Journal Description
Religions
Religions
is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal on religions and theology, published monthly online by MDPI.
- Open Access— free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.
- High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, AHCI (Web of Science), ATLA Religion Database, Religious and Theological Abstracts, and other databases.
- Journal Rank: CiteScore - Q1 (Religious Studies)
- Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 22.8 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 4.6 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2023).
- Recognition of Reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.
Impact Factor:
0.8 (2022)
Latest Articles
Group Formative Processes in 2 Cor 6:14–7:1
Religions 2024, 15(5), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050538 - 26 Apr 2024
Abstract
This article offers a fresh interpretation of the intended impact of 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 on the group formation of the Corinthian Christ community. To achieve this interpretation, it will first determine the most likely social reference of the term οἱ ἄπιστοι. Secondly, it
[...] Read more.
This article offers a fresh interpretation of the intended impact of 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 on the group formation of the Corinthian Christ community. To achieve this interpretation, it will first determine the most likely social reference of the term οἱ ἄπιστοι. Secondly, it will describe a methodological tool from the Social Identity Approach that will help to visualise how groups are formed and reformed when the context changes. Finally, it will apply this tool to determine how 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 affected the boundaries of the Christ community in Corinth.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring the Complexity of Identities and Boundaries within the New Testament World)
►
Show Figures
Open AccessArticle
Psychedelic Mysticism and Christian Spirituality: From Science to Love
by
Ron Cole-Turner
Religions 2024, 15(5), 537; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050537 - 26 Apr 2024
Abstract
The scientific claim that psychedelic drugs like psilocybin reliably occasion mystical experiences was justified using the Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (the MEQ), a survey first developed in the 1960s by Walter Pahnke using W.T. Stace’s Mysticism and Philosophy. Scholars in Christian mysticism reject
[...] Read more.
The scientific claim that psychedelic drugs like psilocybin reliably occasion mystical experiences was justified using the Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (the MEQ), a survey first developed in the 1960s by Walter Pahnke using W.T. Stace’s Mysticism and Philosophy. Scholars in Christian mysticism reject the adequacy of Stace’s work for Western theistic mysticism, especially Christianity. One objection is that Stace follows William James in focusing on intense and unusual moments of mystical experience rather than the somewhat more ordinary mystical life. A greater concern is that Stace more adequately reflects non-Western traditions than Western theistic traditions like Christianity. For Stace, mysticism centers on the concept of union with external reality or with the absolute, a union in which the human creature is absorbed or fused. Christian mysticism, by contrast, involves a sense of presence rather than union, experienced in a most intimate relationship as a felt loving closeness with the divine, but not as fusion or absorption into the divine. While love of God is central to the Christian view, it is ignored in Stace and the MEQ30. Finally for Christianity, mysticism is not found in the momentary experience, but in the lifelong interpretation that leads to transformation.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theology and Science: Loving Science, Discovering the Divine)
Open AccessArticle
The St. Honoré Portal at Amiens Cathedral and Its Reception
by
Gili Shalom
Religions 2024, 15(5), 536; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050536 - 26 Apr 2024
Abstract
This article discusses the depictions of healings on the St. Honoré portal at Amiens Cathedral (post-1240) and the visual strategies by which its viewers were invited to participate in the saint’s cult. I contend that the carved figures who gaze or gesture beyond
[...] Read more.
This article discusses the depictions of healings on the St. Honoré portal at Amiens Cathedral (post-1240) and the visual strategies by which its viewers were invited to participate in the saint’s cult. I contend that the carved figures who gaze or gesture beyond the borders of the tympanum invited the active participation of a broad audience of spectators: male and female, young and old, rich and poor, clerical and lay, and disabled and hale. Moreover, I argue that by referencing both the saint’s vita and more contemporary miracle accounts, the sculptures negotiated between the historical past and the Gothic present, allowing the viewers to share in the hope for a miraculous cure.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Devotion Practice and Performative Expression in the Religious Art of Medieval Europe)
►▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
Open AccessArticle
An Organic System Open to an Intelligible Reality: The Concept of Method in Antonio Rosmini
by
Lucia Bissoli
Religions 2024, 15(5), 535; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050535 - 26 Apr 2024
Abstract
Oftentimes, reality seems to us a chaos that we try to control with our theories. This article starts from the antithetic standpoint, inspired by Antonio Rosmini’s works: reality is intelligible, and originates our thinking. From this perspective, any research that tries to reach
[...] Read more.
Oftentimes, reality seems to us a chaos that we try to control with our theories. This article starts from the antithetic standpoint, inspired by Antonio Rosmini’s works: reality is intelligible, and originates our thinking. From this perspective, any research that tries to reach the truth is determined by the real, not the contrary. Moreover, interdisciplinarity, far from being a solipsistic enterprise, aims at achieving truth and guaranteeing scientific advancement. Here, we analyze the distinctive character of Rosminian encyclopedism and his principles for preventing human errors. We then clarify why it is impossible to achieve perfection, and why such an impossibility is not problematic for the interdisciplinary dialogue.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Intelligibility of Reality: Theology and Science between Mystery That Calls and Research Humility)
Open AccessArticle
Llamas, Barter and Travel Rituals: An Ethnographic Study on the Esquela Tusuy Dance of the Uchumiri Peasant Community, Condesuyos, Peru
by
Aleixandre Brian Duche-Pérez and Lolo Juan Mamani-Daza
Religions 2024, 15(5), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050534 - 26 Apr 2024
Abstract
The “Esquela Tusuy” dance is a cultural manifestation deeply rooted in the Uchumiri Peasant Community (Condesuyos, Peru), reflecting the intersection between traditional cultural practices and community identity. This ethnographic study reveals how the dance, beyond being a mere artistic expression, is a complex
[...] Read more.
The “Esquela Tusuy” dance is a cultural manifestation deeply rooted in the Uchumiri Peasant Community (Condesuyos, Peru), reflecting the intersection between traditional cultural practices and community identity. This ethnographic study reveals how the dance, beyond being a mere artistic expression, is a complex system of meanings that articulates social relations, economic practices of barter, and Andean spirituality, through the veneration of Pachamama and Apu Coropuna. The dance is organized around rituals that include the preparation, journey, and return of the llama herders, being a living expression of collective memory and a mechanism of social cohesion. The adopted methodology was based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, allowing a detailed understanding of Uchumiri’s cultural dynamics. Despite contemporary challenges, “Esquela Tusuy” remains a central pillar for the affirmation of cultural identity and community resistance, underlining the importance of dance in the conservation of cultural heritage and in the articulation of local identities against national narratives.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Religion, Media and Popular Culture)
►▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
Open AccessArticle
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Intersectional Experiences of Iranian Feminists from Minoritized Ethno-National Backgrounds
by
Donya Ahmadi
Religions 2024, 15(5), 533; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050533 - 25 Apr 2024
Abstract
Over the past decades, Iran has been witnessing the growth of a burgeoning feminist movement. With its origins deeply rooted in the early 20th century, the Iranian feminist movement, as such, is not a uniform body: it embodies various, opposing even, political ideologies
[...] Read more.
Over the past decades, Iran has been witnessing the growth of a burgeoning feminist movement. With its origins deeply rooted in the early 20th century, the Iranian feminist movement, as such, is not a uniform body: it embodies various, opposing even, political ideologies under the umbrella of feminism, reflecting the divergent social locations of its protagonists. While the movement has been criticized for its centralist, middle-class and at times apolitical tendencies, academic scholarship has yet to offer intersectional analyses that problematize historically rooted and daily materialized relations of power within the movement, particularly in relation to axes such as ethnicity (and race), religion, gender identity, sexuality, and (dis)ability. In light of this gap, the present article aims towards documenting and theorizing the intersectionality of the challenges facing Iranian feminist activists belonging to various ethnic nations and religious beliefs. Drawing on ethnographic research, it argues that minority feminists find themselves between a rock and a hard place: the rock being masculinist politics within their minoritized communities, which prioritize ethno-nationalist demands over gendered ones; the hard place being a centralist liberal feminist movement that fails to reflect the intersectionality of their experiences as non-Persian non-Shia women, thereby reproducing hierarchies of power in relation to ethnicity, religion, and class.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Race–Religion Constellations: Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Antiblackness)
Open AccessArticle
Sounds, Emotions, and the Body in Pentecostal Romani Communities in Slovakia
by
Jana Belišová
Religions 2024, 15(5), 532; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050532 - 25 Apr 2024
Abstract
In the past, the Romani in Slovakia identified with the prevailing religion, mainly with the Roman Catholic Church. However, the missionary activities of various Christian denominations after 1990 resulted in the conversion of the Romani to Pentecostal Christian communities. This launched a long,
[...] Read more.
In the past, the Romani in Slovakia identified with the prevailing religion, mainly with the Roman Catholic Church. However, the missionary activities of various Christian denominations after 1990 resulted in the conversion of the Romani to Pentecostal Christian communities. This launched a long, creative process of the formation of Pentecostal Romani music. Romani believers consider music and the ability to play and sing to be a gift from God and view these as a form of prayer that should serve for the praise of God. That is why many have given up their worldly music making and now play only praise songs. They gradually modified the hymns they borrowed and replaced them with their own creations. The soundscape of religion does not lie only in religious singing and music, as the emotional sermons and prayers, glossolalia and sounds during the healing and blessing rituals can also be considered religious sounds. During the worship services, this mixture of various sounds leads to the gradual spiritual and emotional unification of the community. The music and the rituals create feelings of intense sensory and emotional character that reflect in bodily expressions. Movements, dance, and the positions of the hands can help glorify God and experience the worship service more intensely. However, under certain circumstances, they might become sources of temptation and sin. This is related to the concepts of “purity” and “impurity”. The premises, whether sacral or profane, interior or exterior ones, also play a significant role in creating the sound. In writing this paper, I have also drawn on my own research on Romani Christian songs, which I carried out in (2012–2013 in Eastern Slovakia).
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soundscapes of Religion)
Open AccessArticle
The Forgotten Language of Nontheistic Mysticism: Religious Factors in Erich Fromm’s Humanism
by
Ronen Pinkas
Religions 2024, 15(5), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050531 - 25 Apr 2024
Abstract
In You Shall Be as Gods, Erich Fromm (1900–1980) defines his position as nontheistic mysticism. This research clarifies the term, considers its importance within Fromm’s humanism, and explores its potential origins. The nontheistic mystical position plays a central role in Fromm’s understanding
[...] Read more.
In You Shall Be as Gods, Erich Fromm (1900–1980) defines his position as nontheistic mysticism. This research clarifies the term, considers its importance within Fromm’s humanism, and explores its potential origins. The nontheistic mystical position plays a central role in Fromm’s understanding of the relationship between mysticism and organized religion, religion and religiosity, and it clarifies the relationship between religion, philosophy, and social psychoanalysis, whose combination constitutes his humanistic ethics. Nontheistic mysticism relates, as well, to Fromm’s understanding of human nature; it involves the question of the relationship between language, perception, and experience. The nontheistic mystical position is linked to Fromm’s negative theology, the x experience, and idolatry. Hence, the nontheistic mystical position is relevant to Fromm’s understanding of self-realization and his vision of a sane society. Unlike some scholarly opinion, the conclusions of this paper suggest that Fromm’s humanism is not radical, as long as radical is defined as an absolute atheistic secular feature that eliminates the range of religious language and experience. Rather, it is a broad and cautious humanism that, on the one hand, internalizes the transcendent divinity into the human subject and transforms it into anthropological–ethical phenomena, but, on the other, implies that atheism carries the risk of an idolatrous identification of the human being with God. Consequently, this humanism requires a religious–mystical component to adequately portray the spiritual and ethical potentials of humanity and its challenges. Nontheistic mysticism is a consciousness mechanism aimed at the fine-tuning of the individual’s moral compass, which is affected by the pathologies of normalcy that prevail in all societies.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theism in the Language of Humanism: Reincarnations of the Transcendent God in the Secular Subject)
Open AccessArticle
Metaphorical Language and Function of the “Bridal Pick-Up” Ritual in Anatolian Traditional Weddings with Its Origin and Reflections
by
Atila Kartal, Kemal Şimşek, Emine Atmaca and Haktan Kaplan
Religions 2024, 15(5), 530; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050530 - 25 Apr 2024
Abstract
In the urban centers of Türkiye, where cultural changes are more widespread and effective, wedding processional is replaced by the solemnization of the marriage at indoor weddings, and the Kūdegū (old Turkic language; refers to bridegroom, son-in-law) awaiting the bride’s arrival at the
[...] Read more.
In the urban centers of Türkiye, where cultural changes are more widespread and effective, wedding processional is replaced by the solemnization of the marriage at indoor weddings, and the Kūdegū (old Turkic language; refers to bridegroom, son-in-law) awaiting the bride’s arrival at the boy’s house is replaced by differences in the way of the bride and groom’s entry together; moreover, while wedding rituals such as the bridal bath and groom’s hammam are being forgotten, bachelor/bachelorette parties are on the rise. The beliefs and practices related to the bride being taken out of the girl’s house with a special ceremony have deep meanings, such as blessing the bride who has just joined the family, acclimatizing the bride who feels like an outsider and avoiding her from these feelings, and protecting the bride and groom from the körmös (spirits in Turkic mythology, devilish entities living in the underworld), bad spirits, and the evil eye. In this paper, the structure, function, practices, and beliefs of the rituals surrounding the bride and groom on the last day of Anatolian Turkish weddings are analyzed using a qualitative research method. In addition, this study identified the betrothal, performance, beliefs, and practices surrounding the ritual of “bridal pick up” among Anatolian Turks and evaluated the symbols and signs in the ritual procedures in the functional context of the origins and reflections of traditional Turkish beliefs.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Religion in Marriage and Family Life)
Open AccessArticle
Paganism as a Political Problem: Levinas’s Understanding of Judaism in the 1930s
by
Michael Fagenblat
Religions 2024, 15(5), 529; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050529 - 25 Apr 2024
Abstract
In response to the rise of neopagan fascist political theologies in Europe in the 1930s, the young Emmanuel Levinas developed a novel conception of the theopolitical role of Judaism. The existing scholarly consensus maintains that (1) Levinas responded to the rise of pagan
[...] Read more.
In response to the rise of neopagan fascist political theologies in Europe in the 1930s, the young Emmanuel Levinas developed a novel conception of the theopolitical role of Judaism. The existing scholarly consensus maintains that (1) Levinas responded to the rise of pagan Hitlerism by opposing it to a Jewish conception of transcendence and (2) this putative contrast involved a critique of Heidegger’s thought, which Levinas identified with pagan Hitlerism. By focusing on under-examined occasional pieces Levinas wrote in the 1930s, I offer a significantly revised understanding of Levinas’s position in the 1930s. The argument shows how Levinas describes Judaism as a way of ‘being riveted’ that does not resort to transcendence, as does the Greco-Christian West, but rather affirms the immanence of existence while breaking with its disposition to paganism. This places Levinas’s conception of Judaism on the same plane as paganism and within the terms of Heidegger’s philosophy. From this perspective, a new way of understanding Levinas’s theopolitical view of Judaism as “the anti-paganism par excellence” takes shape.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Modern Jewish Thought: Volume II)
Open AccessArticle
Lessons from Master Hongyi’s Experiences with Impermanence for Death Education
by
Fazhao Shi (Hsu-Feng Lee)
Religions 2024, 15(5), 528; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050528 - 25 Apr 2024
Abstract
►▼
Show Figures
This paper explores the life and teachings of the renowned Chinese Buddhist monk Master Hongyi (1880–1942), focusing on his transformative encounters with impermanence and their relevance for contemporary death education. Drawing upon historical records, personal writings, and the accounts of his contemporaries, this
[...] Read more.
This paper explores the life and teachings of the renowned Chinese Buddhist monk Master Hongyi (1880–1942), focusing on his transformative encounters with impermanence and their relevance for contemporary death education. Drawing upon historical records, personal writings, and the accounts of his contemporaries, this study traces Master Hongyi’s profound spiritual journey from intense grief and existential crisis to enlightened equanimity in the face of mortality. It examines how his skillful application of Buddhist practices enabled him to find meaning, purpose, and liberation amidst the challenges of aging, illness, and dying. Through an in-depth analysis of Master Hongyi’s wisdom and lived experience, this paper proposes the “Hongyi Model”, an innovative paradigm for integrating the spiritual, psychological, and artistic dimensions of his approach into modern death education. The findings underscore the transformative potential of Buddhist teachings for fostering a more authentic, meaningful, and spiritually grounded engagement with mortality, offering valuable insights for educators, counselors, and healthcare professionals working in end-of-life care.
Full article
Figure 1
Open AccessArticle
The Role of Black Christian Beliefs in the Civil Rights Movement: A Paradigm for a Better Understanding of Religious Freedom
by
Darryl Dejuan Roberts
Religions 2024, 15(5), 527; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050527 - 24 Apr 2024
Abstract
This paper builds upon and extends Christian and legal scholarship on the civil rights movement by illuminating a climate of religious freedom that served as a catalyst for and was integral to the success of the spirited activism of the civil rights movement.
[...] Read more.
This paper builds upon and extends Christian and legal scholarship on the civil rights movement by illuminating a climate of religious freedom that served as a catalyst for and was integral to the success of the spirited activism of the civil rights movement. To date, scholars have not extensively considered how the expansion of religious freedom in church and state jurisprudence both directly and indirectly created a climate that contributed to the success of the CRM, and how advancements in civil rights impacted the broader revolution occurring in constitutional rights. The climate of religious freedom included court support for evangelizing in residentially exclusive areas, exemptions for conscientious opposers from participating in oath swearing and other ceremonies, and exemptions from other general laws that unduly inhibited the free exercise of religious rights.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Politics: Interactions and Boundaries)
Open AccessArticle
Sickness and the Power of Healing Prayer in 2 Kings 20:1–11 and Isaiah 38:1–22
by
Michael Ufok Udoekpo
Religions 2024, 15(5), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050526 - 24 Apr 2024
Abstract
2 Kings 20:1–11; Isaiah 38:1–22 and 2 Chronicles 32:24–26 discuss Hezekiah’s sickness and the power of healing prayer. They are called Hezekiah-Isaiah narratives since they deal not only with (a) the threats and salvation of Jerusalem from Assyria, (b) the disease and the
[...] Read more.
2 Kings 20:1–11; Isaiah 38:1–22 and 2 Chronicles 32:24–26 discuss Hezekiah’s sickness and the power of healing prayer. They are called Hezekiah-Isaiah narratives since they deal not only with (a) the threats and salvation of Jerusalem from Assyria, (b) the disease and the miraculous recovery or healing (ḥāyâ/rāքā’) of Hezekiah and description of the representatives from Babylon, but share a common narrative pattern in which Hezekiah is healed with a poultice/lump of fig tree (dəbelet təʾnim), having received advise and healing support from God’s messenger, Isaiah. Past scholars have approached this text differently, searching for its dating, literary growths, differences, originality with the desire to reveal the history of the various traditional components and relationship among parallel texts, as well the prophetic and kingly images of Isaiah and Hezekiah. Built on this past scholarship and African cultural perspectives and experiences, this work contextually, historically and theologically study, develop and analyze the story of Hezekiah’s sickness and healing.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Bible within Ancient and Modern Cultures)
Open AccessArticle
Toward a Generalizable Understanding of Rightist Movements: Utilizing the Revolutionary Right’s Value Wars in Iran (1995–2009) as a Case Study
by
Amirhossein Teimouri
Religions 2024, 15(5), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050525 - 24 Apr 2024
Abstract
Bringing rightist movement studies into the Iranian context, this study advances a generalizable understanding of the ideological, moral, and cultural activism of Islamist movements and their rightist counterparts. While numerous studies have discussed the economic explanation of rightist movements, I integrate Islamist movements
[...] Read more.
Bringing rightist movement studies into the Iranian context, this study advances a generalizable understanding of the ideological, moral, and cultural activism of Islamist movements and their rightist counterparts. While numerous studies have discussed the economic explanation of rightist movements, I integrate Islamist movements in the Muslim world and rightist movements in the West to develop a generalizable cultural and moral explanation of rightist movements. Value and ideological conflicts, as well as moral outrage, drive this integrated understanding of rightist movements. The rise of innovative and contentious forms of millennialism in Iran—especially the increasing salience of the Jamkaran mosque, the rise of new media outlets and millennial discourses, and pertinent policies—provide evidence for proposing this generalizable understanding. I argue that the rise of performative contentions surrounding millennialism, known as Mahdaviat, within the pro-regime revolutionary rightist movement in Iran was Islamists’ ideological response to liberal threat perceptions. These threat perceptions were activated before the liberal Reform era (1997–2005). After the ascent of Ahmadinejad to power in 2005, ideological millennialism became the dominant discursive field in Iran’s state politics. Drawing on narratives of prominent Islamist figures and media personalities in Iran and events surrounding Mahdaviat, this paper advances a generalizable argument of the moral and cultural explanation of rightist movements.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Middle East Religions from Comparative Perspectives—How Religion Is Shaping the Middle East)
Open AccessArticle
A Contemporary Aristotelian–Thomistic Perspective on the Evolutionary View of Reality and Theistic Evolution
by
Mariusz Tabaczek
Religions 2024, 15(5), 524; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050524 - 24 Apr 2024
Abstract
This article presents a coherent and comprehensive proposal of a renewed contemporary Aristotelian–Thomistic approach to the evolutionary view of reality and the position of theistic evolution. Beginning with a proposal of a hylomorphically–grounded essentialist definition of species—framed within a broader revival of biological
[...] Read more.
This article presents a coherent and comprehensive proposal of a renewed contemporary Aristotelian–Thomistic approach to the evolutionary view of reality and the position of theistic evolution. Beginning with a proposal of a hylomorphically–grounded essentialist definition of species—framed within a broader revival of biological essentialism—a constructive model of the Aristotelian–Thomistic metaphysics of evolution is being offered, together with a reflection on the alleged violation of the principle of proportionate causation in evolutionary transitions and the role of teleology and chance in evolution. The theological part of the article addresses a number of questions concerning the Thomistic school of theology in its encounter with the evolutionary worldview, including the question of whether God creates through evolution, the query concerning the concurrence of divine and created causes in evolutionary transitions, and the question regarding evolutionary and theological notions of anthropogenesis. A list of ten postulates grounding a contemporary Thomistic version of theistic evolution is offered as a conclusion to the research presented in the text.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aquinas and the Sciences: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future)
►▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
Open AccessArticle
Buddhist Cultural Exchange between Paekche and Ancient Japan: A Comparative Analysis of the Archaeological Remains from the Wooden Pagoda Site at Asukadera and Śarīra Reliquaries from Paekche Temple Sites
by
Byongho Lee and Isahaya Naoto
Religions 2024, 15(5), 523; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050523 - 24 Apr 2024
Abstract
This article provides a critical review of the results of the Asuka Historical Museum’s excavation of the Asukadera wooden pagoda site in Japan since 2015, and its implications for Buddhist cultural exchange in East Asia. The second section examines the Asuka Historical Museum’s
[...] Read more.
This article provides a critical review of the results of the Asuka Historical Museum’s excavation of the Asukadera wooden pagoda site in Japan since 2015, and its implications for Buddhist cultural exchange in East Asia. The second section examines the Asuka Historical Museum’s categorization and scientific analysis of the beads, pearls, horse gear, earrings, gold and silver artifacts, mica, and śarīra containers. We assert that most objects excavated from the Asukadera wooden pagoda site are relics from the Asuka era (538–710), when the pagoda was first established in 593, and only a limited number of artifacts, such as the śarīra [relics] container, were added after the wooden pagoda was burned down in 1196. The third section compares the archeological remains from the Asukadera wooden pagoda site and the reliquary objects from the Paekche Wanghŭng-sa site (577) and Mirŭk-sa site (639), which have been conventionally considered to be its models. What the relics from these three historical sites have in common is that they include clothing accessories nobles wore as they participated in the Buddhist rituals of enshrining the śarīra in a wooden pagoda. However, some differences in the metallic craft items, such as crowns and belts, were still found between Paekche and Japan, which was due to the difference in costume styles in the respective countries at the time. Also, horse gear and lamellar armor unearthed from Asukadera sites was not found in Paekche temple sites, but is similar to earlier Japanese kofun (megalithic tumuli) grave goods, which provides evidence that as Buddhism was transferred to Japan from Paekche, it was not accepted in completely the same form.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)
►▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
Open AccessArticle
Intellectual Humility and the Argument from Evil: A Reply to Zain Ali
by
John Bishop and Ken Perszyk
Religions 2024, 15(5), 522; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050522 - 23 Apr 2024
Abstract
This is a response to Zain Ali’s critique in this journal of our presentation of a ‘right relationship’ normatively relativised ‘logical’ Argument from Evil. Our argument aims to show that the existence of horrendous evils (as defined by Marilyn Adams) is incompatible with
[...] Read more.
This is a response to Zain Ali’s critique in this journal of our presentation of a ‘right relationship’ normatively relativised ‘logical’ Argument from Evil. Our argument aims to show that the existence of horrendous evils (as defined by Marilyn Adams) is incompatible with the existence of the personal omniGod (a person or personal being who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly good), given certain reasonable judgments about what a personal God’s perfect goodness would imply about the way God relates to those caught up in horrendous evils. We reply to Ali’s main criticism that our assumptions about divine goodness are unjustified, and show a lack of intellectual humility. We defend the claim that, if God is a person, then God’s goodness is moral goodness according to our best human theory of what that implies. We accept that God’s situation as creator and sustainer of all that exists may justify ‘divine exceptionalism’: God’s personal moral goodness may be consistent with ways of relating to others that would fall far short of perfection in human-to-human relationships. But in that case, we argue, intellectual humility may be better served by accepting that God is so exceptional that God should not be understood as a person at all, which is the prevailing Muslim view, as Ali himself acknowledges.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Problems in Contemporary Islamic Philosophy of Religion)
Open AccessArticle
Wanwuyiti and Finding God in All Things: A Comparative Study between Neo-Confucian Self-Cultivation and Ignatian Spirituality
by
Amy Yu Fu
Religions 2024, 15(5), 521; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050521 - 23 Apr 2024
Abstract
It seems that the early Jesuits misinterpreted the key Neo-Confucian terms taiji/li from an Aristotelian perspective in the seventeenth century, thereby leading to a dialogical failure in their initial encounter with Neo-Confucian tradition. What necessitates interreligious dialogue today is a pluralistic stance that
[...] Read more.
It seems that the early Jesuits misinterpreted the key Neo-Confucian terms taiji/li from an Aristotelian perspective in the seventeenth century, thereby leading to a dialogical failure in their initial encounter with Neo-Confucian tradition. What necessitates interreligious dialogue today is a pluralistic stance that deems all religious quests worthy in their own context. Therefore, this paper renews the dialogue between two spiritual traditions, long overdue, by reading two representative texts, side by side, from each tradition on self-cultivation: Reflections on Things at Hand (twelfth century) and The Spiritual Exercises (sixteenth century). The comparison showcases that the notion of “wanwuyiti”, a concomitant of the Confucian ren, is tantamount to a religious imperative for human ethical engagements, and the Ignatian axiom “Finding God in All Things” energizes a spiritual self-transformation to forge an intimate bond with God and the world. While Neo-Confucian cultivation focuses on the removal of desires, seeking to maintain “equilibrium” and “centrality”, the Ignatian exercises foreground commitment to “discernment” and “indifference”. The Neo-Confucians address human and worldly affairs in a procedural manner, with ever-broadening horizons, to establish an orderly society. In contrast, the Ignatian self is directed toward an orderly life to serve, love, and bring ever more to God’s Divine Majesty.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medieval Theology and Philosophy from a Cross-Cultural Perspective)
Open AccessArticle
The Great Web of Being: Environmental Ethics without Value Hierarchy
by
Ryan Darr
Religions 2024, 15(5), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050520 - 23 Apr 2024
Abstract
Hierarchical views of the world such as the great chain of being have come under sustained critique in recent decades, and rightly so. They have justified not only the domination of non-human creatures but also the devaluation (via animalization/racialization) of many humans. The
[...] Read more.
Hierarchical views of the world such as the great chain of being have come under sustained critique in recent decades, and rightly so. They have justified not only the domination of non-human creatures but also the devaluation (via animalization/racialization) of many humans. The rejection of hierarchy and the great chain of being, however, does not require the rejection of the Christian Platonic theological vision upon which hierarchy is often based. In this paper, I argue that Christian Platonic theology has always been in tension with the great chain of being and is better suited to a non-hierarchical view of creaturely value. I then develop the ethical implications of this view in dialogue with both environmental and animal ethics and anti-racist and decolonial scholarship.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Platonic Tradition, Nature Spirituality and the Environment)
Open AccessArticle
Decolonizing the Gospel of Love in Africa
by
William I. Orbih
Religions 2024, 15(5), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050519 - 23 Apr 2024
Abstract
The violence of missionary agents on Africans contradicted the gospel of Christ’s redemptive love, which they preached. In response to the contemporary manifestations of the violence and dehumanization of “colonial love”, this article proposes the decolonization of the gospel of love, both as
[...] Read more.
The violence of missionary agents on Africans contradicted the gospel of Christ’s redemptive love, which they preached. In response to the contemporary manifestations of the violence and dehumanization of “colonial love”, this article proposes the decolonization of the gospel of love, both as theological hermeneutic and a moral imperative in the African Church. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus commands us to recognize every human being as a neighbor. Within a colonial context, this means rejecting the dualistic logic of colonial love, its segregation, dehumanization, and violence.
Full article
Highly Accessed Articles
Latest Books
E-Mail Alert
News
Topics
Topic in
Social Sciences, Sustainability, World, Religions
Faith and Sustainable Development: Exploring Practice, Progress and Challenges among Faith Communities and Institutions
Topic Editors: Stephen Morse, Jim Lynch, Ian ChristieDeadline: 1 July 2024
Topic in
Behavioral Sciences, Religions, Social Sciences, Youth
Educational and Health Development of Children and Youths
Topic Editors: Jerf W. K. Yeung, Huifang ChenDeadline: 1 December 2025
Conferences
Special Issues
Special Issue in
Religions
The Interaction of Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian Thinkers in the Sui and Early Tang Dynasty
Guest Editor: Friederike AssandriDeadline: 30 April 2024
Special Issue in
Religions
Asceticism, Mysticism, and the Affirmation of the World in Christianity and Islam
Guest Editors: Rico G. Monge, Elliott BazzanoDeadline: 15 May 2024
Special Issue in
Religions
Divine Logos in Translation: Philosophy and Biblical-Exegesis in Context
Guest Editors: Yossef Schwartz, Menachem Fisch, Christian WieseDeadline: 1 June 2024
Special Issue in
Religions
Saints and Cities: Hagiography and Urban History
Guest Editor: Samantha Kahn HerrickDeadline: 16 June 2024
Topical Collections
Topical Collection in
Religions
Measures of the Different Aspects of Spirituality/Religiosity
Collection Editor: Arndt Büssing