scholarly journals RELIGIOUS DEMOCRATIZATION IN INDONESIA: STRENGTHENING THE PRO-CEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIAL RELIGIOUS DEMOCRACY

Al-Albab ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eka Hendry AR.

Inspired by the book of Michael Mann about the dark side of democracy that discusses the paradox between the ideality of democratic values and empirical realities of violence in the name of freedom (democracy), this paper begins with the exposure of the paradox, such as the rise of the violent conflict between groups of people (both ethnic and religious-based) and the high prevalence of violence between religious groups in Indonesia. Even worse, a very wrenching violence involves state actors (rulers). This paper tries to understand the roots of the paradox, with a look at how the relationship between state and religion and the religious community trend of Indonesia (especially Muslims). The author argues that the democratization of religion is a solution to the issues. To answer what kind of religious democracy lives in Indonesia, the author analyzes through a religious procedural (or constitutional) democratic dimension and religious substantial democratic dimension. The phenomenon of disobedience of law and system and the euphoria of law-making that reflects “intolerance” in several places in Indonesia display the fundamental issue in the religious procedural democracy. Whereas in the context of religious substantial democracy, the prevailing trend of religion that serves as a political and economic vehicle and ignores religion as a substantial aspect of the behavior of the Indonesian society has resulted in the marginalization of religious position and function. Then, the infiltration of the model of political Islam has also led to alienation of the character of the Islamic society of Indonesia, from a democratic pattern to a revival (radical) one. In this light, the author needs to present a strategy to encourage religious democracy in Indonesia, structurally through formulating the ideal relation model between state and religion and culturally through a substantial pattern of religion embedded with the character of Indonesian religious communities as well as the need to revitalize the true Indonesian Islamic model which will be intrinsically familiar with the principles of democracy. Key words: Democracy, religious procedural, substantial democracy, intole­rance, law and system of disobedience.

2019 ◽  
pp. 81-101
Author(s):  
Sarah Stroumsa

This chapter focuses on Andalusian philosophers. Philosophers, in al-Andalus as elsewhere in the medieval Islamicate world, were committed to what can be called “the philosopher's life,” namely, the unremitting effort to attain human perfection. At the same time, as intellectuals integrated into their own societies, they could significantly shape their communities' cultural, communal, and even political profiles. Philosophers in al-Andalus truly shared a common philosophical tradition. Jews and Muslims alike read scientific and philosophical works translated from Greek into Arabic, as well as books by earlier Muslim and Christian thinkers. Being a small minority within their respective religious communities, and sharing the same education, interests, concerns, and ideals, philosophers constituted, in some ways, a subculture of their own. While they lived fully within their own religious community and adhered to the boundaries between it and other religious groups, they were acutely aware of the commonality of philosophy. The chapter then evaluates the philosophical curriculum which guided the advancement of students to become philosophers, as well as the friendships formed between philosophers. It illustrates the inherently elitist nature of the philosophers' life qua philosophers.


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Vladimir Bakrač ◽  
Danijela Vuković-Ćalasan ◽  
Predrag Živković ◽  
Rade Šarović

The process of converting individuals to a particular religious community is one of the issues addressed by the Sociology of Religion. In the post-socialist Montenegrin society, there have been research works related to dominant religious communities, the Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, and the Islamic, while science has shown no interest in small religious groups. The Adventist movement in Montenegro, although present for a long period of time, has failed to mobilise individuals for conversion to a greater extent. Therefore, this research aims to find out when, under what conditions and in what way the individuals in Montenegro, as a post-socialist state, chose Adventism as religious affiliation, what affected this process the most, and were there any specificities in that regard. This paper is a result of a survey conducted via an in-depth interview with 17 believers of the Adventist Church. The obtained results indicate several valuable data: most respondents accepted the Adventist movement in Montenegro in the early 1990s; they got first-hand knowledge of this religion from their friends or wider family members and relatives, a consistent interpretation of the Holy Bible is the main reason for conversion. A significant factor in the process of conversion to Adventism is early religious socialisation within a family.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-147
Author(s):  
Anca Șincan

The relationship between state and religious denominations in communist Romania was mediated, supervised and enforced among others by a member of the state administration—the local inspector for religious denominations. Inherited from the Soviet practice this position is new in the state apparatus. The present article offers an overview of the particularities of the inspector’s work. Constantly moving between the requirements of his position, his communist orthodoxy and his own belief system and world view he had a difficult task of going between the state administration and the religious communities and make the policies and regulations of the totalitarian state palatable and enforceable. A sounding board for state policies whose applicability they tested in the field they were the last link of the newly designed relationship between the communist state and religious denominations.


Author(s):  
Sergej Flere

In the text regimes of religious community registration by statutory law in European countries is reviewed. Although freedom of religion is declared as a pricniple at the European level and individual constitutional provisions, varied obstacles to registering religious communities are set. They may reflect fear of abuse of religion or the intent to safeguard the hegemony of a traditionally entrenched religion. Some of these obstacles are historically entrenched, whereas in post-Communist countries they have been set during democrratic reconstruction. States differ in conditions for registration, in bodies competent to act upon such supplications, procedures in reviewing them and in practice. A trend toward reaching the standards set by the Europeaн Convention on Human Rights may be discerned. The major policies of the Venice Commission regarding religious liberty and a number of standard setting judgments by the European Court of Human Rights, regarding religious liberty, particularly within the registration of religious groups are reviewed in continuation. These policies and judgments ensue from a strict vision of individual and collective religious rights and may collide with traditional religious cultures favouring an entrenched church, within various confessional traditions in Europe. These opinions and judgments present a limited but important instrument of affirmation of religious liberty and suppressing state arbitrariness in the treatment of religious freedom, particularly of minority groups and beliefs. Problems of Orthodox cultures are stressed.


Politik ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Nordin

In Swedish contemporary society we nd ongoing processes of secularization and the idea of secularism be- ing challenged by a growing religious plurality in society. e overall purpose of this article is to highlight what happens when religion in a secularized and secular society enter into the public sphere as a result of inter-religious groups’ collaboration with local authorities. is is done through interviews and observations of three inter-religious groups meetings during 2010 and 2011. e collaboration between the inter-religious groups and the local authorities were initiated as a result of perceived problems of integration in the society and aims to include religious communities in society which may change the ongoing processes of seculariza- tion. One of the major problems with the collaborations was related to which religious community could be included by reasons of economic resources, access to personnel and premises and the acceptance and establishment in society. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-105
Author(s):  
Darmin Suhanda

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this research is to describe Hans Kung Global Ethics, to describe the contribution of Hans Kung Global Ethics for the realization of peace and the interesting relevance of Hans Kung Global Ethics for peace in Indonesia. The background of the research carried out by the researcher is to find the meaning of an unconditional ethical foundation in Hans Kung's discourse in the Global Ethics Manuscript so that its relevance to peace in Indonesia has recently been struggling in religious conflicts.The research method used by researchers in this study is to use a qualitative approach with Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis method. The method of critical discourse analysis is reading / interpreting the intrinsic and extrinsic meaning sentence by sentence of the Hans Kung Global Ethics manuscript by paying attention to the relationship between parts and sentences and analyzing the context and history.The results of the research analysis of the Global Ethics text are that the author finds the ethical foundation of each religion that is determined by religions as a consensus. Global ethics cannot necessarily be used to solve all problems, but this foundation can be used as a basis for action by religious communities in the midst of the world and especially in the midst of Indonesia. Conflicts that destroy the image of peace in Indonesia must be the reason that it is a necessity of the religious community, and the result is suffering. Religious people who are conflicted because of differences in dogmas realize that this weak point is not something that must be debated and contested, if one another still considers the presence of differences as taboo, then the result will be conflict between religious communities. There can be no survival without a basic ethic, and there can be no peace in Indonesia without peace between religions. And there can be no religious peace without dialogue between religions.


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Parish

The response of churches to the challenges presented by the global COVID-19 pandemic invites a closer examination of the relationships between virtual and embodied religious communities during a time of social distancing. The speed and the scale of the closure of church buildings during Easter 2020 sheds light upon the multiplicity of practical, emotional, and spiritual responses to a relationship between church and people that is increasingly dominated by online interactions. Such a seismic shift in social culture opens up the possibility and challenges of a new understanding of belonging and participation in a religious community. Given its liturgical, pastoral, and sacramental significance, Easter 2020 was a highly charged moment for the relationship between the Christian churches and the faithful, and between religious worship and social media. In the shift from embodied community to virtual congregation that followed, the material absence of physical presence in collective worship was striking, as was the psychological presence of that absence. This paper analyses different understandings of religion, church, and community in the period of a pandemic, and argues for the value of an approach that situates the debates spawned in the context of historical precedent, personal experience, and theoretical approaches to networks, communities, religion, and social media.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 549-574
Author(s):  
Đorđe Stojanović ◽  

When the internet appeared, both scientists and non-scientists discussed whether it was liberating the media and whether it was going to be transformed into a safe zone for the expression of free opinion. The answer to this question might be found within the cognitive anthropology concept of taxonomies. The etic taxonomy classification of religions (both in the online and/or offline worlds) has existed for a very long time. Still, the question of emic taxonomy remains. In other words, do cyber believers themselves perceive the internet as a place where they can express religious ideas that they could not do in their offline religious communities and connect with people who share the same/similar worldview? The goal of this paper is to answer the question of whether the scientific taxonomy and folk taxonomy (one of the religious cyber influencers chosen as a sample) converge or whether they differ and, in case they differ, whether the internet gives them the opportunity for free expression and making communities. Roy Wallis has been chosen as an example of scientific taxonomy, since his main criterion for classification is precisely the relationship of religious groups towards society (in this case, the mainstream discourse of both Serbian society and the Serbian Orthodox Church).


Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-58
Author(s):  
Francesco De Toni

AbstractThe relationship between the polite and conventional nature of friendly language and the sincerity of the writer’s feelings is a central topic in linguistic and historical research on friendship in epistolary communication. This relationship can be understood in the context of the emotional values and conventionalised emotional practices that characterise the writer’s emotional community.The language of friendship has a significant role in the history of letter writing in religious communities. However, epistolary and emotional practices among religious groups in the modern era remain a rather unexplored filed of research. In this regard, the nineteenth century is of particular interest, as it saw the consolidation of sincerity as a central notion in European standards of letter writing.Bringing together historical pragmatics and the history of emotions, this paper describes the forms and functions of sincerity in the negotiation of friendships between nineteenth-century Catholic churchmen. The article analyses a corpus of letters in Italian and Spanish from the multilingual correspondence of European Benedictine missionaries in Australia between the 1850s and the 1890s. The results of the analysis show that sincerity and emotional self-disclosure, while dependent on the pragmatic conventions of letter writing, belonged to cross-linguistic cultural scripts typical of religious communities.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 747
Author(s):  
Lea Taragin-Zeller ◽  
Edward Kessler

Drawing on thirty in-depth interviews with faith leaders in the UK (including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sikhism), we examine the diverse ways religious groups reorient religious life during COVID-19. Analysing the shift to virtual and home-based worship, we show the creative ways religious communities altered their customs, rituals, and practices to fit a new virtual reality amidst rigid social distancing guidelines. This study offers a distinctive comparative perspective into religious creativity amidst acute social change, allowing us to showcase notable differences, especially in terms of the possibility to fully perform worship online. We found that whilst all faith communities faced the same challenge of ministering and supporting their communities online, some were able to deliver services and perform worship online but others, for theological reasons, could not offer communal prayer. These differences existed within each religion rather than across religious boundaries, representing intra-faith divergence at the same time as cross-faith convergence. This analysis allows us to go beyond common socio-religious categories of religion, while showcasing the diverse forms of religious life amidst COVID-19. This study also offers a diverse case study of the relationship between religions as well as between religion, state, and society amidst COVID-19.


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