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.

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.

Challenge To Orthodoxy: Beliefs and Values of the Eternal Mother Sects in Sixteenth-and Seventeenth-Century China

1999 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-393
Author(s):  
Richard Shek
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Beliefs And Values ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Era

AbstractUsing the framework of orthodoxy versus heterodoxy, this paper attempts to establish the following points: (1) An orthodoxy existed in China since the middle of the second century before the common era and lasted until the turn of the present century. (2) This orthodoxy was not articulated by a religious authority, but rather by a political authority. (3) The content of this orthodoxy, socio-political-ethical in emphasis, was defined not by narrow sectarian doctrines but by a compromise consensus among all the major religious traditions in China. (4) Challenge to this orthodoxy was long-lasting and variegated in nature, but at the turn of the sixteenth century crystalized into a potent tradition revolving around a central matriarchal deity and a strong millenarian and eschatological vision. (5) This heterodox tradition, though similarly socio-ethical in content, was by definition also politically subversive and occasionally erupted into anti-dynastic rebellions.

Leading the Faithful: Religious Authority in the Contemporary Middle East

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-115
Author(s):  
Mehran Kamrava
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
The State ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Almost All

The post-2011 Middle East has witnessed an increasing politicization of religious authority across the Middle East and among almost all faith communities. Unfolding political and social developments, along with steadily shifting posture and functions of the state vis-à-vis the various religious communities has propelled religious leaders into the role of their communities’ political protectors as well as chief liaisons with state leaders and institutions. This has occurred simultaneous with a diffusion of authority within majoritarian religious communities (in both Sunni and Shiʿa majority societies), along with an inverse centralization of religious authority among minority communities such as the Zaydis, the Maronites, and Chaldians.

Challenge To Orthodoxy: Beliefs and Values of the Eternal Mother Sects in Sixteenth-and Seventeenth-Century China

1999 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-393
Author(s):  
Richard Shek
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Beliefs And Values ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Era

AbstractUsing the framework of orthodoxy versus heterodoxy, this paper attempts to establish the following points : (1) An orthodoxy existed in China since the middle of the second century before the common era and lasted until the turn of the present century. (2) This orthodoxy was not articulated by a religious authority, but rather by a political authority. (3) The content of this orthodoxy, socio-political-ethical in emphasis, was defined not by narrow sectarian doctrines but by a compromise consensus among all the major religious traditions in China. (4) Challenge to this orthodoxy was long-lasting and variegated in nature, but at the turn of the sixteenth century crystalized into a potent tradition revolving around a central matriarchal deity and a strong millenarian and eschatological vision. (5) This heterodox tradition, though similarly socio-ethical in content, was by definition also politically subversive and occasionally erupted into anti-dynastic rebellions.

Non-deference to Religious Authority

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-118
Author(s):  
Teri Merrick
Keyword(s):  
Religious Communities ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Hermann Cohen ◽  
Miranda Fricker

In Epistemic Authority, Linda Zagzebski argues that members of long-standing religious communities are rationally justified in deferring to the authority of their tradition when asserting certain beliefs or deciding on a course of action. Deferential trust in religious authority, on her account, is a proper expression of a member’s intellectual humility. In this chapter, I argue that Zagzebski has not sufficiently considered the fact that religious traditions may be vehicles of epistemic oppression. Christian communities have a history of hermeneutically marginalizing those whose bodies and gender identities deviate from the so-called ‘able-bodied’ male type. Drawing on the work of Kristie Dotson, Miranda Fricker, and Hermann Cohen, I show that wholesale deference to traditional religious authority would merely perpetuate this marginalization and the ensuing epistemic oppressions. On my account, non-deference to some traditionally authorized beliefs is not indicative of member’s arrogance, but rather an attempt to cultivate the virtue of epistemic justice.

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.

Hagiography

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikael Rothstein
Keyword(s):  
Master Teacher ◽  
Narrative Construction ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Social Strategies ◽  
New Religions ◽  
Ideal Person ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mormon Church ◽  
The Ideal

This chapter deals with sacred biographies, hagiographies, and their function in the formation of religious leaders and ritually venerated persons. It is argued that the status of any Master, Teacher, Prophet, guru, Seer and Channel is partly based on sacred biographies, and that the narrative construction of religious authority is crucial to our understanding of leadership in new religions, sects etc. Distinctions are made between doctrinal and popular hagiographies; doctrinal narratives promote the exalted leader according to theologically well-defined standards, while popular narratives cover a wider span, as they seek to draw a picture of the perfected human in many different ways. Counter-hagiographies, finally, serve to deconstruct the ideal person and are typically employed by ex-devotees or members of counter-groups. Hagiographies are seen as very ancient social strategies (there are references to old new religions including early Christianity and the cult of Christ), but also a very lively and important mechanisms in the current make of religious leaders. Examples are derived from Catholic cults of saints, the Mormon Church, Scientology, TM and several other groups.

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 Chinese Urban Hui Muslims’ Access to and Evaluation of Cardiovascular Diseases-Related Health Information from Different Sources

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Yang ◽  
Yuping Mao ◽  
Jeroen Jansz
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Different Sources

This research aims to identify the sources that urban Hui Muslims access to get health information related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and how they evaluate the information from different sources. This paper focuses on health information related to cardiovascular diseases among Hui Muslims. The data was gathered by means of an online survey administered on mobile devices. To put the answers given by Hui Muslims into perspective and make a comparison between Hui Muslims and the Han people, we also gathered information from Han—the dominant group in China. The results showed that Chinese Hui Muslims mostly used mediated sources, while Han people mainly used interpersonal sources. Both Hui Muslims and Han people trusted and preferred health information about cardiovascular diseases provided by health organizations, doctors, and healthcare providers. The information given by religious leaders was trusted the least, although Hui Muslims were significantly more positive about religious authority than the Han people. The current results are relevant for Chinese health information promoters and can help them diffuse CVD health information more effectively to urban Hui Muslims.

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.

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