Healing Conflict and Building Community

2019 ◽  
pp. 231-268
Author(s):  
David A. Hoekema
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Alternative Route ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Political Theories ◽  
Building Community ◽  
Complex Phenomena

Four questions about healing after conflict that were posed in the Introduction are taken up once more in this closing chapter. Divisions created by colonialism, it is argued, can be overcome, as can longstanding conflicts among ethnic groups and religious communities. ARLPI’s work demonstrates that locally grounded initiatives, guided by close relationships with those most affected, can achieve outcomes that many would consider unattainable. The story of ARLPI also shows that political authority and accountability are richer and more complex phenomena than those of formal government. In an era when political and religious differences impede progress and stifle constructive discourse in so many nations, the religious leaders of northern Uganda exemplify an alternative route to profound social change that is not founded on political theories but on courageous and steadfast shared commitments to seek what is best for all in a community.

scholarly journals Researching religious authority in education: Political theology, elites’ theory and the double nexus

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam Gearon ◽  
Arniika Kuusisto
Keyword(s):  
Political Theology ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Legal Frameworks

This article provides a theoretical frame to structure methodological approaches to examining religious authority in education. It does so by examining the complex, overlapping relationship between secular and religious authority and the institutional power of education evident through responses to issues of cultural expression. The political theologies research examined ongoing tensions – accommodations, conflicts and resolutions – of religious authority with secular political systems, legal frameworks and institutions of educational replication. Through the data it became clear that education – in the broadest sense, as well as in its formal institutional structures – provided a mediating role for power exchanges between religious and political authority, which was especially evident in responses of religious leaders to issues of cultural and self-expression. Through interviews with senior religious leaders and authority figures in England – technically religious ‘elites’ – the findings provide insights into a ‘double nexus’ conceptual framework for researching religious authority in education: first, the internal nexus within religious traditions and, second, the external nexus of religious communities with secular, legal and political authority. Theoretically and methodologically, this represents a critical synthesis of political theology and elites’ theory, providing as yet underexplored possibilities for researching religious authority in education.

Latina/o Religious Studies Since the 1970s

2020 ◽  
pp. 218-235
Author(s):  
Felipe Hinojosa
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Studies ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
Church Hierarchy ◽  
Faith Practices ◽  
The Times

This article provides an overview of the field of Latina/o religious studies since the 1970s. Motivated by the political tenor of the times, Latina/o religious studies began as a political project committed to contextualizing theological studies by stressing racial identity, resistance to church hierarchy, and economic inequality. Rooted in a robust interdisciplinary approach, Latina/o religious studies pulls from multiple fields of study. This article, however, focuses on the field’s engagements with ethnic studies in the last fifty years, from the 1970s to the contemporary period. It argues that while the field began as a way to tell the stories, faith practices, and theologies of religious insiders (i.e., clergy and religious leaders), recent scholarship has expanded the field to include the broader themes of community formation, labor, social movements, immigrant activism, and an intentional focus on the relationships with non-religious communities.

scholarly journals Towards Religious Understanding: An Assessment of the Ambivalence Roles of Religious Leaders in Christian-Muslim Relations in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
pp. 9-20
Author(s):  
Rapheal Joseph Ojo
Keyword(s):  
Religious Communities ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
The Government ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Religious Understanding ◽  
Shaky Ground

The world today is becoming more violent than ever before. Sometimes, the violence can be political, ethnic, economic and or religious. In most cases, distinguishing the main cause of such violence from other causes might be difficult. The factors could be a combination of two issues viz: ethnoreligious conflicts or politico-religious conflicts. The religious experience in Nigeria today, as a multi-religious society so far has proven contrary to the general belief and the widespread expectation of people about religion as an institution that promotes social integration. Christian-Muslim relations in Nigeria today (though being the dominant religions in Nigeria) is standing on shaky ground. The relationship is highly characterized by mutual suspicion, mistrust and distrust. In understanding this characterized reality in their interactions, this work interrogated the ambivalence roles played by religious leaders in Nigeria. And in doing this, the ethnographic research method was adopted. As part of its findings, it was discovered that there is a high level of intolerance among Christians and Muslims in Nigeria occasioned by unguarded utterances and abuse of freedom of speech by many uncensored religious leaders. Thus, setting the stage for avoidable and constant religious confrontations among the adherents of the two religious communities in Nigeria. The study recommends that peaceful co-existence can be possible if the government is responsible and responsive enough to address the basic needs of her masses which would reduce largely the manipulation of religion by clerics for personal gain. Furthermore, the place of meaningful dialogue should be embraced by religious leaders across different religious divides. Keywords: Christian-Muslim Relations, Dialogue, Peaceful Co-existence, Religious leaders, Religious Understanding

scholarly journals The Legal Authority of the Jurist and Its Scope in Modern Iran

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Seyfeddin Kara
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Legal Authority ◽  
Intrinsic Connection ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject

The development of Shīʿi jurisprudence has mostly been studied from the perspective of its relation to political authority. A handful of works that have examined the subject from a purely legal perspective, neglected the influence of Muslim societies on the evolution of Shīʿi legal theory. The paper examines the development of Shīʿi jurisprudence from a legal perspective and argues that there is an intrinsic connection between Islamic law (both Sunni and Shiʿi laws) and Muslim societies. Therefore, the changing values and expectations of society prompt changes in Islamic rulings. In this sense, the evolution of Shīʿi legal theory is no different to Sunni legal theory, and there are striking similarities between Khomeini's theory of Wilāyat al-Faqīh and the Sunni legal notion of maṣlaḥa which both aim to respond to the exigencies of the social change.

scholarly journals The Jewish population of Sofia in the 18th century according to the documents of the kadi’s court

2020 ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Anna A. Leontyeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Jewish Population ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Initial Stage

The Jewish were one of the most numerous ethnic groups among the urban population of the Ottoman Empire’s Balkan provinces, and the Jewish community in Bulgaria is one of the oldest in Europe. In the Ottoman state, the co-existence of different religious representatives as determined by the millet system, which was adopted by the Ottoman Turks from other Muslim states and developed at the initial stage of the Empire's existence. It assumed a certain autonomy for religious communities. The Jewish community had its own religious court, beit-din, with the help of which civil cases were resolved. The Jewish Religious Court forbade representatives of the Jewish community from appealing to the Sharia courts on issues within its competence. However, if the parties to a legal dispute were a zimmi (i.e. non-Muslims) and a Muslim, then the dispute should have been unconditionally considered in a Sharia court with the application of the norms of Islamic law. An analysis of the kadi court’s documents related to the cases of representatives of other confessions makes it possible to draw some conclusions about their occupations and the degree of integration into the urban society of Sofia. So, we can refute the thesis about the semi-autonomous existence of Jewish quarters in Balkan cities – we can talk about the erosion of the ethnic isolation of the places of residence of Jews in Sofia, and their active settlement, first of all, traditionally Christian quarters. An analysis of the source allows us to conclude that Jews actively interacted with representatives of other religions, participating in transactions for the sale of property with Muslims, while often it was not so much about the sale of residential buildings but about investing capital. A large number of shop sales deals testifies to the fact that members of the Jewish community had an active business life.

Ethiopian Jewish Ascetic Religious Communities

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bar Kribus
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Popular Literature ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Ascetic Communities ◽  
Ethiopian Jews

The Betä Isra'el (Ethiopian Jews) have a unique history and religious tradition, one of the most fascinating aspects of which are the mäloksocc, commonly referred to as monks in scholarly and popular literature. The mäloksocc served as the supreme religious leaders of the Betä Isra'el and were charged with educating and initiating Betä Isra'el priests. They lived in separate compounds and observed severe purity laws prohibiting physical contact with the laity. Thus, they are the only known example in medieval and modern Jewry of ascetic communities withdrawing from the secular world and devoting themselves fully to religious life. This book presents the results of the first comprehensive research ever conducted on the way of life and material culture of the ascetic religious communities of the Betä Isra'el. A major part of this research is an archaeological survey, during which these religious centres were located and documented in detail for the first time.

The Book of Mormon

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Perry Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
William Apess ◽  
New Jerusalem ◽  
Early American ◽  
Book Of Mormon ◽  
The Future

This chapter examines the Book of Mormon's racial theology of “white universalism.” It explores the supposed pre-Columbian history that the Book of Mormon contains, notably the origins of Native Americans as a remnant of Israelites called the “Lamanites.” It also explores the future that the Book of Mormon prophesies in which the Lamanites unify with believing “Gentiles” to become one “white and a delightsome” people and together build a New Jerusalem in America before Christ’s return. The chapter also includes an examination of the Book of Mormon prophet, “Samuel, the Lamanite.” Samuel’s case, along with other marginalized early American religious leaders like William Apess and Jerana Lee, shows that non-white Americans have a “privileged sight” onto America and America’s religious communities that fail to live up to their own ideals of inclusion and equality. The views of marginalized figures are thus essential for an accurate accounting of America’s past.

Ethnic Groups and Social Change in a Chinese Market Town.

1982 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Graham E. Johnson ◽  
C. Fred Blake
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
Market Town

Ethnic Groups and Social Change in a Chinese Market Town.

1983 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 347
Author(s):  
William T. Liu ◽  
C. Fred Blake
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
Market Town
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document