the dispute pitted the churches of Asia M...

Bantu African divination is firmly established in South Africa in the context of modernity and is protected, endorsed and regulated by law. It is received in the therapeutic field. Important explorations were performed in the early 20th century by ps...

This article explores the becoming-church of fake news against the background of the rise of the mediatization of faith and religious beliefs through classic media supports, such as newspapers, magazines, and journals, between 1840 and 1863 in the Un...

Pope Francis’s dream for a synodal Church has implications for Catholic schools globally, but what exactly are these consequences? This paper explores Francis’s vision in the context of Canadian Catholic schools in Alberta, Saskatchewan,...

This article explores the life and contributions of Dr. Olive L. Clark (1894–1989), a long-time faculty member at the fundamentalist Toronto Baptist Seminary (TBS). In the 1920s, Clark sided with the fundamentalists and became a vocal critic of...

This article explores the link between spirituality/religiosity and mental health from a clinical and neuroscience perspective, taking into account the advancements in neuroimaging. Specifically, it examines how spirituality influences the treatment...

This study explores the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and loneliness in the United States, using the 2018 General Social Survey to assess their interactions against a backdrop of declining traditional religious affiliation and a ris...

The extent to which the metaverse will become a site for religious and spiritual experience depends on how the aims of users align with the new medium’s potentialities for action, or “affordances”. Affordances are formed as the soci...

This study addresses Roger Scruton’s understanding of what he called “moments of revelation”. In two short essays, both entitled “Effing the ineffable”, Scruton framed his discussion of moments of revelation with referen...

This article explores the life and influence of Indira Devi Niloy (1920–1997) who in 1949 began to encounter the sixteenth-century saint–poet Mirabai during her meditative trance states. She would recount songs, stories, and teachings tha...

In traditional shamanism, the sacred mission and responsibility of a shaman is to provide healing and salvation for individuals. Today, with continuous advancements in science, technology, and medical expertise, the content and methods of shamanic he...

Most Pentecostals, at least in the global South, believe that Satan and his demonic forces are responsible for much of the carnage and suffering that characterise life on earth. The broader context of the discourse is the challenge theodicy poses to...

Among the texts of Huayan Buddhism, the study of the Treatise of the Golden Lion remains at the level of literal translation. Neither the core doctrines of the Treatise nor the original contexts of its delivery have received much scholarly atten...

Since the emergence of digital media in the 1990s, a new realm of interaction between the visual arts and religion has been forged and evolved. The spread of visual media technologies has significantly influenced the study of religious visual art wor...

The Agenda provided by the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) represent an opportunity to eradicate poverty, preserve the planet, promote peace, and develop a more prosperous society. This global horizon is reinforced by the religious proposal of t...

It can be debated whether a Lutheran identity is still relevant in the midst of ecumenical development in (South) Africa, with special reference to theological education and Christian education. The Lutheran Church is a unique body within the ecumeni...

Defining successful aging continues to be a challenge, given the more recent transition from a bioscientific definition to a more comprehensive and holistic perspective. The holistic perspective may include more subjective aspects of aging. Research...

Juedi Tiantong occurred in ancient China and was the critical foundation for understanding the relationship between Tian and man in China. From the perspective of conceptual history, Juedi Tiantong not only shaped the metaphysical dimension of the co...

Christianity does not have as long of a history as other monotheistic religions and traditional ideologies in Korea, but—especially from the end of the 19th century—its new concepts have had a huge impact on the basic thoughts of Korean s...

In the Changxi River Basin in eastern Fujian, a few stone elements remain and Buddhist buildings with one bay in width and three bays in depth have been preserved dating from the timespan of the Tang to the Song dynasty. These features are characteri...

This Special Issue aimed to stimulate and revive scholarly interest in the relationship between transcendence and happiness, specifically from religious and philosophical perspectives [...]

In the latter half of the twentieth century, Protestant churches in Hong Kong and institutions associated with them played a significant role in the daily lives of the people of Hong Kong. However, the role of ordinary people in the social functions...

Since the arrival of Christian missionaries in China through maritime trade networks, missionary activities have been changing from the 16th century to the 18th century. Christian missionaries faced numerous challenges stemming from cultural context...

Interest in studying prayer has significantly increased because of the belief that it helps humanity to cope, particularly in times of crisis. Prayer is not just a communication with God, it is also an instrument of bond and embodied ritual among pra...

Chan-bul-ga (찬불가, 讚佛歌), which in English means ‘songs in praise of the Buddha’, refers to a style of Korean Buddhist hymn that emerged during the modernization of Korean Buddhism. Buddhist hymns&m...

The Second Vatican Council and the Common Word document constitute turning points in the history of Christian–Muslim Relations. Nostra Aetate and Lumen Gentium appealed to a shared Abrahamic heritage between Christianity and Islam, and the Comm...

Typically, scholars view/read the enigmatic apostle Paul monolithically—that is, through either a Greco-Roman or Jewish socio-cultural lens. The traditional Lutheran (Greco-Roman/Western) lens was criticized in the mid-/late-twentieth century b...

In this text, the author analyzes the convergence between Christian culture and relevant films of Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense filmography. Rather than focusing on Hitchcock’s status as a Catholic director, he makes an empirical analysis t...