Light of Life Christian Group as a New Religious Movement in Zimbabwe

Exchange ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-176
Author(s):  
Misheck Mudyiwa
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Mixed Marriages ◽  
Critical Areas ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Current Article

The birth and rapid growth of new religious movements in Zimbabwe is a marked phenomenon in the history of Christianity in Africa. Ever since the Reformation that split the Western Church in the 16th century, a number of efforts have since been made by various new religious movements to try and foster ecumenism amongst the deeply divided ecclesiastical communities. Whilst great strides have since been made in critical areas such as common witnessing, inter-religious dialogue, common prayers, mixed marriages, ecumenism in faculties of theology, among other areas, one key element of ecumenism, namely, the common celebration of the Eucharist has always remained very remote and a no go area. To a greater extent, the Roman Catholic authorities in particular have been accused of dragging their feet or taking a ‘distant and detached’ approach to the same practice.1 This current article specifically examines the Light of Life Christian Group’s (llcg) vision of ecumenism, particularly its practice of Eucharistic intercommunion that dates back to the early 1970s. The main argument developed in this article is that, whilst llcg may stand in sharp opposition to the traditional Christian (particularly Catholic) view with regard to sharing the Eucharist with non-Catholics and norms governing the formation of public associations, it has made a breakthrough in the realization of the highest goal of ecumenism. To a greater extent, it has also succeeded in uniting the various denominations that for centuries had been separated by doctrine, history and practice. The article also argues that whilst llcg’s breakthrough is of pinnacle importance in the history of Christianity in Zimbabwe in particular, it is also unique in the sense that, instead of starting from above, from popes and bishops as is always expected and canonically constituted, the breakthrough has started from below.

scholarly journals The Phenomenon of Sabbatarianism: Nature, Types, and Brief History

2019 ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Tatiana I. Khizhaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Orthodox Jews ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Radical Reformation ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Era

The article focuses on the analysis of Sabbatarianism, i.e. on clarifying the meaning of the term, identifying various kinds of this phenomenon, as well as researching its history. The topicality of the work stems from both uncertainty of the definitions of the concept under consideration and the lack of works in Russian religious studies that deal with the problem of Sabbatarianism. During the study the author comes to the conclusion that the term “Sabbatarianism” is polysemantic. First, it implies special attention to the fourth commandment of the Decalogue in the Christian tradition, in which, since the period of the early Church, there were different practices of observing the first and/or the seventh day of the week in the East and West of the Christian world. Second, we call Sabbatarian specific religious movements that emerged in Europe during the Modern Era and had genetic connection with the Reformation. The author divides them into Christian (Protestant) and Judaizing, noting the challenge and even the failure of differentiating between both in some cases. The first type is subdivided, in turn, into the First-day Sabbatarians, who did not constitute a particular religious movement, and the Seventh-day ones, who made up separate Protestant denominations. The secon type includes sects that are guided to varying degrees by the Old Testament texts. The study of the Judaizers’ history reveals that their genesis is correlated to the Radical Reformation. They arose among the Anabaptists, Unitarians and Puritans, forming an ultraradical stream in the religious scene of the Modern Era. At the same time, these movements were often millenarian. The most vivid model of Judaizing Sabbatarianism was the phenomenon of Transylvanian Sabbath keepers, who evolved from the Protestant Anti-Trinitarians to the Orthodox Jews. The paper is the first attempt at a special research on the phenomenon of Sabbatarianism in Russian religious studies. Its results are significant for understanding the history of the Reformation, various religious trends within the latter (especially radical), as well as the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

Mathematics, Physics and Religion: A Need for Candor and Rigor

1984 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-470
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Christian Belief ◽  
Intellectual Culture ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of

In Western culture, religion and the sciences often have found themselves to be more and more at odds since the period of the Enlightenment. The change which that era brought to the Christian community could be illustrated as follows. The analogy is perhaps a bit overdrawn, but it does indicate how important the historical shifts were. During the earliest phase of Christian belief, Christianity had to compete with other religions as one fruit-bearing tree within a varied orchard. When the Christian religion became established and dominant in the Middle Ages it tended to cause other trees to wither and die because of its enormous and on occasion darkening size. During the Reformation a radical pruning took place which gave life not only to the Protestant branch but also a new vitality to the Roman Catholic branch. What the Enlightenment represented was the first pervasive suggestion that most fruit trees — perhaps even the orchard — were unnecessary. One could find individual precursors of such attempts as well as a number of people during the Enlightenment who found various religions satisfying. But at no time in the history of Christianity had a large segment of the intellectual culture been so fascinated with the idea that religion in most all of its forms might be useless.

scholarly journals A Joke, Mockery, or Something More? The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster – an Invented Religion or a New Movement?

2021 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 81-100
Author(s):  
Siarhei A. Anoshka ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Movement ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Short History ◽  
Main Subject ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

This article attempts to analyse a contemporary phenomenon from the sphere of alternative religiosity in the form of joke religions. The main subject of the analysis is a new religious movement called the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (CFSM), founded in the USA in 2005. By referring to the theory of carnival fun, joining the sacrum and profanum, and passing through the various doctrinal threads of this religious movement, the author attempts to answer the question of whether the CFSM can be considered a genuine religion or only a joke. The article begins with a short reflection on the possibility of joking about religion and faith, and the response to religious humour by people of faith, which may range from anger to disgust and sometimes even to aggression. Then, after a short history of this new (pseudo-)religious movement, a perspective is developed. It emerges that the whole structure of the so-called doctrine of this (quasi-)religion refers to other known religions and beliefs, including other new religious movements.

scholarly journals Commemorating the Quincentenary of the Reformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Emidio Campi
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Protestant Reformation ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Single Moment ◽  
History Of

To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation this article will offer a brief historical overview of the key figures and events which demonstrate that the Reformation was not born out of a single moment, but is a movement that developed prior to Martin Luther’s Nintey-Five Theses in protest of the Roman Catholic Church. A movement which grew out of the early Church and Middles Ages and continued to impact the history of Christianity well into the twentieth century. Moving from the early Church to modern history this article will examine the interpretation of the reformatio ecclesiae as well as its usage and meaning at specific historical moments and by specific reformers.

The Baltic Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 586-600
Author(s):  
Sebastian Rimestad
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The North ◽  
The World ◽  
The Baltic

The three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have a varied religious history. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, they were the last region of Europe to be Christianized. Today, they—and especially Estonia—are among the most secularized societies in the world. This is not only due to the Soviet past but also to Baltic German dominance at key moments in their history. While Lutheranism has dominated in the north (in Estonia and Latvia), the Roman Catholic Church is still the main religious player in the south (in Lithuania and parts of Latvia). Primarily due to Russian migration, the Orthodox Church also plays a significant role in Baltic affairs. There is, finally, a small but vibrant cluster of new religious movements, notably neo-pagan groups.

scholarly journals New Religious Movements: A Bibliographic Introduction

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Zeller
Keyword(s):  
Religious Movement ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Book Series ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Academic Study

This article provides a map to the bibliographic landscape for the academic study of new religious movements (NRMs). The article first considers the development of the scholarly subfield, including debates over the nature of the concept of ‘new religious movement’ and recent scholarship on the nature of this key term, as well as the most salient research areas and concepts. Next, the article introduces the most important bibliographic materials in the subfield: journals focusing on the study of NRMs, textbooks and reference volumes, book series and monographic literature, online resources, and primary sources.

scholarly journals The Closed Religious Community: the Strategy of Forming аnd the Principles of Functioning

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-100
Author(s):  
Svetlana V. Riazanova
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
World View ◽  
Popular Religion ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Total Community

The point of the author’s research interest is mechanisms for the formation of a private religious community on the example of the Intersession brotherhood. A group of believers was emerged as part of the revival of the Orthodox life of the Kama region, but transformed into specific organization with features of popular religion, new religious movements and so-called “historical sects.” Author reconstructs the history of the community involving elements of the biographical method. The study is based on interviews and correspondence with former members of the community, close people of the residents of the commune, as well as analysis of the materials of the closed group on the social network, some audio of the groups’ seminars, photocopies of the working notebooks of the group and a series of photographs made by the believers. The investigation is based on the theoretical constructions of E. Goffman and the concept of total community. Intersession brotherhood appears as a community with the features of totality – territorial and communication closure of the residents, their employment in internal jobs, perception of the group as a family. Lack of privacy is combined with the presence of “mother-child” connection to the leader. The practice of naming for adults, the creation of new marriages, participation in gender-oriented councils create a special micro-environment with the unification of the world view. The system of privileges for advanced residents is supplemented by a developed system of fines. It makes possible to speak about special tools that lead to a change of values, a narrowing of the set of social roles and a reduction of critical thinking.

scholarly journals The articulation between evolutionism and creationism in New Religious Movements: Two South American case studies

2020 ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Vitor Campanha
Keyword(s):  
Biological Evolution ◽  
New Age ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
The Internet ◽  
South American ◽  
Roman Catholicism ◽  
Religious Perspectives ◽  
American Case

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how certain religious perspectives present nuances between the concepts of creation and evolution. Although public debate characterizes them as polarized concepts, it is important to understand how contemporary religious expressions resignify them and create arrangements in which biological evolution and creation by the intervention of higher beings are presented in a continuum. It begins with a brief introduction on the relations and reframing of Science concepts in the New Religious Movements along with New Age thinking. Then we have two examples which allows us to analyze this evolution-creation synthesis. First, I will present a South American New Religious Movement that promotes bricolage between the New Age, Roman Catholicism and contacts with extraterrestrials. Then, I will analyze the thoughts of a Brazilian medium who disseminates lectures along with the channeling of ETs in videos on the internet, mixing the elements of ufology with cosmologies of Brazilian religions such as Kardecist spiritism and Umbanda. These two examples share the idea of ​​the intervention of extraterrestrial or superior beings in human evolution, thus, articulating the concepts of evolution and creation. Therefore, in these arrangements it is possible to observe an inseparability between spiritual and material, evolution and creation or biological and spiritual evolution.

“What if it is actually true?”

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 74-100
Author(s):  
Joanna Urbańczyk
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
General Characteristic ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Common Elements ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Generational Shift ◽  
Former Soviet Republics

The Siberian community of Vissarion (Last Testament Church) is a new religious movement established at the beginning of 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Among its members (estimated at several thousand), who come mainly from Russia and former Soviet republics, there is also a large group of Vissarion’s followers from Eastern Europe. In this article, I present a general characteristic of the movement and four stories from adherents. I indicate common elements in their narratives of coming to and living in the community, such as belief in continuing spiritual development, the importance of living close to nature, the focus on feelings, and concern for future generations. I also point out a “generational shift” among members of the importance of the breakup of the Soviet Union and suggest the need for scholarly consideration of its decreasing significance for adherents of new religious movements in the post-socialist region.

Strangers of Popular Culture – The Verbal and Pictorial Aesthetics of Mythological Metal Music

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-60
Author(s):  
János Fejes
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Reception Theory ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Metal Music ◽  
History Of ◽  
Extreme Metal ◽  
Northrop Frye ◽  
Wolfgang Iser

AbstractExtreme metal music is held to be a destructive genre of popular culture, treated as a pariah for many. Being a seriously misunderstood genre, I would like to highlight that metal music is a result of conscious work process that cannot only be noticed on the level of the music but on the level of verbal and pictorial expressions too. In my paper, I would like to show the working mechanisms of the so-called “(neo)pagan/mythological metal” movement, focusing on the rhetoric side of its mentioned expressions, searching for the ways these bands rewrite ancient myths and legends.For my research, I will use three main threads: 1) history of religion (looking for the connections of the reception of ancient topics in contemporary society, e.g. New Age Cults and New Religious Movements); 2) reception theory, as the thoughts of Northrop Frye, Wolfgang Iser (1972), and John Fiske (2011) all should help to understand the general processes behind reading and producing texts; 3) subculture studies – e.g. the works of Richard Schusterman and Deena Weinstein (2002) to have a deeper insight to the genres standing on the edge of mass and high culture.After a general introduction, I would like to demonstrate the above mentioned through some case studies. The chosen mythological cultures are going to be the world of the ancient Middle East (Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Old Testament), the classical Roman world, and the Viking Era, also showing some Hungarian and Romanian examples in the last section. In each section, the following issues should be examined: band and stage names connected to the topic, album titles, lyrics, and album covers. All these together will show us many clear patterns from romantic nostalgia to allegoric concepts, all revolving around the essence of metal music: being a Stranger in a familiar society.

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