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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 24.5 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 4.9 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2025).
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.
Journal Cluster of Human Thought and Cultural Expression: Culture, Histories, Humanities, Languages, Literature and Religions.

Impact Factor: 0.6 (2024)

Imprint Information Journal Flyer Open Access ISSN: 2077-1444

Latest Articles

29 pages, 643 KB

Open AccessArticle

Tang Dynasty Daoist Diversity: Immortal Daoism as an Offshoot in Li Bai’s Era

by Qin Yu

Religions 2026, 17(4), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040472 (registering DOI) - 9 Apr 2026

The mainstream Daoism of the Tang Dynasty was the Highest Clarity Tradition, a paradigmatic form of Medieval Daoism. Meanwhile, the existence of Immortal Daoism, as an offshoot, can be regarded as an undercurrent of Tang Dynasty Daoism, embodying the historical diversity of Daoism [...] Read more.

The mainstream Daoism of the Tang Dynasty was the Highest Clarity Tradition, a paradigmatic form of Medieval Daoism. Meanwhile, the existence of Immortal Daoism, as an offshoot, can be regarded as an undercurrent of Tang Dynasty Daoism, embodying the historical diversity of Daoism during this period. As a paradigmatic figure among Tang Dynasty literati, Li Bai had religious beliefs and practices deeply imbued with Immortal Daoist concepts. His practices centered on three core elements: questing for the immortal realm in untamed mountain landscapes, cultivating spiritual essence through reclusive seclusion, and asserting a strong self-identity as an “ostracized transcendent.” A comparative analysis of works of the same genre reveals that Li Bai’s pursuit of Daoism centered on leaving this mortal coil as a transcendent, whereas the ultimate goal of Medieval Daoist postulants was “Dedao” (to achieve perfect harmony with the Dao). When interacting with such priests, Li Bai would actively adopt the terminology of Daoist scriptures to align with their perspectives and even visit Daoist monasteries for tangible benefits. In his personal writings, he favored imagery associated with Immortal Daoism. Li Bai’s preference for Immortal Daoism not only resolves long-standing academic debates concerning his relationship with Daoism but also stands as a concrete manifestation of the variety of Daoism in the Tang Dynasty, thereby providing a multi-dimensional perspective for the study of Daoist history. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Diversity and Harmony of Taoism: Ideas, Behaviors and Influences)

29 pages, 1206 KB

Open AccessArticle

Chalice of Salvation: Historical, Symbolic, and Phenomenological Reflections on Communion with the Blood of Christ

by Christopher M. O’Brien

Religions 2026, 17(4), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040471 - 9 Apr 2026

In many parishes, lay communion from the chalice ceased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has yet to return. This article summarizes the historical development of practice and theology regarding the chalice and proposes a symbolic and phenomenological account of communion with the blood [...] Read more.

In many parishes, lay communion from the chalice ceased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has yet to return. This article summarizes the historical development of practice and theology regarding the chalice and proposes a symbolic and phenomenological account of communion with the blood of Christ. The practice of lay communion from the chalice in Western Christianity has gone through several distinct phases. From early Christianity into the medieval period, lay reception from the chalice was practiced regularly. In the twelfth century, the practice ceased due to increased focus on Christ’s real presence in the consecrated elements and increased fear of dropping or spilling Christ’s body and blood on the ground. The doctrine of concomitance arose to explain that in exceptional circumstances where communion was possible under only one species, communicants still received Christ whole and entire. Later, concomitance was used to support the practice of withholding the chalice from the laity, which lasted from the twelfth century until Vatican II. Without challenging the Council of Trent’s pronouncement that communion under both species is not required for salvation, this article argues that communion under both species maximizes the multivalent symbolism and the phenomenological experience of eucharistic communion for sacramental participants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Eucharist as the Bread of Life: Phenomenological and Existential Explorations)

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29 pages, 24667 KB

Open AccessArticle

Tomb Rituals in Han Dynasty Pictorial Stone Reliefs: Depictions of Historical Figures

by Shaohua Duan, Xiaoyang Wang and Yanli Cao

Religions 2026, 17(4), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040470 - 9 Apr 2026

Archaeological reports show that about 70% of Han dynasty pictorial stone sites feature historical figures, revealing a significant yet understudied aspect of tomb ritual practice (muji yishi). This study examines how these depictions may reflect ritual characteristics and their relationship to [...] Read more.

Archaeological reports show that about 70% of Han dynasty pictorial stone sites feature historical figures, revealing a significant yet understudied aspect of tomb ritual practice (muji yishi). This study examines how these depictions may reflect ritual characteristics and their relationship to temple ritual practice (miaoji yishi). From the Qin to Han period (221 BCE–220 CE), tomb and temple rituals increasingly converged; temple rituals were sometimes performed by tombs, and the imagery incorporated cosmological models alongside representations of daily life, including clothing, diet, dwellings, and mobility. The historical figures depicted can be grouped into three categories: emperors and sages, loyal ministers and righteous heroes, and filial sons and chaste women. These figures were closely associated with ideals of transcendence and immortality, suggesting a ritual framework that connected temple and tomb practices, with emperors and sages appearing most frequently, accounting for about 80% of the depictions. Notably, these images occur predominantly in commoners’ tombs (approximately 95%), where fewer social restrictions may have allowed greater creative freedom. While research on tomb ritual practices has traditionally relied on textual sources, the present study emphasizes archaeological evidence, offering an analytical perspective on the relationship between temple and tomb rituals in Han funeral art and highlighting their potential role in shaping Han ritual logic and religious expression. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Temple Art, Architecture and Theatre)

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16 pages, 237 KB

Open AccessArticle

Re-Imagining Religion Along Postsecular Lines in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Donald Mark C. Ude

Religions 2026, 17(4), 469; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040469 - 9 Apr 2026

Religion continues to exert a far-reaching influence on politics in sub-Saharan Africa. This influence is ambivalent, in that it carries significant promise while simultaneously posing serious contemporary challenges. Although there is nothing essentially problematic about religion—which indeed shapes social morality and nurtures solidarity—certain [...] Read more.

Religion continues to exert a far-reaching influence on politics in sub-Saharan Africa. This influence is ambivalent, in that it carries significant promise while simultaneously posing serious contemporary challenges. Although there is nothing essentially problematic about religion—which indeed shapes social morality and nurtures solidarity—certain abuses grounded in faith traditions nonetheless have deleterious political and economic ramifications. The unwholesome aspects of religion are unsustainable and call for a re-thinking of the place of religion in sub-Saharan Africa today. The objective of this article is to propose postsecularity as a viable conceptual framework for re-imagining religion in sub-Saharan Africa. This postsecular framework acknowledges the socio-political value of religion, while delineating normative guardrails for a responsible practice of religion. Drawing on theorizations of the postsecular in the works of Habermas and other relevant thinkers, the article contends that the postsecular framework holds out a promise of political and economic stability for the sub-continent, ceteris paribus. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Religions and Humanities/Philosophies)

25 pages, 567 KB

Open AccessArticle

Operationalizing Higher Ethical Objectives: Piety, Ethics, and Institutional Practice in Pakistan’s Islamic Financial Sector

by Shafiullah Jan, Ali Abdullah and Naeem Muzafar

Religions 2026, 17(4), 468; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040468 - 9 Apr 2026

As a developing and evolving phenomenon, Islamic finance is continuously questioned regarding its performance and efficiency, especially in the context of higher ethical objectives, also termed as maqasid al Shariah, to achieve falah by practicing ihsan. A vast group of researchers [...] Read more.

As a developing and evolving phenomenon, Islamic finance is continuously questioned regarding its performance and efficiency, especially in the context of higher ethical objectives, also termed as maqasid al Shariah, to achieve falah by practicing ihsan. A vast group of researchers has measured the unsatisfactory performance of Islamic financial institutions against the maqasid al Shariah, reflecting their convergence with capitalist systems. This raises a question of whether the Islamic finance industry interprets the concept of maqasid al Shariah the same way as academia and whether they assign maqasid al Shariah the same high level of relevance and importance. This study explores how the practitioners of the Islamic banking industry in Pakistan understands and implement maqasid al Shariah in practice. Adopting a qualitative, multiple-case approach, it draws on 20 in-depth narrative interviews with Islamic bankers and Shariah scholars. The findings of the research suggest ten different perspectives of practitioners, which they hold regarding maqasid al Shariah. They are (1) public welfare (maslahah), (2) business motives alongside banks do not consider maqasid al Shariah as their responsibility, (3) wrong interpretation and wrong evaluation of Islamic institutions on maqasid, (4) new industry and over expectation from the industry, (5) justice/equity (‘adl/ihsan), (6) bankers consider auto inclusion of maqasid al Shariah in every transaction, (7) prevention from prohibitions and provisioning of halal options, (8) Shariah compliance, (9) more focus on protection of wealth (10) maqasid are not divine and are man-made interpretations. These findings contribute to developing more effective performance measurement frameworks for the industry in the future and can compel both regulators and practitioners to consider comprehensive objectives of Shariah in product development rather than focusing merely on compliance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piety and Ethical Foundations in Islamic Moral Economy)

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10 pages, 180 KB

Open AccessArticle

Belonging to God: Karl Barth and the Value of Daily Work

by David Hadley Jensen

Religions 2026, 17(4), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040467 - 8 Apr 2026

This essay explores Karl Barth’s understanding of daily work in Church Dogmatics in light of his understanding of Christian vocation. Because Barth is responding to post-Reformation developments in the understanding of work, this essay begins with a typological survey of Christian understandings of [...] Read more.

This essay explores Karl Barth’s understanding of daily work in Church Dogmatics in light of his understanding of Christian vocation. Because Barth is responding to post-Reformation developments in the understanding of work, this essay begins with a typological survey of Christian understandings of vocation and how the language of vocation gets reduced to work in the modern period. I next examine how Barth’s theology recovers important themes of earlier views of vocation, while it also offers critiques of capitalist and state socialist views of work and workers. The essay concludes with a brief contrast between Barth’s own work habits and his celebration of Mozart’s work, a contrast that offers a window through which one might view “good work” in our day. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reformed Theology in Dialogue: Faith, Culture, and Everyday Practice)

17 pages, 246 KB

Open AccessArticle

Religious Heritage and the Governance of Living Sacred Space: A Multi-Religious Perspective

by Kyungjin Chae

Religions 2026, 17(4), 466; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040466 - 8 Apr 2026

Religious heritage occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of sacred practice and cultural governance. While existing scholarship often interprets conflicts surrounding religious heritage through value pluralism or sacred–secular opposition, less attention has been paid to how heritagization reshapes religion within regulatory regimes. [...] Read more.

Religious heritage occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of sacred practice and cultural governance. While existing scholarship often interprets conflicts surrounding religious heritage through value pluralism or sacred–secular opposition, less attention has been paid to how heritagization reshapes religion within regulatory regimes. Drawing on 39 in-depth interviews conducted across Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, and Confucian contexts in South Korea, this article examines how religious practitioners and heritage experts conceptualize living religious heritage and negotiate governance structures. The findings demonstrate that stakeholders frequently challenge the binary opposition. Instead, they articulate a relational continuum in which ritual continuity sustains heritage significance and historical depth legitimizes religious practice. Tensions arise primarily from regulatory rigidity, fragmented institutional authority, and procedural exclusion rather than doctrinal incompatibility. Heritage designation emerges as an institutional process that contributes to reconfiguring religious authority, spatial control, and public legitimacy within secular administrative frameworks. By conceptualizing religious heritage governance as a site of negotiated rearticulation rather than value conflict, this study contributes to debates on sacred–secular entanglement, religion and governance, and the institutional reshaping of religion in contemporary societies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religions and Society: Between Navigating Secularism and Lived Religion)

17 pages, 575 KB

Open AccessArticle

St. Thomas Aquinas on the Separated Soul and Its Personhood: A Mixed View

by Hao Pai and Shangwen Dong

Religions 2026, 17(4), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040465 - 8 Apr 2026

De Haan and Dahm have recently proposed a “Middle Way” to reconcile the long-standing conflict between Corruptionists and Survivalists in the ancient Thomistic debate over the personhood of the separated soul. While the Middle Way avoids some difficulties with the traditional positions, it [...] Read more.

De Haan and Dahm have recently proposed a “Middle Way” to reconcile the long-standing conflict between Corruptionists and Survivalists in the ancient Thomistic debate over the personhood of the separated soul. While the Middle Way avoids some difficulties with the traditional positions, it relies on the unstable notion of an “incomplete person.” Building on the Middle Way’s insights, this paper proposes a “Mixed View.” Based on “Single-Part-Composition”, “Composition as Non-Identity”, “the Criterion of the Numerical Identity of Substances”, and the three criteria of personhood analyzed by De Haan and Dahm, I argue that the separated soul solely composes a substance that is numerically identical to the pre-mortem substance. This post-mortem substance satisfies the criteria for personhood but no longer under the species of human being, and the soul itself is not a person. The Mixed View preserves personal continuity without attributing personhood (complete or incomplete) to the soul, while also retaining the metaphysical seriousness of death as a substantial change, the abhorrence of death and the necessity of Resurrection. Full article

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16 pages, 4548 KB

Open AccessArticle

Attention to the Body: Embodiment and Corporeality Through the Lens of Gesture

by Clarissa Breu

Religions 2026, 17(4), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040464 - 8 Apr 2026

In this article, New Testament scholarship on embodiment and corporeality is discussed, systematized and evaluated. The example of the Judas kiss and its reception in Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ demonstrates that the lens of embodiment is important in the analysis of New [...] Read more.

In this article, New Testament scholarship on embodiment and corporeality is discussed, systematized and evaluated. The example of the Judas kiss and its reception in Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ demonstrates that the lens of embodiment is important in the analysis of New Testament texts. This lens focuses on bodies, and their relational construction through texts. It shows that an approach to gesture, based on Judith Butler’s theory of gesture, which has not been the center of attention so far, is a useful addition to the lens of embodiment because it helps to see texts and their material afterlives in continuation with each other. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Testament Studies—Current Trends and Criticisms—2nd Edition)

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13 pages, 219 KB

Open AccessArticle

Interruption: From Theology to Anthropology—And Back Again?

by Lieven Boeve

Religions 2026, 17(4), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040463 - 8 Apr 2026

Joel Robbins wishes to renew anthropological theory from a transformative dialogue with theology. There, he looks for actors’ categories which may assist him in anthropologically interpreting his ethnographical data on Christian life. One of these categories is the notion of interruption which he [...] Read more.

Joel Robbins wishes to renew anthropological theory from a transformative dialogue with theology. There, he looks for actors’ categories which may assist him in anthropologically interpreting his ethnographical data on Christian life. One of these categories is the notion of interruption which he borrows, among others from my theological work, in order to describe the radical conversion of the Urapmin and, more broadly, radical change in religion. In my contribution, I first examine how Robbins uses the category of interruption to enrich his anthropological theory. In a second and third part, I explain how I have conceived of interruption in my theological work and, afterwards, how that concept itself has gained significance from a transformative dialogue with philosophy. Finally, I evaluate Robbins’ use of the category of interruption and engage in conversation with him again about how the interaction between theology and anthropology can be mutually interruptive. The twofold lesson to be drawn from this interdisciplinary dialogue appears to be (a) that our categories, vocabularies and approaches are caught up in a ceaseless game of borrowing and reinterpretation between disciplines and language games and (b) that we—each in our own discipline—have every interest in allowing our own theory formation to be interrupted by dialogue with other disciplines. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theology and Anthropology: A Critical Discussion)

25 pages, 6291 KB

Open AccessArticle

Strange Realms in Late Ming Landscape: The Visual Production of Daoist Space in Wu Bin’s 吳彬 Fanghu Tu 方壺圖

by Xiangyang Zhang and Danke Zhang

Religions 2026, 17(4), 462; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040462 - 8 Apr 2026

In late Ming China, landscape (shanshui 山水) painting could function not only as a scenic representation but also as a pictorial means of making sacred space perceptible. This article examines Wu Bin’s hanging scroll Fanghu Tu 方壺圖 (1626; Palace Museum, Beijing) and [...] Read more.

In late Ming China, landscape (shanshui 山水) painting could function not only as a scenic representation but also as a pictorial means of making sacred space perceptible. This article examines Wu Bin’s hanging scroll Fanghu Tu 方壺圖 (1626; Palace Museum, Beijing) and asks how the painting renders Daoist sacred space visible through relations of distance, access, concealment, and uneven disclosure. To avoid treating “Daoist aesthetics” as a general label, the analysis uses schema and pictorial organization as limited descriptive terms for the structuring of spatial experience within the image. The close reading identifies two recurrent pictorial formations brought into relation in Fanghu Tu: a sea-boundary, distant-view configuration that emphasizes separation and delay, and a pavilion-centered enclosure that produces a more concentrated middle field. It then shows how layered waves and broken shoreline, cloud and mist, middle-zone enclosure, and the thinning legibility of the upper peaks prevent the scene from stabilizing into a single resolved destination. Read in relation to late Ming discussions of cultivated “strangeness” (qi 奇) in landscape painting, these features suggest that Daoist sacred space in Fanghu Tu takes shape as an uneven and mediated experience, structured through provisional concentration, interrupted visibility, and renewed distance. The article argues that late Ming landscape painting could render Daoist-inflected sacred spatial experience visible not only through iconography, but also through the pictorial distribution of visibility, access, and reorientation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape (山水) as Transcendent Existence)

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15 pages, 4255 KB

Open AccessArticle

Visualizing the Magnificat: Μary and the Attribute of the Book in Early Christian and Medieval Art

by Elena Papastavrou

Religions 2026, 17(4), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040461 - 8 Apr 2026

This paper examines the iconography of the Mother of God holding a book in Early Christian and Medieval art, focusing on representations in which a book or scroll functions as an attribute of the Virgin Mary. Particular attention is given to scenes depicting [...] Read more.

This paper examines the iconography of the Mother of God holding a book in Early Christian and Medieval art, focusing on representations in which a book or scroll functions as an attribute of the Virgin Mary. Particular attention is given to scenes depicting Mary in relation to the Christ Child, Christ Pantocrator, and the Magnificat. The study explores the symbolic significance of the book and scroll through the textual tradition of the Church Fathers. Adopting the methodological approach to the iconographical structure developed by André Grabar, the paper centers on three interconnected case studies. First, it offers a close re-examination of a Marian scene on the ivory relief of the Werden casket (9th c.) of which the meaning is hard to understand. Second, it analyzes the depiction of the Mother of God in the vault of the crypt of Epiphanius at San Vincenzo al Volturno (9th c.), with particular emphasis on motifs that associate the image with the theme of Mary’s Triumph. Finally, it considers a fresco of Mary and Christ enthroned from the Egyptian monastery of Deir al-Suryan (10th c.), treating these works as semantically and conceptually related. Through this comparative analysis, the paper advances several interpretations of the Magnificat as articulated in Early Christian visual culture and developed in later periods with the contribution of the Byzantine theology. Given the well-established influence of Early Christian art on both the Carolingian Renaissance in the West and the Byzantine East, the shared iconographical details identified here—both formal and conceptual—are understood as deriving from a common visual tradition rooted in Antiquity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disseminating Christian Beliefs Through Word and Image in Medieval and Renaissance Times)

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19 pages, 500 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Politics of Buddhist Artifacts: Tribute and Bestowal Between Heian and Northern Song

by Hao Kang and Kanliang Wang

Religions 2026, 17(4), 460; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040460 - 7 Apr 2026

During the Northern Song period, the gifting of Buddhist artifacts frequently appeared in Sino–Japanese exchanges. Although Japan had established a self-centered order with its emperor at its core and tended toward isolation, the Heian imperial court, led by the Fujiwara regents, actively dispatched [...] Read more.

During the Northern Song period, the gifting of Buddhist artifacts frequently appeared in Sino–Japanese exchanges. Although Japan had established a self-centered order with its emperor at its core and tended toward isolation, the Heian imperial court, led by the Fujiwara regents, actively dispatched monks to Song China and requested Buddhist artifacts. Although these monks were not official envoys, they reflected a trend toward diversified diplomacy in Japan. Recognizing the close ties between these monks and the Japanese rulers, the Song court used the bestowal of Buddhist artifacts to encourage them to convey messages to the Japanese court, urging Japan to send formal tribute missions and thereby incorporating this into its broader diplomatic strategy. Under the “Chanyuan Treaty System”, Buddhism served as a shared cultural foundation for transregional interaction in East Asia. By collecting and bestowing Buddhist artifacts, the Song Dynasty proclaimed its orthodox status within the Buddhist world and enhanced its diplomatic influence. However, the Heian court, upon receiving these artifacts, repurposed them to construct their own divine authority and vision of a “Land of Buddha’s Kingdom”. Thus, the very same set of Buddhist artifacts carried vastly different symbolic meanings and functions in the Northern Song–Heian diplomatic interactions. Full article

10 pages, 182 KB

Open AccessArticle

Loving Sorcery (Hechiceria) in the Andes of the 18th Century

by Alfredo Culleton

Religions 2026, 17(4), 459; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040459 - 7 Apr 2026

Most of the Peruvian inquisitorial processes from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Americas addressed love spells, and not the crimes of heresy they were originally meant to adjudicate. Thanks to the records that have been preserved from the Court of the [...] Read more.

Most of the Peruvian inquisitorial processes from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Americas addressed love spells, and not the crimes of heresy they were originally meant to adjudicate. Thanks to the records that have been preserved from the Court of the Peruvian Inquisition, we know that many of the women in the Andes habitually resorted to the practice of witchcraft, divination and prognostication, and that it played an important cultural and social role searching for an update in the future in loving terms. From aristocrats to the displaced, whether European immigrants, Native Americans, or enslaved Africans, witchcraft connected all these female groups in such colonial cities. What were their sorcery practices? What were they trying to achieve with their doings? What does a study of the inquisitorial processes allow us to understand about the social and cultural function of female sorcery? These are some of the questions we answer in this article. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catholic Propaganda on the Frontiers: Evangelizing Pagans, Protestants, and Non-Believers in the 16th and 17th Centuries)

7 pages, 157 KB

Open AccessEditorial

Introduction to the Special Issue “Christian Prayer: Social Sciences Perspective”

by Małgorzata Tatala and Konrad Janowski

Religions 2026, 17(4), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040458 - 7 Apr 2026

Prayer, as a natural and fundamental essence of Christian life, is realized in the space of a dialog between man and God [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Christian Prayer: Social Sciences Perspective)

24 pages, 347 KB

Open AccessArticle

Anagogical Function of Images in Cusanus’s Thought: The Case of Veraicon

by Agnieszka Maria Kijewska

Religions 2026, 17(4), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040457 - 7 Apr 2026

The paper presents Nicholas of Cusa’s position in the debate on mystical theology, which had a place around the middle of the 15th century in monastic environments. His contribution to that debate was presented in the form of the treatise entitled On the [...] Read more.

The paper presents Nicholas of Cusa’s position in the debate on mystical theology, which had a place around the middle of the 15th century in monastic environments. His contribution to that debate was presented in the form of the treatise entitled On the Vision of God, complemented by a painted representation of the “All-seeing Face”. Both the treatise and the painting were designed to be aids in an experiment projected by Cusanus for his benedictine friends of Tegernsee Abbey, to help them in their progress towards mystical contemplation. The intention was to show them a way to lift their thought from the perception of the image, through meditation and prayer, to the contemplation of God. Thus, both the icon and his treatise were intended to fulfil an anagogical function for the users in inspiring them start on a journey of returning to God and teaching them how to effect that return. Besides giving an account of the experiment projected by Cusanus, the most important elements of his fascinating system are delineated, such as the way of mystical ascent, his use of paradox, his conception of God as the Infinity, and the conception of God’s seeing as the foundation of the existence of all things. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Words and Images Serving Christianity)

5 pages, 161 KB

Open AccessEditorial

Bearing Witness from Pentecost to the Eschaton: Introduction to “Multilingualism in Religious Musical Practice”

by Jeremy Perigo

Religions 2026, 17(4), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040456 - 7 Apr 2026

Through the Holy Spirit’s orchestration at Pentecost, the Church’s first public voice was multilingual praise [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multilingualism in Religious Musical Practice)

14 pages, 294 KB

Open AccessArticle

Divine Immortality and Its (Dis)Contents: The Rhetorical Function of the Tithonus Figure in the Lyric Poetry of Horace and Sappho

by Gregson Davis

Religions 2026, 17(4), 455; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040455 - 7 Apr 2026

References to the myth of Tithonus and Eos in the poetry of Horace and his pre-classical Greek model, Sappho, have provoked philological controversies about the imagined mode of existence of the handsome Trojan after his abduction by Eos, Goddess of Dawn. According to [...] Read more.

References to the myth of Tithonus and Eos in the poetry of Horace and his pre-classical Greek model, Sappho, have provoked philological controversies about the imagined mode of existence of the handsome Trojan after his abduction by Eos, Goddess of Dawn. According to the standard variant of the myth, Tithonus was granted immortality, though not eternal youth, by the supreme Olympian god, Zeus. In the two Horatian passages in the Odes where Tithonus is named, he is categorized among deceased heroic figures (C.I.28 and II.16). This apparent deviation from the conventional account of Tithonus’ “immortality” is explicable in terms of the deep argument of both poems, in which the everlasting life of gods is inextricably coupled with their eternal youth, while the old age of mortals is represented as a metonymic equivalent of death—a conceptual complex that is implicitly shared with the Sapphic portrayal of the hero’s fate in Fr.58. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion, Superstition, and Philosophy in Ancient Rome)

14 pages, 217 KB

Open AccessArticle

Responsibly Presenting Biblical History and Biblical Archaeology to Undergraduates

by Rachel Hallote

Religions 2026, 17(4), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040454 - 6 Apr 2026

Teaching biblical history and biblical archaeology to undergraduates presents distinctive pedagogical challenges. Unlike graduate students, undergraduates often enroll with limited historical literacy, minimal exposure to ancient Near Eastern history, and religiously shaped assumptions about the Bible that have not been examined critically. At [...] Read more.

Teaching biblical history and biblical archaeology to undergraduates presents distinctive pedagogical challenges. Unlike graduate students, undergraduates often enroll with limited historical literacy, minimal exposure to ancient Near Eastern history, and religiously shaped assumptions about the Bible that have not been examined critically. At the same time, the cursory treatment of the biblical world in standard Western Civilization textbooks leaves many students without adequate chronological and historical frameworks. Presenting undergraduates with the complex historiographic issues innate to the field is problematic, as it can lead to alienation or even challenges to faith. This essay argues that instructors must be clear about their approaches and keep the distinction between teaching religion and teaching about the Bible as a historical document explicit, while acknowledging the diverse backgrounds with which students enter the classroom. The article uses several examples (including approaches to the Exodus narrative) to demonstrate how scholarship can be presented responsibly. The essay also addresses disciplinary and terminological complications. Full article

15 pages, 310 KB

Open AccessArticle

Paul’s Non-Competitive Competition: 1 Corinthians 9:24–27

by Brian Keith Gamel

Religions 2026, 17(4), 453; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040453 - 6 Apr 2026

This article reexamines Paul’s use of athletic imagery in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 within the broader argument of chapters 8–10. Against readings that treat the passage as a call to individual moral striving or competition for salvation, this study situates Paul’s metaphor within the [...] Read more.

This article reexamines Paul’s use of athletic imagery in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 within the broader argument of chapters 8–10. Against readings that treat the passage as a call to individual moral striving or competition for salvation, this study situates Paul’s metaphor within the honor–shame dynamics of Greco-Roman Corinth and his own defense of apostolic self-restraint. Paul’s “race” and “imperishable wreath” do not exhort believers to outperform one another but dramatize the paradox of freedom expressed through voluntary limitation. Drawing on insights from social-scientific and rhetorical criticism, the essay demonstrates that Paul’s imagery functions as the rhetorical climax of the section, translating his ethical argument into the moral grammar of the agon. By reconfiguring the contest from rivalry to service, Paul transforms the competitive ethos of Corinth into a vision of communal flourishing in which believers “compete” for the good of others. The passage thus offers a distinctly Pauline theology of self-control as the discipline of love, turning the agonistic spirit of the games into an image of the gospel itself. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructive Interdisciplinary Approaches to Pauline Theology)

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