Placing Faith in Development: How Moscow's Religious Communities Contribute to a More Civil Society

Slavic Review ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa L. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Religiously Affiliated ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
Alternative Vision

The development-oriented work of Moscow's religious communities is examined in this article, with a focus on how a core group of faith organizations present themselves as offering an alternative vision of intervention and improvement that seeks to protect Russian citizens from what proponents suggest are the shortcomings of previous democratizing and civil society ventures. Staff and supporters within Moscow's faith-based assistance sphere contend that religiously affiliated assistance organizations are successful, not only because they parallel secular development programs in promoting values and practices of capitalism, democracy, and global human rights, but more importantly because they also claim to move beyond these approaches to tend to the well-being and transformation of the entire human being. Consequentiy, proponents argue that faith-based organizations are more attuned to values of humane treatment and civility, thereby making them better positioned to build a new Russian society that brings citizens and the state together in productive and caring relationships. Ultimately, this attention to the perspectives and ideals of religiously oriented development organizations provides a different vantage point for reconsidering the promises and consequences of Russia's neoliberal and democratizing transformations.

A Stronger Case for Religion: Perspectives on Multicultural Education and on Religiously Affiliated Schools

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-63
Author(s):  
Friedrich Schweitzer
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Democratic Education ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
The Self ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Religiously Affiliated ◽  
Critical Reflexivity ◽  
New Synthesis

Against all possible objections, religiously affiliated schools clearly have a place within multicultural education. Yet they may only play their future role if they really are, or become, agents of educational reform, for example, with a clear emphasis on interreligious learning and on supporting a new synthesis between religious tradition and critical reflexivity of the self. Churches and religious communities must come to understand themselves as well as their educational institutions as part of the strong civil society on which the future of democratic education may well depend.

scholarly journals Does faith matter? Exploring the emerging value and tensions ascribed to faith identity in South African faith-based organisations

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Bowers Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
South African ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
African Study ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Grassroots Level ◽  
The Way

Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) have been at the forefront of a growing interest of the intersection between religion and development. Their value has been recognised as both pragmatic (such as reaching the poorest at the grassroots level and encouraging civil society and advocacy) and, perhaps more contentiously, also ‘spiritual’ in nature because of advantages arising from faith itself (such as hope, meaning, purpose and transcendental power). For many FBOs, religion is far more than an ‘essential component of identity … it is a source of well-being’. In this manner, FBOs challenge the modernist assumptions of traditional development theory, which view the spiritual and physical domains as separate. In fact, for some FBOs, ‘spiritual faith provides the fuel for action’. This paper reports on an aspect of the empirical findings of a South African study and explores both the way in which Christian FBOs understand their Christian identity and the way in which they articulate this through their use of scripture as a motivating or an envisioning tool.

MAIN APPROACHES TO INTERACTION BETWEEN THE STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 133-139
Author(s):  
E. A. GRIBENNIKOVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
The State ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Advisory Councils ◽  
Public Advisory ◽  
The Russian Federation

The article considers the issue of interaction between the state and civil society, analyzes the main approaches and models of such interaction. The author notes the important consolidating role played by public and public Advisory Councils under state authorities in Russian society.

Religion and Medicine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Levin ◽  
Stephen G. Post
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Religion And Medicine ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Baylor University ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

In Religion and Medicine, Dr. Jeff Levin, distinguished Baylor University epidemiologist, outlines the longstanding history of multifaceted interconnections between the institutions of religion and medicine. He traces the history of the encounter between these two institutions from antiquity through to the present day, highlighting a myriad of contemporary alliances between the faith-based and medical sectors. Religion and Medicine tells the story of: religious healers and religiously branded hospitals and healthcare institutions; pastoral professionals involved in medical missions, healthcare chaplaincy, and psychological counseling; congregational health promotion and disease prevention programs and global health initiatives; research studies on the impact of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices on physical and mental health, well-being, and healing; programs and centers for medical research and education within major universities and academic institutions; religiously informed bioethics and clinical decision-making; and faith-based health policy initiatives and advocacy for healthcare reform. Religion and Medicine is the first book to cover the full breadth of this subject. It documents religion-medicine alliances across religious traditions, throughout the world, and over the course of history. It summarizes a wide range of material of relevance to historians, medical professionals, pastors and theologians, bioethicists, scientists, public health educators, and policymakers. The product of decades of rigorous and focused research, Dr. Levin has produced the most comprehensive history of these developments and the finest introduction to this emerging field of scholarship.

scholarly journals (A287) Animal Health in Disasters: Why does it Matter?

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s96-s96
Author(s):  
P. Hollier
Keyword(s):  
Developing Country ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
Animal Agriculture ◽  
Response And Recovery

Animal production is an important component to economic stability and food security in developing country. Economic development programs have targeted agriculture in developing country as a means of decreasing poverty and empowering vulnerable populations throughout much of the developing world. Disasters due to natural and man-made hazards that impact animal agriculture have a disproportionate impact on the rural poor and vulnerable populations affecting the economic well being and health of the greater population. Protection of livelihoods dependent on animal agriculture is important to consider in community resilience and humanitarian assistance activities that range from capacity building through response and recovery. In order to meet the challenges of the next generation of global health threats, policy, research, and practice must adopt a new cross-cutting approach that targets the human-animal-ecologic interface taking into account political, socioeconomic, and cultural factors.

scholarly journals SOCIO-CULTURAL INTERACTION FORMS OF CHURCH AND STATE ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 60-64
Author(s):  
Evguenia Alexandrovna Belyaeva ◽  
Elena Aleksandrovna Venidiktova ◽  
Dilbar Valievna Shamsutdinova
Keyword(s):  
Church And State ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The State ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Church

Purpose: the aim of the undertaken study is to consider the dynamics of the church-state relationship in the context of Russian new cultural tendencies at the turn of the century. Methodology: Thus, The methodological basis of the research was formed by philosophical analysis of the church-state relationship, historicism and comparison principles. The following tasks were being solved: defining the interaction ways between the religious organizations and the state on the modern stage of the Russian society development; pointing out the prospects of consolidation of both the сhurch and the state around the democratic civil society fostering program in XXI century; revealing the need to promote respectful attitude towards human values as an integral part of spiritual culture. Result: The authors achieved the following results within the study: A wider notions of church and state were introduced demonstrating the similarity of some of their functions: offering moral guidance for social well-being; historic doctrinal models “caesaropapism”, “papocaesarism” and “symphony(concordance) of powers” were identified and characterized alongside with their secular counterparts - separation and cooperation models of church-state relationship. In conclusion of the article the urgent need for the transition of church-state relationship from political to social and cultural spheres was justified. Applications: This research can be used for the universities, teachers, and students. Novelty/Originality: In this research, the model of Socio-Cultural Interaction Forms of Church and State on the Example of the Russian Orthodox Church is presented in a comprehensive and complete manner.

scholarly journals Women’s organizations as a segment of civil society of modern Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-142
Author(s):  
Tatyana E. Lomova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Women's Movement ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Women's Organizations ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Foreign Agent ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Charity Work ◽  
Women’S Organizations

The article analyses women’s organizations of modern Russia as a component of civil society. The study is based on the gender approach and materials analyzed include statistical data, results of opinion polls, websites of women’s organizations, interviews and other documents. The women’s movement is considered as one of the social practices in the context of the theory of practices proposed by Pierre Bourdie, Robert Connell and others. The author notes that the peak of women’s activity in Russia was in the 1990s, when women were uniting to solve social problems, such as women’s unemployment, human trafficking, etc. During that time, the women’s movement in Russia was developing with the support of international women’s organizations and foreign charity funds, but after the adoption of the so-called law on “foreign agents” many funds suspended or limited their activities in Russia. As a result, nowadays, many Russian NGOs including women’s organizations are facing financial problems. NGOs recognized as a “foreign agent” experience the most difficulties while organizations with the status of socially oriented NGOs can receive government’s support and funding. Using the method of content analysis, the author revealed that names of Russian women’s organizations often include such words as “family”, “childhood”, and “motherhood”, whereas the words “woman”/“women” and ‘women’s’ are rarely used. This is due to the fact that in Russian society there are still widespread views that the range of women’s interests should be limited to the private sphere. At the same time, the gender theory and feminism are often presented as attempts to undermine national traditions. As a result, a woman is considered as an object of social policy rather than a subject of social processes. The majority of Russian women’s organizations focus on charity work, but specific women’s interests and problems are often ignored or undervalued. However, domestic violence, labour market discrimination, and other gender problems can be solved only through the close interaction of the “third sector”, business, and government.

scholarly journals Franchise in the eyes of the Russians during the discussions on the draft of the first Russian parliament

2020 ◽  
pp. 70-75
Author(s):  
Anna Popova
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
Rfbr Grant ◽  
Electoral Law

The article analyzes the attitude of the Russian society to the electoral law in the period of the First Russian revolution. The author used letters in which Russians expressed their ideas about active and passive law. The author made a conclusion about the mosaic attitude of people to universal suffrage. He presented this as a reflection of the peculiarities of the process of formation of a civil society in our country. The article was written with the support of the RFBR grant “The Evolution of Values and Ideas of Civil Society in the Mental Attitudes of the Russian Public Consciousness”.

scholarly journals Part of the problem or of the solution? The involvement of religious associations in immigrant integration policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Mattes
Keyword(s):  
Immigrant Integration ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Religious Associations ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Policy Fields ◽  
Immigrant Integration Policy ◽  
Empirical Case Studies

Across Europe we see faith-based organizations (FBOs) getting involved in the policy field of immigrant integration. The interweaving of the policy fields of religion politics and immigrant integration is particularly delicate in systems of religionstate cooperation. Here, FBOs and state actors build on each other to fulfil certain tasks. This paper explores how FBOs are involved in the field of immigrant integration and which techniques of government are being used. Drawing on empirical case studies from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the paper shows that religious communities fulfil multiple roles as civil society actors, as religious representatives or as migrant associations. While similarities occur due to comparable structures and institutions, observed differences are the consequence of different constellations of suspicion and trust between FBOs and state actors.

scholarly journals The Main Problems and Directions of Achieving the Consolidation of Russian Society

2020 ◽  
pp. 24-31
Author(s):  
Tatiana Nikolayevna Samsonova ◽  
Diana Nikolayevna Tsygankova
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Imple Mentation ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Sociological Studies ◽  
Post Soviet Space ◽  
Modern Russian

The authors of the paper analyze the main directions of the consolidation of modern Russian society, as well as the problems that hinder the implementation of this process. The main factors explaining the fea-tures of the processes of consolidation of Russian society in the XXI century are considered. The col-lapse of the USSR, the resulting crises, the specifics of socio-political processes in the post-Soviet space, the formation of a national idea to a large extent affect the level of cohesion of the country's citizens. It is concluded that for the effective imple-mentation of the process of consolidation of society in modern Russia, it is necessary to overcome a number of problems. In this regard, it is of supreme importance to eliminate socio-economic inequality, corruption in all spheres of life, and optimize the activities of government bodies. The authors em-phasize that the consolidation of modern Russian society is the most important task of the ongoing national policy and requires targeted efforts on the part of both the state and civil society. The im-portance of further sociological studies of the con-solidation processes of Russian society is noted.

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