Search Results (102)

This paper suggests a theoretical framework to summarise the empirical literature on the relationships between sports and both religious and secular ethics, and it suggests two interrelated theoretical models to empirically evaluate the extent to which religious and secular ethics, as well as sports policies, affect achievements in sports. I identified two national ethics (national pride/efficiency) and two social ethics (social cohesion/ethics) by measuring achievements in terms of alternative indexes based on Olympic medals. I referred to three empirical models and applied three estimation methods (panel Poisson, Data Envelopment, and Stochastic Frontier Analyses). I introduced two sports policies (a quantitative policy aimed at social cohesion and a qualitative policy aimed at national pride), by distinguishing sports in terms of four possibly different ethics to be used for the eight summer and eight winter Olympic Games from 1994 to 2024. I applied income level, health status, and income inequality, to depict alternative social contexts. I used five main religions and three educational levels to depict alternative ethical contexts. I applied country dummies to depict alternative institutional contexts. Empirical results support the absence of Olympic ethics, the potential substitution of sport and secular ethics in providing social cohesion, and the dependence of sports on politics, while alternative social contexts have different impacts on alternative sport achievements. Full article

This article discusses caste dynamics within the Punjabi diaspora in Italy—the largest in the EU—by focusing on the case of the Ravidassia community and describing its evolving relations with the local Sikh community. Previous research on Punjabi migration to Italy mainly focused on issues of labor exploitation, intermediation, and Sikh identity, often conflating the entire Punjabi population with its majoritarian—but far from exclusive—Sikh-Jatt component, thereby overlooking its internal heterogeneity of caste, religion, and class. Despite the growing number of Ravidassia-Chamar migrants in Italy—evidenced by the proliferation of Ravidassia temples and associations across the country—their migratory experiences, employment patterns, socioreligious practices, and inter-caste relationships remained unexplored. This article offers, for the first time, an overview of the history, geography, and identity politics of the Ravidassia in Italy. Drawing on data collected with Punjabi migrants during multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, it illustrates the alternative strategies adopted by the Ravidassia to assert their identity in this diasporic context, focusing on cases in which their relations with the Sikh manifested their complex nature. It concludes by discussing the advantages and drawbacks of each strategy, in light of the history of power relations between the Ravidassia and the Sikh. Full article

With the centennial this year of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, this article examines the antagonistic relationship between American Christian fundamentalism and science, particularly evolution and other scientific knowledge challenging literal biblical interpretation. While the trial itself spanned only eleven days, its shadow has been quite long indeed. The article analyzes the background of the trial, fundamentalism then and now—including a later doubling down, contesting interpretations of the trial’s outcome, misremembrances and revisionism in the historical appropriations of the trial, and developments in evolutionary theory relevant to religion. In the process of these analyses, the article evidences the relationships of the Scopes trial on evolution and religion to law, politics, secondary and higher education, and communications and media. Finally, the article highlights past opportunities missed and lessons to be learned that might lessen conflict between religion and science in the future. Full article

Religion played a pivotal role in shaping the political and cultural landscape of early China, particularly through the practice of relocating capitals (遷都). The relocation of capitals is an outstanding theme in early Chinese historiography, setting it apart from many other world traditions. In particular, this practice contrasts sharply with the early Mediterranean context, where the city of Rome transitioned from a modest city-state to a world empire and was celebrated as the “eternal city.” By contrast, early Chinese capitals were deliberately transient, their impermanence rooted in strong religious sentiments and pragmatic considerations. Religious and ideological justifications were central to these relocations. The relocation was not merely a logistical or political exercise; it was imbued with symbolic meaning that reinforced the ruler’s legitimacy and divine mandate. Equally important was the way rulers communicated these decisions to the populace. The ability to garner mass support for such monumental undertakings reveals the intricate relationship between political authority and religious practice in early China. These critical moments of migration offer profound insights into the evolving religious landscape of early China, shedding light on how religion shaped early governance and public persuasion. “Capital relocation” served as a means to rearticulate belief, reaffirm the centrality of worship, and restore faith in the ruling order. Drawing on recent archeological discoveries and updated textual and inscriptional scholarship related to the events of Pan Geng and the Zhou relocation to Luoyi, this article re-examines the motif of “capital relocation” as both a historical and historiographical phenomenon unique to early China. Full article

Opening the debate today about the original aims of the caliphate system and the importance of the relationship between religion and politics in the Islamic tradition might look outdated or fundamentalist in a negative sense. Effectively, in today’s global imaginary, such topics are mostly related to groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS; however, the original sense of the Islamic political system has little to do with what these groups preach and do. This article aims to highlight that the real raison d’être of the relationship between religion and politics in Islam is none other than the desire and will of a believer to seek true knowledge and live according to it. This search for true knowledge where religion and politics meet is also a place where all spiritualities might find themselves together in a genuine search for the truth. Full article

The article examines the inspiring relationship between the well-known Prague journalist Milena Jesenská and the world-famous writer Franz Kafka—authors of different genres who shared reflections on being human, the world, religion, and prose. It elaborates on the commonalities and the divisions, the mutual admiration as well as the irreconcilable differences, which can also be mapped onto selected works by both authors. In her articles, Jesenská criticizes social and political issues, elaborating a normative position, in the sense of describing the stance, attitudes, and politics that are needed for change. Kafka’s position, as if complementary to Jesenská’s, shows only this human world. On the basis of some of their letters, articles, and prose works, this article examines the relationship between the two authors and the textuality of their relationship, as well as their shared and different values in the contexts of various power relations. Full article

This study aims to examine how religion in Türkiye, beyond having social value, has been instrumentalized by political parties into a power dynamic and explore the role of the media in this process. Adopting an inductive approach, the study first examines how the boundaries between religion and politics have changed over the years, despite the Republic of Türkiye being constitutionally defined as a secular state, using a qualitative historical method. Then, in order to explore the current reflections of this transformation, focus is placed on the most recent presidential election, held in 2023. News reports about a widely circulated photograph of opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu “stepping/standing” on a prayer rug, used by Muslims for worship, during his campaign are analyzed using the critical discourse analysis (CDA) method. The findings reveal that religion has become a significant component of political strategies and propaganda tools in Türkiye. Religious values and symbols function as powerful instruments, shaping societal perceptions through political discourse. As a hegemonic apparatus, the media reproduces religious discourse in line with ideological tendencies and mediatizes religion as a political tool. Full article

Business groups comprise independently owned firms based on different types of owner solidarity, such as kinship, ethnicity, religion, or political identity. However, research has been slow to account for how the adverse effects of ethnic solidarity influence BG-affiliate firm performance. We investigate the interplay of owner ethnicity and their firms’ innovation and export performance. We find variations in affiliates’ performance based on their self-identified ethnicities by analyzing data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys (WBES) across 20 sub-Saharan African countries. Notably, long-established migrant communities, including Indian, Middle Eastern, and European entrepreneurs, experienced waning performance within the BG structure. In contrast, group-affiliated firms led by Chinese entrepreneurs show significant outperformance compared to their African counterparts and minority group affiliates. This study contributes to a novel understanding of the heterogeneous relationship between ethnic solidarity and BG-affiliated firms’ performance across sub-Saharan Africa. Full article

Through an interdisciplinary study of the work of Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), the authors investigate the relationship between the cultural policies of the Roman Curia, the Jesuit order, religious diversity, and the aesthetic–spatial configuration of Rome during the early modern age. This paper shares in-depth observations of the recovery of ancient culture and its reworking in a post-reformist Christian age through architectural and spatial elements adopted to endorse the continuity of the ancient past and the Catholic reformistic universalistic aspirations. In this context, Kircher worked to decipher hieroglyphics on obelisks of the Imperial age but from Egyptian times. These defined a specific topography of space as a visual convergence of points: an urban geography of sacral and historical–political value and a connection with the memories of the Roman Empire and the most ancient religions of the ancient times. Full article

Grief is often seen as a personal response to losing a loved one, but it can also arise from the loss of deeply held values and identities linked to social, structural, and religious spheres. Political grief is a unique form of this, stemming from political policies, laws, and social messaging that certain groups perceive as losses. As societies face political decisions and systemic failures, grief can emerge from losing trust in institutions, shared beliefs, and a sense of belonging. An outgrowth of political grief is a strain on relationships due to polarization, heightened by threat-activating events and resulting tensions. Many people turn to religion to counter feelings of vulnerability and incoherence in today’s political climate. While this may relieve anxiety and provide stability, it can also exacerbate some sources of grief. Understanding these dimensions is crucial for addressing political grief’s broader implications, as individuals and communities seek meaning and attempt to rewrite their narratives in adversity. This discussion includes defining grief beyond death-loss and exploring the interplay between social/political structures and culture. It also considers specific threats and responses, including religious alignment, focusing on recent events in the United States. Full article

The post-modern era is characterized by a structural religious pluralism, whereby the public dimension of religion has re-emerged as a prominent feature after the relative obscurity of the modern period. In the context of Christianity, the contribution of religion to the common good has been reflected upon in the extensive and profound field of Public Theology. Since its inception in the 1980s, this vast area of studies has encompassed a wide range of topics, including politics, civil society, economics, social issues, and justice. However, the interreligious dimension of public theology appears to be less developed. This is linked, firstly, to the discovery of the public dimension of neighbouring religions and, secondly, to the clarification of the relationship between this and Christian Public Theology. It is evident that the focus of this discussion is the development of a Comparative Public Theology as Interreligious Public Theology. This is a theology that considers the comparative study of religions in a pluralistic context, with the public aspect as its background. On this basis, the contribution has two main aims. Firstly, to identify the field of interreligious public theology, and secondly to concretise it by exploring the field of education from an interreligious and public perspective, i.e., as a contribution to the common good. Full article

This paper explores the intersection of race, religion, and colonial legacies through the lens of the Oruro Carnival, examining its role in shaping Bolivian identity. Critical religion scholars argue that the entanglement of race and religion is a product of Western modernity and colonialism, which has influenced both historical and contemporary power relations. This framework is applied to analyse the Carnival, where religious practices and festive performances intersect, reflecting colonial efforts at religious conversion and racial categorisation. By focusing on the ethnography of Oruro’s embodied festive practices, this study investigates how the Carnival contributes to the construction of difference amid Bolivia’s socio-political transformations. This paper also examines how, by the 20th century, colonial religious frameworks intertwined with secular racial categories, particularly through the rise of mestizaje as a nation-building discourse. A historical analysis of Carnival performances reveals how race, religion, and power have continually shaped the celebration, tracing its evolution from a segregated religious practice to a national spectacle, particularly after the 1952 revolution. The mutually configuring relationship between race and religion in Carnival highlights its role in both reinforcing and challenging dominant power structures. Full article

The management of laicity in Mexico, legally and politically, is a federal issue that involves regulating the activities of Churches and religious communities in the public space, in their practices, rituals, and relations with the organs of the state. However, in recent years, the growing presence and activity of Churches at the local level has called into question the need to observe how laicity is managed by subnational governments, both state and municipal. Are there mechanisms at the local level to regulate the presence of religion in the public space? How are religious traditions presented as culturally managed? What are the demands of Churches on local authorities and what is their political relationship with them? How is the demand for religious freedom resolved locally without violating citizens’ other freedoms, such as the freedom of conscience in issues such as education, health, traffic, and freedom of expression? All this has put into perspective whether laicity and the secular state should continue to be a national dimension or whether it is necessary to rethink legal and political forms at the local level, building new frameworks of governance and governability. This text reviews the public management of laicity in eight entities of the country, which in turn is representative of the rest of the entities with their local variations. However, they generally move in the constant dimensions of religious diversity, interreligious councils, offices, or those in charge of religious affairs, and levels of municipal participation. The construction of a new laicity is then proposed, which does not exclude religion from the public agenda but rather a new secular perspective on the participation of religious communities in public affairs. From a Latin American perspective, Mexico is seen as an effective government regime that separates religion from politics, restricting the participation of religious organizations in the public agenda. However, at the local level, this regime is changing with the inclusion of faith-based organizations in politics. This will undoubtedly lead to a change in the historical concept, a reference point in the region. The term management of laicity refers to the regulation and administration of governments (services, legal support, spaces, and dialogues) with religious communities. Management (control, regulation, permits, sanctions, and recognition) is defined by law and in public policy towards religion from the federal government, but not in local governments that lack clear regulatory frameworks, intervention guidelines, and support, hence the emphasis on the term. Full article

There is a long and complex history of Christian–Muslim engagement, one which is fraught by socio-political tensions and complicated by fear. Theological tensions likewise contribute to the sibling rivalry between these Abrahamic faiths. Accounting for fundamental theological differences between Islam and Christianity, and noting a potential dichotomy between apologetic-style and interfaith engagement, this article contends that effective Christian–Muslim relations must navigate both opposing truth claims and efforts to seek peace. Consequently, comparative theology is critically evaluated, from an evangelical Christian perspective, as a potential mediating approach. In considering the complex relationship between comparative theology and theology of religion, and indeed, between theology and ‘people of faith’, recommendations are formulated with a view to contributing to effective Christian–Muslim relations. The overall aim of this research therefore is to explore approaches to developing more effective Christian–Muslim relations, with a specific focus on comparative theology. While motivated by and accounting for a personal Christian–Muslim sibling relationship, the research method predominantly references academic literature, with sections structured by an amended version of Osmer’s four-task model of practical theology. Findings from this research discern that comparative theology is not quite the mediating approach sought; however, its potential contribution towards a ‘hybrid approach’ is explored. The implications of this article seek to encourage orthodox Muslims and evangelical Christians to engage in comparative exchanges that employ a balanced and in-depth approach to understanding our respective faiths. Finally, this article emerges from within the UK; therefore, discussions presented may be differently received by evangelical Christians operating out of divergent biographical contexts. Full article

The death of Russian dissident Alexey Navalny in a far-northern colony after three years of imprisonment was declared a martyrdom by the Russian opposition, reflecting the sentiments of a part of Russian society. This unexpected reference to martyr narrative by a largely secular and anti-clerical opposition has set a significant precedent when religious discourse is instrumentalized not only by official propaganda but also by its critics. The authors posit that the construction of a martyr narrative is deeply political, being a part of contemporary ideological war. This article argues that Alexey Navalny’s death and its subsequent sacralization by opposition figures represent a significant moment in contemporary Russian politics. By adopting religious narratives and symbols, the opposition not only mobilizes support but also challenges the regime’s monopoly on ideological and religious discourse. However, this strategic use of martyrdom carries inherent contradictions, reflecting the opposition’s ambivalent relationship with religion and the Russian Orthodox Church. Full article