Search Results (751)

In her approach to religious pluralism, Jeanine Diller has advocated for partialism, the view that multiple religious engagement is needed for knowledge of the Ultimate. In this article, I expound on partialism, which I interpret as a transreligious view that posits a noetic threshold for knowledge of the Ultimate. Given this interpretation, I argue that there are two central ambiguities that the partialist needs to clarify. First, the partialist needs to explain whether the noetic threshold should be understood in a metaconceptual or perspectival manner. Second, the partialist needs to explain whether a tradition’s noetic contributions are commensurable or incommensurable. I identify some of the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and I conclude with some future directions for partialist transreligious pluralism. Full article

This paper shifts the research perspective from “Buddhist monasteries” to “monastic Buddhism,” using Nālandā Mahāvihāra as a micro-level case to illuminate the broader support mechanism of Indian Buddhist monasteries, with particular focus on the concept of “non-exhaustible endowment”. Drawing on epigraphic evidence, Vinaya texts, and Chinese pilgrims’ records, it finds that major donors supported monasteries through religious rituals, land grants, and cash investments, primarily in the form of landed property and gold and silver currency, which were designated as non-exhaustible endowments. Monasteries then engaged in agriculture, handicrafts, building industry, commerce, and lending, transforming static assets into a non-exhaustible cycle of capital that benefited both monastics and laity. Systems such as Yizhi (robe funds) and Gongfu zhi Zhuang (robe-providing estates) reveal mature financial services that not only liberated monks from economic constraints but also stimulated the cotton textile trade between India and China. The wealth possessed by monasteries was not static but perpetually engaged in a dynamic cycle of capital. Major Buddhist monasteries thus emerged as regional economic engines, which became the core value for continuous royal patronage, as well as the key incentive for their violent destruction by Turkic Muslims. However, the transformation of the religious landscape and economic network in late medieval Bihār was not a simplistic process. Faced with a changing political and religious environment over time, Sufi saints, Jain followers, Shaiva ascetics and other religious communities, each grounded in their own faiths, landholdings, commercial networks and educational systems, gradually displaced, restructured and undermined the Buddhist monastery-centered endowment mechanism, causing Buddhism to progressively lose its regional dominance as an institutionalized religion. Full article

In Indian religious traditions, pātāla denotes a seven-layered subterranean realm beneath the earth, a composite space that combines cosmological stability with mythic expressiveness. It serves as the dwelling of nāgas and asuras and connects with the human world through rivers and caves. Although Buddhist literature retains narratives about these beings and their splendid abodes, it never accepted pātāla as an independent cosmological unit. This article examines Pāli, Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit Buddhist sources in comparison with Hindu epic and Purāṇic literature and analyzes the translation of pātāla in Chinese versions. It argues that Buddhism engaged in selective restructuring by de-emphasizing pātāla’s cosmological hierarchy and subordinating it to the Mount Sumeru framework, while transforming it in esoteric ritual literature into a liminal field of practice accessible through mantra, mudrā, and specific practices. Utilizing Arnold van Gennep’s liminality theory, the study shows that these spaces serve as an intermediary ritual field in Buddhist practice. Through ritual separation, liminal experience, and reintegration, practitioners acquire extended lifespan and merit that support the Mahāyāna goal of perfecting the two accumulations and attaining Buddhahood. The findings suggest that religious concepts cross traditions through disassembly, detachment, and functional reconfiguration rather than wholesale transplantation. Full article

This paper addresses the contemporary challenge of religious disaffiliation and the “supermarket mentality” of liquid religion by proposing a prophetic paradigm shift in evangelisation and catechesis. Utilising Richard Osmer’s practical theological framework as a structure, the study identifies a historical shift from the lived apostolic kerygma (fides qua) toward an over-reliance on formal conciliar definitions and Magisterial formulae (fides quae). This diachronic analysis suggests that the current “apparent failure” of institutional engagement is rooted in a linguistic and methodological disconnect. Drawing on the visionary models of St Augustine and St Benedict, and grounded in Karl Rahner’s transcendental theology, the paper proposes a normative way forward: an inductive pedagogy of the heart. This model prioritises the art of accompaniment and the return to elementary, foundational concepts that address the experiential core of the human person. Ultimately, the study argues that restoring the balance between the lived tradition and the contents of the faith is a theological requirement for helping contemporary believers to live their faith in daily life. Full article

In the 1930s and 1940s, Kumbum Monastery (Tibetan: sku’ bum byams pa gling) emerged as a significant spatial node in visual culture during the period of war and modern nation-building in the Republic of China (1912–1949). Through photography, painting, and film, a diverse range of visual media depicted the monastery’s architectural layout, inscribed plaques and steles, Cham dance (Tibetan: འཆམ་, Wylie: ’cham) rituals, lamaic prayers, and scenes of temple fairs and marketplaces. These visual representations not only documented historical detail but also constructed a composite space in which sacredness, transcendence, and secularity intersected. Due to its unique geographical location, religious doctrines, historical narratives, and political entanglements, Kumbum functioned as both a spiritual center and a politically charged symbol. Within this visual discourse, cham rituals and collective prayers were imbued with wartime ideological meanings, aligning religious transcendence with the national aspiration for resistance and victory. The inscribed plaques by state officials visually asserted political authority over sacred religious spaces, while the depiction of temple fairs foregrounded the entanglement of religious practices with everyday secular life, becoming key arenas for ethnic integration and political mobilization. Artists and photographers actively engaged with and reproduced both the symbolic and the quotidian landscapes of the monastery. These visual materials contributed to the broader project of narrating the Republic’s frontier and constructing the nation’s image. By examining how both monastic actors and external observers visually constructed Kumbum Monastery’s political and spiritual space, this study illuminates the complex interplay between religion and state power, and shows how visual media articulated ideological meanings and negotiated spatial relationships as collective responses to the site within the conditions of modernity. Full article

This article examines how B. R. Ambedkar’s 1956 Buddhist conversion is re-narrativized in Mahar Dalit life writing as a foundational religious event that simultaneously embodies rupture and continuity. Drawing on three Marathi Dalit texts, Akkarmashi, Baluta and The Prisons We Broke, all examined in their published English translations, and situated within the theological framework of Ambedkar’s Buddha and His Dhamma, the study argues that Dalit authors transform the conversion event into a sacred narrative structure organized around suffering, awakening, and liberation. Rather than representing a simple rejection of religion, these narratives reconfigure the religious imagination by producing a form of counter-sacrality that both contests and reconstitutes the sacred: the suffering of the caste order is retrospectively sanctified as the necessary prehistory of collective rebirth, while the 1956 conversion is preserved as a permanently reactivatable origin point for ongoing religious and political life. The study proposes Dalit sacred time as a distinct analytical model of subaltern religious temporality, characterized by three features. By foregrounding a non-Western, intercultural case, the article engages directly with questions of continuity and contestation in the relationship between literature and religion, showing how literary texts can generate new forms of religious meaning beyond established traditions. Full article

This article develops a symbolic hermeneutic framework for interpreting contemporary socio-educational phenomena within the horizon of decolonial thought and Liberation Theology. It begins from the assumption that symbols are not merely decorative forms of representation but fundamental structures of meaning that shape both individual experience and collective life, especially through their educational effects. From this perspective, the article examines how the symbols circulating in social communication reveal the ideological underpinnings of imagination, authority, exclusion, and resistance. The essay then places this symbolic analysis in dialog with decolonial theory, arguing that the enduring epistemological legacy of colonialism continues to organize hegemonic forms of knowledge, subjectivity, and power. Particular attention is devoted to the concept of the frontier, first understood as a modern device of exclusion and then reinterpreted as a space of epistemic resistance, ethical encounter, and democratic confrontation among differences. The discussion further engages key authors of Liberation Theology and the philosophy of liberation—especially Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff, Enrique Dussel, and Paulo Freire—in order to show how religious discourse and pedagogical practice intersect in processes of emancipation. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative, interpretative approach grounded in philosophical hermeneutics and critical conceptual analysis. It reconstructs and compares major theoretical positions rather than presenting empirical data. The article argues that the integration of symbolic hermeneutics, decolonial thought, and liberationist theology offers an original framework for rethinking education as a transformative practice grounded in ethical responsibility toward the Other. By bringing the concepts of frontier, sentipensamiento, communality, and pluriverse into a single analytical constellation, the paper contributes to current debates in religious studies, critical pedagogy, and epistemic justice. In the context of contemporary global crises—migration, ecological devastation, social fragmentation, and the weakening of democratic participation—it proposes a renewed role for religion as a critical and generative force capable of opening new educational spaces for dialogue, liberation, and the reconfiguration of knowledge. Full article

Christian communities and Churches in non-Western contexts, such as Lebanon, face numerous challenges, including the distancing of youth from religious practice and reduced belonging. Simultaneously, they experience tensions between attachment to tradition and emerging forms of outreach capable of engaging younger generations. The visit of Padre Guilherme, a Latin Rite Catholic priest known for blending electronic music with religious expression, generated a nationwide debate during his visit in January 2026. While some viewed his outreach as an innovative initiative capable of bringing youth closer to the Church, others rejected it, with some describing it as sacrilegious. This study examines social media reactions to his outreach to explore how contemporary forms of religious engagement are perceived within a tradition-oriented society. Comments from multiple social media platforms were analyzed through thematic reflexive analysis, complemented by a brief sentiment analysis. Positive reactions framed Padre Guilherme’s initiative as a strategy for reconnecting younger generations with the Church. Critical views emphasized the importance of preserving traditional forms of religious expression, particularly within Eastern Christian traditions, with some participants portraying the initiative as heretical or evil. The controversy highlights how new forms of religious outreach can trigger tensions related to identity, tradition, globalization, and institutional adaptation. Full article

In this article, I show how discourses of African tradition, human rights, and African indigeneity circumscribe and curtail the emancipatory potential of discussions of same-sex relations in Africa. The terms of the debate on both sides—those who claim that same-sex relations are ‘un-African’ and the critics who rightly challenge this view—are circumscribed by what I call the religious-secular divide. This divide continues to entrap discussions of African humanity and agency within racial-colonial strictures of tradition/religion and secularity/modernity. Instead, by engaging with the work of Amilcar Cabral and Aimé Césaire, I develop a notion of decolonial or emancipatory African agency and a way of understanding African humanity as an alternative basis for engaging with the question of same-sex relations in Africa, African traditions, and African indigeneity, and with questions of African humanity and decolonial agency more generally. Full article

In Arab societies, cultural norms, family expectations, and social visibility constraints shape how young people encounter and respond to gender-related content in online environments, yet these dynamics remain insufficiently understood. Building on prior survey research and co-design workshops that explored participatory approaches to digital intervention design, this study investigates how Arab youth in Qatar perceive and respond to issues of gender equality and social inclusion in social media contexts.The Qatari context is particularly significant due to its rapid digital transformation combined with strong cultural, religious, and regulatory influences shaping youth online expression. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty-two participants aged 18 to 24 residing in Qatar. The interviews explored social media activity, experiences of social inclusion, views on gender equality, and perceived challenges alongside culturally appropriate solutions. Interview transcripts were verified and analyzed using thematic analysis. The analysis revealed three interrelated thematic domains: determinants of attitudes rooted in cultural norms, values, and beliefs; attitudes toward gender equality and social inclusion ranging from supportive to resistant; and behavioral outcomes reflected in passive or active engagement as well as prosocial and antisocial digital behaviors. This study provides the first in-depth qualitative account of Arab youth’s perceptions of gender equality and social inclusion in digital spaces and offers culturally grounded insights to inform the design of inclusive and context-sensitive digital interventions. Full article

This qualitative study examines how menstruation structures the lives and futures of married adolescent girls in the Centre for Girls’ Education’s Married Adolescent Safe Spaces (MAS) program in rural northern Nigeria. It addresses a key gap by focusing on married adolescents and treating menstruation as a social process linked to early marriage, schooling, mobility, and sexual and reproductive health, rather than only a hygiene issue. Guided by an intersectional social ecological and menstrual health-and-rights framework, the study draws on three years of ethnographic fieldwork. Methods include participant observation in MAS clubs, in-depth interviews, informal group discussions, and Hausa field notes from multiple rural communities, analyzed through iterative thematic coding and collaborative memoing. Findings show that menstruation operates as a “catalyst of constraint.” Menarche signals sexual maturity, intensifying moral surveillance, prompting threats or realities of school withdrawal, and accelerating pressure toward marriage. Girls describe menstruation as a “joy killer” and becoming “a shadow of myself,” as stains, pain, and shaming by teachers and peers lead to absenteeism and, at times, permanent dropout. Silence and stigma mean that asking questions can be read as promiscuity, pushing girls away from parents, religious leaders, and male teachers and toward sisters, peers, and mentors for incomplete guidance. Structural deprivation further individualizes the burden of menstrual management. Poverty, lack of affordable pads and underwear, and inadequate WASH facilities compel girls to “make do” with cloths and other unsafe materials, restrict movement during bleeding, and engage in small income-generating activities or kin negotiations to obtain basic supplies. MAS safe spaces partially disrupt these patterns by offering rare venues to discuss menstruation openly, learn cycle tracking and hygiene, and build peer solidarity and self-advocacy. However, the analysis underscores that program benefits remain constrained when poverty, weak school infrastructure, and restrictive gender norms remain intact. The study highlights how equitable sexual and reproductive health interventions must integrate menstrual health centrally, combining safe-space programming with subsidized products, improved WASH infrastructure, protective school policies, and norm change efforts. Full article

The article analyzes the relationships between religious affiliation, social participation, and trust in the digital age, drawing on data from a nationwide survey conducted in Poland (N = 1486). The aim of the study is to determine how different religious identifications: Catholicism, other denominations, agnosticism, and non-belief, differentiate forms of social capital (bonding and bridging) as well as types of trust. The study addresses the following questions: (1) whether religious affiliation strengthens traditional social ties and interpersonal trust; (2) whether secularization and agnosticism foster the development of bridging social capital; and (3) how digitally mediated interactions shape generalized trust in contemporary digital society. The analysis employs quantitative methods, including both descriptive comparative statistics and multivariate models. The findings indicate that Catholics tend to invest more strongly in traditional forms of social capital, whereas non-religious individuals and agnostics are more likely to engage in secular initiatives. The analysis also reveals that the level of trust depends both on religious identity and on the type of social network. The findings contribute to the broader debate on the role of religion and secularization in shaping social capital in post-transitional societies, highlighting the growing importance of digitally mediated interactions in contemporary patterns of trust and social participation. Full article

The Hungarian minority of Transylvania comprises four historically received denominations—Roman Catholic, Reformed, Unitarian, and Lutheran—whose institutional profiles differ markedly despite their shared function as carriers of minority cultural identity. Using the European Values Study 2017 Romanian Hungarian minority oversample (GESIS ZA7550; $N=1106$), this article presents the first regression-based analysis of intra-community denominational variation in religiosity in this dataset. Four binary logistic regression models test whether denomination independently predicts church attendance, confidence in church, subjective importance of religion, and self-described religiosity type (institutional versus personalised), net of sociodemographic controls. Catholics attend services significantly more frequently than Reformed members, while Reformed members express higher confidence in their church—a practice–trust reversal explicable by the distinction between canonical obligation and ethnic embeddedness. Subjective religious importance does not vary by denomination, consistent with an identity-protection mechanism operating uniformly across confessions. Denomination does not independently predict institutional versus personalised religiosity type once sociodemographic controls are applied, with age emerging as the dominant axis of variation on this dimension. The findings engage with Davie’s believing/belonging/behaving framework and the debate on whether denominational cleavage or the secular–religious divide constitutes the primary axis of religious differentiation in contemporary Europe. Full article

This article investigates Black American Islam as a semiotically mediated New Religious Movement (NRM), hybrid in nature and emerging from conditions of racialized governance, state surveillance, and social marginalization. Focused on the intersection of NRMs and political environments, the work engages in the reconstruction of a historical and conceptual lineage between Black Muslim movements and their mediated negotiation by Hip Hop artists. Grounded in Hall’s model of encoding/decoding and Hebdige’s subcultural theory, the transition of Islam-inspired semiotic markers from esoteric subcultural opacity to explicit orthodox adherence is demonstrated using historical analysis and close reading of symbolic expression in lyrics. The findings support a consideration of religious illegibility as aesthetic negotiation and strategy for political survival in circumstances of state scrutiny, with the subsequent consolidation of orthodox interpretations in Hip Hop signifying a recalibration of religious legibility in the securitized climate of a post-9/11 world. The contribution asserts that Black American Islam exemplifies NRMs’ instrumentalization of doctrinal elasticity and semiotic mediation in challenging socio-political surroundings, and its impact on negotiations of citizenship, political opposition, and religious identity. Full article

This article examines the ethical and aesthetic stakes of cultural borrowing in fashion through the case of Yves Saint Laurent’s sustained engagement with Moroccan visual and material traditions. Drawing on postcolonial theory, fashion studies, and aesthetic philosophy and supported by visual analysis and qualitative research, this study interrogates the tension between cultural appreciation and appropriation that structures Saint Laurent’s legacy. His designs amplified global visibility for Moroccan craftsmanship, yet this visibility was mediated through Western systems of authorship that privileged the couturier while obscuring the cultural, spiritual, and artisanal labor underpinning the motifs he reinterpreted. Saint Laurent’s own positionality, born within the colonial milieu of French Algeria, further complicates this dynamic, enabling both cultural intimacy and the exercise of hierarchical distance from the traditions he transformed for Parisian haute couture. This discussion also requires acknowledging that Moroccan cultural heritage, shaped by the intertwined influences of Amazigh, Arab, Islamic, and Jewish traditions, embodies religious meanings that extend beyond the purely aesthetic. By considering the religious, symbolic, and communal values embedded within Moroccan aesthetic forms, this article foregrounds the ethical dilemmas that arise when culturally and spiritually situated practices are reframed within Western fashion. This study ultimately contends that acts of borrowing can serve both as homage and erasure, suggesting that the relationship between appropriation and appreciation is better understood as a flexible spectrum rather than a rigid binary. Full article