Religion and Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 179-205
Author(s):  
John Klaasen
Keyword(s):  
Theological Anthropology ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Contextual Approach ◽  
Development Discourse ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Spiritual Dimension ◽  
Post War ◽  
Role Of Religion

Abstract This article is a contribution to the discourse on religion and development. The contribution seeks to investigate the role of religious conceptualisations in development. Theological anthropology, and specifically the Christian doctrine of the imago Dei, is critically analysed from the historical-biblical approach, a feminist and postcolonial approach, and a contextual approach. Themes such as progression, responsibility, relationships, and the spiritual dimension of personhood are identified as contributing toward the role of religion in development. Drawing from theological concepts such as “vocation,” “rule,” “image,” and “likeness,” the specific connections between religion and development derives from the central theological anthropological doctrine of the imago Dei. The themes that are identified are not explored exhaustively but are nonetheless highlighted as markers that should be considered by both practitioners and academics in the broad-based development discourse and practices. The limitations of the modernisation and materialistic approaches of the post-war period are countered by the centrality of personhood.

scholarly journals Gezond of ongezond geloof: standaard, context, normativiteit

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-333
Author(s):  
Hetty Zock
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life History ◽  
Contextual Approach ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Religious Context ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Role Of Religion

Summary This contribution considers the functionality of religious beliefs and practices from the angle of the psychology of religion. The role of religion in the main standard for mental health (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is discussed and research findings about the relation between religion and mental health are summarized. It is argued that to determine if a specific religious belief or practice is healthy or unhealthy, we need a fundamentally contextual approach, which takes into account not only the cultural and religious context but also the life-history and personal stance (normativity) of religious authorities, care professionals, patients and believers. The case of depression serves as an example.

scholarly journals African Christianities and the politics of development from below

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Afe Adogame
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Economic Dimension ◽  
Spiritual Dimension ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Role Of Religion

Religion and development are two ambiguous phenomena, yet we can map their creative interaction and intricate interconnectedness. In public discourse, ideas about development generally undermine the complex role of religion, or it is assumed that religion would be relegated to a matter of private belief in Africa, as secular states burgeoned, or even saw religion as an obstacle to development. Development was largely conceived of primarily in economic terms or as economic development. In contemporary era, the concept of human development has come into vogue, accentuating aspects of people’s lives that go beyond the economic dimension. There is no gainsaying in the fact that religion has been a dynamic entity and remains a growing force in public life in Africa. This article critiques vague definitions of religion and development and contends that human development should be understood as including the religious and spiritual dimension of life. Drawing upon concrete examples from my religious ethnography, the article seeks to explore the ambivalent role of religion in Africa’s development, and Africa’s development within the purview of the everyday lived religious and spiritual dimensions of life.

scholarly journals Dalle origini del capitalismo all’ordinamento corporativo

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Settis
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Christian Democracy ◽  
Post War ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Academic Economist

Before rising to political prominence in the post-war Italian Republic as one of the defining leaders of the Christian Democracy, Amintore Fanfani distinguished himself as an academic economist and economic historian. Trained at the Università Cattolica in Milan, he was a pupil of its founder and rector, Agostino Gemelli. The essay examines Fanfani’s writings, starting from his dissertation, which addressed the role of religion in the origins of capitalism and discussed Marx’s and Weber’s views. In this and his following articles, reviews and books, during the thirties, Fanfani argued in favour of the subordination of economic activity to superior moral ends provided by religion. Such a ‘voluntaristic’ perspective was embodied by the corporatist experiment. Following in the footsteps of Gemelli’s proposal of an alliance between Catholicism and Fascism, Fanfani went on to support many aspects of the regime, notably its imperial wars in Africa.

scholarly journals Exhausted Women, Exhausted Welfare and the Role of Religion

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mobile Systems ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Post War ◽  
Role Of Religion

This themed collection is bound together by some foundational observations which have been well documented in earlier research. European post-war welfare systems face challenges related to aging populations, globalization, migration, changing patterns of family and gender roles. The post-war model of welfare dependent on the idea of stable heterosexual families, with male breadwinners and women carers is giving way to more individualized and mobile systems. The four articles and commentary in this issue provide glimpses of the issues within this field that unite contexts as diverse as the Nordic countries, Brazil and the United States. They explore the intersection of welfare, religion and gender charting gendered problems in welfare provision in relation to religious organisation, affiliation and identity. This issue provides examples of how the exhaustion of women and welfare systems is interconnected and the understanding of this crucial to any attempts to reform welfare systems to enhance social inclusion or reduce exclusion.

scholarly journals Religious Regimes: Rethinking the Societal Role of Religion in Post-War Europe

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER VAN DAM ◽  
PAUL VAN TRIGT
Keyword(s):  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Post War ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Christian Nation ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Societal Role

AbstractThis article discusses the concept of ‘religious regimes’ in order to identify institutionalised arrangements regulating the social position of religion. By analysing such regimes and the views underpinning them, three visions of the societal role of religion come into focus: segmented pluralism, the Christian nation and the secular nation. Taking up Dutch post-war history as a case study, it becomes clear that religious regimes regularly result from fragile compromises. The concept thus yields insight into the gradual transitions between different institutional arrangements regarding religion and into the impact of changing views on the societal role of religion within and outside religious communities.

A Feminist Pentecostal Theological Anthropology: North America and Beyond

Pneuma ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47
Author(s):  
Lisa P. Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Theological Anthropology ◽  
Imago Dei ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Logical Approach ◽  
Full Humanity

Abstract In this article I focus on developing a feminist Pentecostal theological anthropology that can benefit Pentecostal women. I begin by highlighting various Pentecostal scholars whose anthropologies adopt the approaches of the imago Dei (a theo-logical approach) and the imago Christi (a christological approach). For all the merits that these two approaches have, they are ultimately inadequate on their own for Pentecostals as they have been presented thus far, because they lack a strong pneumatological component. Therefore, I expand the traditional theo-logical and christological approaches by highlighting the role of the Spirit in constituting the imago Dei and imago Christi, and by articulating a third way, the imago Spiritus, which enables pneumatology to stand on its own as a further approach to affirming women’s full humanity. I conclude by highlighting some of the issues Pentecostal women face globally and note how this anthropology can be beneficial for Pentecostal women worldwide.

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