Kirche und Zivilgesellschaft – Reformatorische Impulse und Gestaltungsaufgabe der Kirchen in Europa

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-30
Author(s):  
Sándor Fazakas ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social ◽  
Special Responsibilities ◽  
Contextual Definition ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Church

Abstract. Church and Civil Society – Impulses of Reformed Theology and the Role of the Churches in Shaping Europe. This contribution seeks to answer the role religions and churches, especially the Reformed churches, could play in developing and consolidating civil society and democracy. This study will examine the role of the Church in the Central and Eastern European social and political contexts. Therefore, we will first make an overview of the specifics of this phenomenon in the context of the region's recent history. Then we will look for the normative and substantive meanings of the term for the present going beyond its contextual definition. Finally, we will take note of the impulses of Reformed theology that can contribute to the strengthening of civil society and democratic culture. Will we do this in the context of the particular approach of Reformed theology, in the theological context of the threefold offices (triplex munus) of Christ. The Church, which shares in the royal, priestly and prophetic offices of Christ, shall assume special responsibilities in the life of the society following the threefold ministry of his Lord. In social and diaconal service, the Church must offer new, innovative solutions that promote quality of life (royal office) by working for a culture of reconciliation and compassion. The Church can move from the interior life of piety into the social sphere (priestly office), and through self-criticism and sober social critique, it can advocate for those most disadvantaged by political, economic and social processes (prophetic office). This paper is an edited version of a presentation given at the 2018 German-Hungarian Reformed Theological Conference in Soest, Westphalia. The author attended this conference with an esteemed colleague Béla S. Visky, and now dedicates this paper to him with much appreciation and love on his 60th birthday. Keywords: civil society, contextuality of churches, reconciliation, advocacy, threefold offices of Christ

scholarly journals Foundations and history of the formation of the social doctrine of Ukrainian Catholicism

2005 ◽  
pp. 85-96
Author(s):  
S.R. Kyiak
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Social Doctrine ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ukrainian Catholic ◽  
The Church

The problem of becoming a social doctrine of Ukrainian Christianity, in particular Ukrainian Catholicism, has become especially relevant today in theological, philosophical and religious sciences, since objective study contributes to the production of not only a true picture of the Church-theological identity of the Ukrainian Orthodox ), which entrenched the historically and theologically not justified name - Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), but also the place and role of Christianity in modern times. to this Ukrainian public life in general. Ukrainian Catholicism, represented by the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the heir to the Kyiv Church, has accumulated significant experience of collaborating with the public in various spheres of its activity, including in the social sphere, for more than a thousand years.

Value-driven issues throughout the development of sociological theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 147-160
Author(s):  
Gulbarshyn Chepurko ◽  
Valerii Pylypenko
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social System ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Different Levels

The paper examines and compares how the major sociological theories treat axiological issues. Value-driven topics are analysed in view of their relevance to society in times of crisis, when both societal life and the very structure of society undergo dramatic change. Nowadays, social scientists around the world are also witnessing such a change due to the emergence of alternative schools of sociological thought (non-classical, interpretive, postmodern, etc.) and, subsequently, the necessity to revise the paradigms that have been existed in sociology so far. Since the above-mentioned approaches are often used to address value-related issues, building a solid theoretical framework for these studies takes on considerable significance. Furthermore, the paradigm revision has been prompted by technological advances changing all areas of people’s lives, especially social interactions. The global human community, integral in nature, is being formed, and production of human values now matters more than production of things; hence the “expansion” of value-focused perspectives in contemporary sociology. The authors give special attention to collectivities which are higher-order units of the social system. These units are described as well-organised action systems where each individual performs his/her specific role. Just as the role of an individual is distinct from that of the collectivity (because the individual and the collectivity are different as units), so too a distinction is drawn between the value and the norm — because they represent different levels of social relationships. Values are the main connecting element between the society’s cultural system and the social sphere while norms, for the most part, belong to the social system. Values serve primarily to maintain the pattern according to which the society is functioning at a given time; norms are essential to social integration. Apart from being the means of regulating social processes and relationships, norms embody the “principles” that can be applied beyond a particular social system. The authors underline that it is important for Ukrainian sociology to keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of axiology and make good use of those ideas because this is a prerequisite for its successful integration into the global sociological community.

Daily Routine, Food and Faith. To Yu.F. Samarin’s Thesis on “Formalism” of the Church Life in the Pre-Petrine Period

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 268-279
Author(s):  
Abbot Vitaly Utkin
Keyword(s):  
Daily Routine ◽  
Eating Patterns ◽  
Political Aspect ◽  
Old Believers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Church Life ◽  
The Church

With reference to Yu. F. Samarin’s thesis on “Formalism” of the Church Life in the Pre-Petrine Period, the article examines the issue of the role of fasts, eating patterns and daily routine in general among most radical groups of Old Believers. The author of the article draws the conclusion that such conceptions were rooted in the Pre-Nikon Russian religious (monkish) traditions. The author pays special attention to the social and political aspect of the connection between food and payer for the Tsar in the context of the “spiritual Antichrist” teaching.

Evolution of the public administration system. The Republic of Estonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 82-118
Author(s):  
YANA TOOM ◽  
◽  
VALENTINA V. KOMLEVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Administration System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Administrative Reforms ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
External Threats ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Republic

The article studies the main stages and features of the evolution of the public administration system in the Republic of Estonia after 1992. This paper presents brief geographical and socio-economic characteristics that largely determine the development of the country’s public administration. The evolution of the institution of the presidency, executive, and legislative powers are considered. The role of parliament and mechanisms for coordinating the interests of different groups of the population for the development of the country is especially emphasized. The authors analyze the state and administrative reforms of recent years, which were aimed at improving the quality of services provided to the population, increasing the competitiveness of different parts of Estonia, as well as optimizing public spending and management structure. The introduction of digital technologies into the sphere of public administration, healthcare, education, and the social sphere is of a notable place. Such phenomena as e-residency, e-federation, and other digital projects are considered. The development of a digital system of interstate interaction between Estonia and Finland made it possible to create the world’s first e-federation, and the digitization of all strategically important information and its transfer to cloud storage speaks of the creation of the world’s first e-residency, a special residence of data outside the country’s borders to ensure digital continuity and statehood in the event of critical malfunctions or external threats.

The transformation of the Russian notary in the new economic realities

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
KONSTANTIN A. KORSIK ◽  
◽  
ANASTASIYA A. PARFENCHIKOVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The State ◽  
Technological Infrastructure ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
World Development

The article is devoted to the review of current changes in the legislation on notaries related to the development of electronic civil circulation, analysis of existing digital risks and assessment of the role of notaries in combating them. In modern economic realities, a significant expansion of the sphere of competence of the notary is carried out by introducing completely new notarial actions into the scope of the notary’s terms of reference. At the same time, the notary does not just follow the general ‘digital’ trend, but independently makes significant efforts to effectively perform the tasks of the social sphere regulator assigned to it by the state. The creation of the Unified Notary Information System as part of the formation of the technological infrastructure to ensure the security and stability of legal relations in the context of electronic civil circulation takes to a new level the quality of notarial services and the security of legally relevant information. The role of notaries significantly increases in conditions when the use of digital technologies in the economy, public administration, social sphere becomes one of the main vectors of world development, and society and the state inevitably face the flip side of this process – digital risks that jeopardize the safety of participants in civil turnover and their property. In 2020, as part of the implementation of the national program ‘Digital Economy’, it is planned to introduce a number of innovations that will create the basis for a stable and secure ‘digital’ turnover.

Rescuing Migrants in the Central Mediterranean: The Emergence of a New Civil Humanitarianism at the Maritime Border

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-455
Author(s):  
Marta Esperti
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Humanitarian Space ◽  
First Arrival

The Central Mediterranean is the most deadly body of water in the Mediterranean Sea with at least 15,062 fatalities recorded by International Organization of Migration between 2014 and 2018. This article aims at highlighting the rise of a variety of new civil society actors engaged in the rescue of people undertaking dangerous journeys across the sea in the attempt of reaching the southern European shores. The peculiarity of the humanitarian space at sea and its political relevance are pointed out to illustrate the unfolding of the maritime border management on the Central Mediterranean route and its relation with the activity of the civil society rescue vessels. The theoretical aspiration of the article is to question the role of a proactive civil humanitarianism at sea, discussing the emergence of different political and social meanings around humanitarianism at the EU’s southern maritime border. In recent years, the increasing presence of new citizens-based organizations at sea challenges the nexus between humanitarian and emergency approaches adopted to implement security-oriented policies. This essay draws on the findings of a broader comparative work on a variety of civil society actors engaged in the search and rescue operations on the maritime route between Libya and Europe, focusing in particular on Italy as country of first arrival. The fieldwork covers a period of time going between 2016 and 2018. The research methodology is built on a multisited ethnography, the conduct of semidirective and informal interviews with both state and nonstate actors, and the analysis of various reports unraveling the social and political tensions around rescue at sea on the Central Mediterranean route.

scholarly journals Non-discursive Knowledge and the Construction of Identity Potters, Potting and Performance at the Bronze Age Tell of Százhalombatta, Hungary

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Budden ◽  
Joanna Sofaer
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Construction Of Identity ◽  
Differential Acquisition ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Bronze Age

This article explores the relationship between the making of things and the making of people at the Bronze Age tell at Százhalombatta, Hungary. Focusing on potters and potting, we explore how the performance of non-discursive knowledge was critical to the construction of social categories. Potters literally came into being as potters through repeated bodily enactment of potting skills. Potters also gained their identity in the social sphere through the connection between their potting performance and their audience. We trace degrees of skill in the ceramic record to reveal the material articulation of non-discursive knowledge and consider the ramifications of the differential acquisition of non-discursive knowledge for the expression of different kinds of potter's identities. The creation of potters as a social category was essential to the ongoing creation of specific forms of material culture. We examine the implications of altered potters' performances and the role of non-discursive knowledge in the construction of social models of the Bronze Age.

scholarly journals Curriculum design in theology and development: Human agency and the prophetic role of the church

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

The field of theology and development is a relatively new sub-discipline within theological studies in Africa. The first formal post-graduate programme was introduced at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa during the mid-1990s. In the early years it was known as the Leadership and Development programme and since 2000, as the Theology and Development programme. Over the past twenty years, this programme has graduated over 160 BTh Honours, 100 MTh, and 15 PhD students. This article outlines the history of the programme, addresses its ideological orientation, its pedagogical commitments and preferences in curriculum design. It further argues that theological reflection on “development” must seek to understand the prophetic role of the church in responding to the complexities of the social issues facing the African continent.  Key to this discussion is the contested nature of “development” and the need for theological perspectives to engage this contestation through a social analysis of the global structures of injustice. This requires an engagement with the social sciences. It is this engagement of the social sciences with theological reflection, the essay argues, that has enabled the students who have graduated from the Theology and Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to assist the church and faith-based organisations to become effective agents of social transformation.

scholarly journals The Role of the Church in Socio-Economic Transformation: Reformation as a Transformation Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leepo Johannes Modise
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Economic Situation ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
The Social ◽  
Church And Society ◽  
The Church

This paper consists of five parts. Firstly, a brief historical background of reformation will be discussed as an exercise to remember reformation. Secondly, we review the role of the ecumenical church (SACC) prior to democracy in South Africa. The purpose for focusing on the role of the church from this period is that it gives us a model to follow in our involvement in socio-economic transformation. Thirdly, the social and economic challenges facing the church and society in democratic South Africa will be discussed. Fourthly, we debate the role of the ecumenical church (SACC) in democratic South Africa. Fifthly, the article explores what role the Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa (URCSA) is playing (descriptive) and ought to play (normative) through all her structures to transform the socio-economic situation in South Africa.

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