Religions

The “Dual Ordination” (erbuseng jie 二部僧戒) is a Vinaya-based ordination procedure introduced to China from Śrī Laṅkā in the fifth century; in the late imperial period it came to be included in the main ordination system. It stipulates that full ordination for nuns is to be carried out first in front of an assembly of bhikṣuṇīs and then another assembly of bhikṣus. However, contrary to this stipulation, ordinations have mainly been conferred to women by bhikṣus alone in China since the tenth century. The Dual Ordination procedures became a topic of discussion during the Republic of China (1911–1949) with the result that it was eventually reintroduced on the Mainland at the beginning of the 1980s, mainly due to the efforts of bhikṣuṇīs Longlian 隆蓮 (1909–2006) and Tongyuan 通願 (1913–1991). The article traces the roots of the restoration of Dual Ordinations during the Republican era and provides an account of their history since the 1980s. Finally, Longlian’s views about bhikṣuṇī ordination are discussed. The objective is to probe the historical and ideological context for the reestablishment of this ordination system in modern and contemporary China, which ultimately strengthened the role and position of Chinese bhikṣuṇīs. Full article

In this essay, we marshal resources from a range of biblical, trinitarian and soteriological commitments, set within a broadly Barthian framework, to offer a doctrinal proposal for the Spirit’s role in the triune God’s work of at-one-ment. We argue that the Spirit plays a vital role in the atoning work of the triune God, as the Spirit is the love of God directed toward the incarnate Son a two-fold manner: (1) in the mode of wrath against our sin born by Christ our representative, and (2) in its mode of blessing in the resurrected and ascended Christ, the exalted one in whom we receive the promised Holy Spirit. Seen in this light, Christ’s death and resurrection was God’s two-fold act of love in the Spirit: the two-fold means of making our representative, Jesus, a fit receptacle for the promised Holy Spirit, that in him all the peoples of the earth might be blessed through his recapitulation of Israel. Key to this thesis are two commitments: (1) seeing a changing economic relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit integral to Jesus’ recapitulation of Israel, and (2) viewing wrath as a mode of God’s love, and therefore a part of, rather than something alien to, the work of the Spirit. With these doctrinal resources in hand, we have the necessary conceptual tools to affirm that the Spirit, just as much as the Father and the Son, is the one who saves us in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Full article

Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt were active in the interwar period, a very difficult time in the history of Germany. The issues of violence, war, and the role of religion in public affairs were of vast importance for both men. I want to show that, in relation to the issues of religion and political theology, both favored instrumentalizing religious concepts in the name of their own political ideas. Schmitt used Catholicism to establish the so-called concrete order, and Benjamin used Judaism to promote Marxist and anarchist ideas of liberation. That means they were more interested in earthly affairs than in having mystical religious experiences or exploring metaphysical concepts of God and the afterworld. I believe that the instrumental use of theology and religion in the works of Schmitt and Benjamin could indicate that theology was then and is now in a big crisis. Full article

As the sexual abuse crisis continues to plague the Catholic Church across the world, the focus on men as both perpetrators of sexual violence, and victims of child sexual abuse has been at the forefront of media and academic analysis. However, evidence from public inquiries, criminal investigations, academic research and survivor testaments identifies women religious as both perpetrators of sexual and physical violence against children and victims of clerical sexual violence. This indicates that women religious, colloquially known as nuns, belong to a very unsettled landscape in religious gender politics in that they have been both victims of male clerical abuse and perpetrators of child abuse. This article considers these two contested realities by examining and analysing the evidence from research studies and public inquiries. We found that nuns were not only perpetrators of physical and sexual violence against children, but they were also engaged in herding children into the pathways of organised clerical paedophiles, particularly in children’s homes and orphanages where children were considered sexual commodities. Simultaneously, the sexual abuse of nuns has recently become a major concern for religious communities and the wider Church. We argue that by bringing these two realities together through a new discourse—the sexual economies of clericalism—new understandings of the agency of nuns can be explored in a wider theoretical and methodological framework. Full article

Meaning-making has been one of the primary domains of religion throughout history, and some have claimed that this is religion’s central function. Yet, the modern era has seen a proliferation of other social institutions that generate meaning for people. Here we reflect on what religious meaning-making can tell us about meaning-making in secular institutions, with a particular focus on sport. Sport as a meaning-making institution is puzzling since sports are generally considered leisure activities, not serious enough to provide meaningful structure and purpose to human lives. Nonetheless, people do derive meaning from sport and we argue that because sport shares many features with religion, it offers a unique opportunity to examine a secular meaning-making institution. We offer a theoretical framework for the study of meaning-making that derives from our conceptual approach to religion as an adaptive system. We use this approach, and other anthropological research, to delineate seven general characteristics of human meaning-making systems: collective, constructed, subjective, narrative, relational, transcendent, and growth-oriented. These features of meaning-making systems highlight why sport has been so successful at offering meaning to sport enthusiasts, both fans and athletes alike. We conclude with a brief speculative evolutionary scenario that may explain our proclivity for seeking meaning, and why secular institutions will continue to fill that role when religious worldviews are not compelling. Full article

How to treat others is a key topic in Laozi’s thought. Laozi not only advocates “non-action” (wuwei 無爲), or not interfering with others, but also hopes that actors will take some positive responsibilities for others. He expects that actors can implement the instructions of Dao 道 and fulfill the role of “assisting others to achieve their self-so-ness but not daring to interfere” (chapter 64). He believes that “one person will become more abundant when he contributes to others” (chapter 81); that is to say, actors and others are always in the process of mutual attainment. What he claims can be summarized by the dual assertion “to do V₁, but not to do V₂” (V means a type of action), containing two kinds of responsibilities: the situations represented by “not to do V₂” are concrete manifestations of “non-action,” which refers to the negative responsibility of non-interference with others, while the situations signified by “to do V₁” are essentially a kind of action of assisting others, which is a positive responsibility for others. There is a subtle cooperative relationship between “assistance” and “non-action.” In a nutshell, what Laozi expects is a responsibility to support others to actualize their authentic self on the premise of earnestly respecting the spontaneity and autonomy of others. When the focus on “non-action” is broken through, we can grasp Laozi’s thinking deeply and expand our understanding of his thought. Full article

In the face of uncertainty, people tend to look for ways to manage discomfort, often through religion. Growing conservatism in the Muslim society in Indonesia has encouraged people to restore meaning when dealing with uncertainties triggered by a crisis. This study aims to explore the dynamics of meaning restoration through hijra, a collective spiritual transformation process. Using a qualitative approach, findings showed that people going through hijra were driven by significance loss and potential significance gain, both taking validation in relational significance and group identity. In Indonesia, where religion is acknowledged as central to identity, religious groups become a prescription sought for closure, and all are directed towards managing uncertainty and restoring significance. The study found that individuals started the hijra journey provoked by either personal significance loss or the need to gain significance and resorted to the collective orientation of relational significance to gain closure. Once a new collective identity is established through the spiritual transformation, significance is restored. Full article

In late modernity both religion and sexuality are being elaborated in terms of reflexivity. In this article, we present findings from our research on the topic of constructions of gender, intimacy and sexuality by sisters and brothers in Catholic monasteries in Poland. The findings are based on the mixed-method transformative connection between qualitative (n = 92) and representative sample quantitative research (n = 1543) conducted in 2020. We studied reflexivity on gender, intimacy and sexuality within Catholic religious communities in Poland in order to understand how gender, intimacy and sexuality are presented in the institutionalized framework of religious life. Our study demonstrates that reflexivity on gender, intimacy and sexuality is highly institutionalised and deeply privatized within Catholic religious communities. The article shows that reflexivity of consecrated persons in Poland on gender, intimacy and sexuality is strongly shaped by religious norms (chastity) and subordinated to their religious roles. Full article

This article analyses the process of reversion to Salafism in Pekanbaru, Indonesia in the context of Muslims who have returned to Islam as a solution to their sense of deprivation. This return to Islam is considered by many as an initial solution to a feeling of deprivation which often manifests itself as a form of spiritual ‘emptiness’, accompanied by anxiety, depression and a lack of direction in life. The analysis in this article is based on extensive reading of relevant literature, participatory observation, and interviews conducted during fieldwork in Pekanbaru from July 2015 to June 2016. The discussion is based on three case studies of Salafi members, detailing their reversion to Salafism and the personal and sociological reasons for their choice to return to Islam, i.e., Salafism, after a certain period of time in their lives. Findings show that those who join the Salafi movement have previously experienced relative deprivation which led to a sense of existential deprivation. Full article

In a series of addresses, commencing with the Regensburg address in 2006, Benedict XVI engaged the cultures and religions of the world with perennial questions concerning the rationality of reason, the catalyst for culture, the ethical foundations of political decisions, and the legality of law. In the answers he provided, which emanate from the Christian tradition’s equation of the God of Jesus Christ, the God of love, with the God of the philosophers—the logos (λόγος)—Benedict invited his audiences to reassess the rationality and reasonableness of reason. Illustrating the interlinked nature of reason and truth, Benedict details the horizon of reality opened by an expansive understanding of reason, that of creative eternal reason. He challenges others to reflect on the presuppositions and implications of their own understanding of reason. On what basis is reason rational? What makes an argument reasonable? Benedict forthrightly acknowledges that religions have been a source of violence which he sees as resulting from the absence of reason. He insists that it is a reason informed by the great religious traditions that forms the basis for dialogue among the cultures and religions of the world. In those dialogues, Benedict maintains that freedom of conscience and freedom of religion play an essential and indispensable role. Full article

This article explores the surprisingly positive attitude towards pilgrimage and saints that developed within mainstream Lutheran faith during the Seventeenth Century. To acknowledge this strand in the theology of the 1600s in some ways runs contrary to what is often stated about the period, the heyday of Lutheran Orthodoxy, and to a certain extent incompatible with what is generally perceived as ‘Lutheran’. I aim to show the 1600s as a period with a great curiosity towards the development of new devotional practice, and a time when the search for devotional tools which could help the individual to come closer to Christ led theologians to explore texts and ideas that at least superficially could be seen as belonging to the Catholic side of the confessional divide. Full article

This article discusses the emergence, transformation, and transmission of an esoteric Buddhist movement that Hoedang (孫珪祥, Kyu-shang Sohn [or Sohn, Gyu-sang], 1902–1963) began in the 1940s and 1950s. Starting in the middle of the eighth century, the history of Korean Esoteric Buddhism indicates that the tradition continued to exist (albeit marginally) until the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). However, this case study, which focuses on the new religious sect of Jingak, explorers Jingak’s reformist characteristics and its efforts toward the renewal of Korean Buddhism in contemporary society. The article argues that the founder was intellectually receptive to other teachings, including the performance of esoteric healing, the prosocial characters of Pragmatic Buddhism, the doctrine of Japanese Shingon, and permitting priests to marry. This article additionally attempts to identify the innovative philosophy (including Simin, 心印, original sinless self) of Korean Esoteric Buddhism, in the combined concepts of Jinho gukga bulsa (鎭護國家佛事, Protecting the nation by the teaching of Buddhism), Iwon Weonri (二元原理, Relative Principle), Simin Bulgyo (心印佛敎, Mind-seal Buddhism), and Silhaengnon (實行論, The Teachings of Hoedang—Practical Theory). Full article

This article opens up a new scholarly subfield (royal-assassination-attempt commemoration) within the long-neglected field of annual (especially, provincial) ruler festivities in the nineteenth-century Russian Empire. It does so by subjecting an array of untapped, geographically dispersed sources to a systematic, highly theoretically underwritten analysis. As a result, the article generates many insights into the principles and pathways of pious thought and action of Russian imperial subjects from all walks of life vis-à-vis their monarch. In the process, it provides a methodological template for future studies of the intersections between belief and belonging going into the modern age, not only in Russia, but across the world. Full article

For several years now, a large number of secondary school students in Poland have given up Religious Education. The basic hypothesis is that the religiosity of young people is the main correlate with the abandoning of religion classes. In order to analyze this phenomenon, qualitative research was carried out in the form of in-depth interviews with secondary school students who had opted out of religion classes. The interviews were conducted in January and February 2022, with 29 students of randomly selected general secondary schools from various cities of Poland who had opted out of Religious Education. The technique called computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) was used. Young people were first asked about their reasons for giving up Religious Education, and then about their religiosity. The 16 questions in the interviews were divided into the following groups: attitude to Religious Education at school; and attitude to faith and religious practices, with reference to the Church and Catholic morality. These studies have shown that an increasing percentage of young people do not identify with the Catholic Church and do not want to participate in confessional Catholic Religious Education. The main conclusion of the study is to rethink the current concept of Religious Education in Poland so that it will be more open to students with different religious beliefs and worldviews. Full article

The focus of research, pertaining to the practice of Islam in prisons, has been primarily on Western countries (the US, the UK, and France) where Muslim inmates struggle with discrimination and stigmatization as “religious radicals” or “terrorists”. Far less is known about the relationship Muslim prisoners have with their faith in countries where Islam is the official religion and imposed by the State, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. Understanding the influence of political, legal, and religious institutions is crucial to exploring Islam in Iranian prisons, as well as the role of other less prominent determining factors. This qualitative study examines the practice and perception of Islam in Iranian prisons. Data were collected through 90 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with prisoners and former prisoners, and analyzed using grounded theory. Results show that practicing Islam rituals and converting from a “sinner” to a “believer” was pervasive among inmates on death row and incarcerated mothers who left their children for a life of confinement. Practicing Islamic rituals, which entail the achievement of privileges, especially memorizing the holy Quran or attending congregational prayers, question the authenticity of faith and religious beliefs in prison; prisoners disparage those who practice rituals as “fake believers” who are merely seeking preferential treatment. While practicing Islam rituals provoked hatred and humor among prisoners, attending the Ashura mourning ceremony and performing self-flagellation are respected and admired practices. Iranian prisoners create a subculture where Islam is not pivotal to constructing or reconstructing their identities, yet religious-based rehabilitation still exists. Full article

This article focuses on one specific theological controversy, which pertains to the kataphatic—apophatic debates as a framework for New Testament theology. In the year 1998, theologians from Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a refutation of teaching of Anthony De Mello, SJ. The analysis of the Congregation’s refutation and the consequent debate led to the following hypothesis: Although the teaching of De Mello can be understood as following the apophatic line of thought in Christology and other important topics of New Testament theology, it is also bringing several distinctly Indian ideas and emphasis into the debate. Whereas apophatic theology is concerned with the problem of intellectual knowledge about God, the Indian view is concerned with the question of practical role of language in human attempts to experience the Divine. In both approaches, debates about the role of human thought, as expressed in language, are crucial, but for different reasons and with different aims. Full article

The introductory article offers a general overview of the highly complicated concept of insularity as discussed variously in historical and archaeological discourse. It also provides a context of sacred landscapes and religious identities, when discussed in relation to insularity. Finally, it outlines the general themes discussed in this Special Issue and situates the Unlocking Sacred Landscapes (UnSaLa) research network and the current volume in the context of the current state-of-art. Full article

Persons with a diagnosis of personality disorder struggle to experience meaning in life. This article explores how meaning in life of patients with personality disorder changes during intensive psychotherapy. In a qualitative study, life stories of nineteen Dutch patients receiving intensive psychotherapy, written both before and after treatment, were analyzed using holistic content analysis. Here, meaning in life was understood and operationalized in terms of the concept of orientation towards visions of the good by philosopher Charles Taylor. The findings suggest that patients experience both positive and negative shifts concerning meaning in life. On the one hand, in comparison to the first life stories, there is more awareness and insight about the way the ‘good’ is missing in the second life stories. On the other hand, there are more descriptions about being vulnerable, guilty or ashamed, whereas particular sources of meaning are missing. Full article

This article addresses how the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements that are normalizing relations between Israel and a growing number of countries in the Arab world, could be harnessed to counter antisemitic discourses outside of the Middle East region. In particular, we argue that interfaith activities under the framework of the Abraham Accords demonstrate that hostility is not an inevitable response to Israel’s presence in the region. This article highlights the unique framework for peacebuilding that underpins the Abraham Accords and discusses how it has generated a new flourishing of Jewish life in its signatory countries, including unprecedented efforts to address antisemitism and an acknowledgement of the centrality of Zionism to contemporary Jewish identity. We juxtapose these positive developments with the growing ostracism and demoralization of those Jews in the diaspora who identify with Israel and highlight how the Abraham Accords offers a different narrative for fruitful dialogue. Full article