scholarly journals Theological reflections on multi-religious identity

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyri Komulainen

This article attempts to provide a theological assessment of multireligious identity, especially in the context of the Hindu-Christian encounters. The paper rests on recent post-colonialist literature on religion and assumes that the so-called ‘religions’ are open-ended cultural traditions and that the Christian tradition is capable of encompassing different world-views and cultural traditions. Following the initial observations, which highlight the ambiguity of the concept ‘religion’ as well as the radical diversity of the so-called religious traditions, the possibility of delineating a Christian identity in the midst of cultural and religious dynamics is explored. If the common feature of Jesus of Nazareth and the theological idea of incarnation are taken into account, the most vital tenets of the Christian faith entail a constant call for contextualization. Since all cultures also display religious dimensions, i.e. a fundamental openness to transcendence, this contextualization embraces also those traditions that have been labelled traditionally as ‘religions’. In addition to these theoretical observations, two instances of Hindu-Christianity—Brahmabandhav Upadhyaya (1861–1907) and Raimon Panikkar (b. 1918)—are presented and discussed. The article concludes that from the point of view of Christian theology, the Christian faith can also adopt such forms that could be labeled ‘multi-religious’. The decisive factor is, however, whether the Christian narrative may provide the meta-narrative of multi-religious identity, i.e. whether it is the one that transforms other cultural narratives.Jyri Komulainen is Docent in Dogmatics in University of Helsinki, Finland. Website: http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/jykomula/

1977 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Lipner

I want to consider in this paper a question that is looming large in the theology of most world religions, not least in the Christian tradition. The following discussion will be confined to the Christian standpoint, though I hope mutatis mutandis the main points will be seen to apply to other religious perspectives as well. Specifically then, this question can be ex–pressed in two ways. We may ask, (i) in the context of the contemporary dialogue situation, how is the committed Christian to regard the adherents of non–Christian religions? and (ii) what status do these alien belief–systems have with respect to the Christian faith–response? Both forms of the issue are often discussed it seems to me without due attention being given to an important distinction between them. So, at the outset, it will be useful to make one or two observations about this. First of all, it is inevitable, I think, that an evaluational factor is implied by both formulations. We are pondering a basically Christian assessment of religious traditions that are non–Christian, and any solution suggested which eventually eliminates a one-sided overall perspective will apparently put us in a dilemma. For, on the one hand, a Christian theology of religions will be expected to produce a Christian (and therefore evaluational) result; on the other hand, a finally nonevaluational solution seems unable to be called a Christian view of things at all. In the event of such a ‘neutral theology’ as the latter resulting (by no means a purely speculative question as we shall see), is the dilemma that becomes apparent a genuine one, or can it be resolved by a more stringent analysis of the relevant issues?


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 135-143
Author(s):  
Anna Hłuszko

Shock content as a manipulative component of conflict discourseDifficult socio-political situation in Ukraine creates specific media discourse, which in turn gives rise to a number of phenomena, connected to information war categories, war of meanings, hate speech etc. Active entry of military issues into web news content affects traditional approach to the media-text drafting. The report examines the trends of shock visual content and its announcement in the web headlines. The influence of the content emotionalization, which is one of the common features for conflict discourse, not only on text style, but also on features of page making, selection and use of photo illustrations, headline creation, is studied. The material covering military developments usually involve deaths, injuries, loss, destruction of settlements as a result of hostilities, that is, they focus on information on suffering of both military and civilians. This results in stronger integration of shock visual content into the news, which in turn may be used as manipulation and propaganda tool. On the one hand it is used to demonstrate crimes of the enemy, on the other — as an evidence of Ukrainian military success. From the point of view of ethic and humanism the justification of such tactic is doubtful in both cases. However, the study shows that open image of death, blood, injuries in the materials and the announcement of such content in headlines are the cause of high popularity of such publications, and this mainstreams the problem of dehumanizing impact both on material’s subjects and on media audience.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (18) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Mauro Meireles

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p>A eucaristia é um rito católico que visa reafirmar a fé cristã. O presente texto ocupa-se, portanto, da eucaristia enquanto ato instituinte do ser e busca pensar o referido rito a partir da perspectiva de Mikhail Bakhtin. Desta feita e a partir do enfoque da antropologia, se ancora em certas sínteses na medida em que, a validade daquilo que se pressupõe verdade, do ponto de vista da cognição, não depende do fato desta ser ou não ser conhecida por alguém. Pois, é o homem que une fé e rito, que une verdades da ciência e fenômenos físicos. Desta feita, tem-se então que, quando postulamos a existência de Deus a partir de certos escritos canônicos – e o reafirmamos no rito eucarístico – lhe conferimos existência e tangibilidade. Sobretudo, defende- se no decorrer do texto que a eucaristia, seja enquanto ato instituinte, seja enquanto rito, nada mais é do que uma enunciação de si sobre si que só tem significado, manifesto em seu conteúdo- sentido, se enunciado por aquele que experimenta e executa o ato.</p></div></div><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>P</span><span>ALAVRAS</span><span>-C</span><span>HAVE</span><span>: </span><span>Eucaristia. Rito Eucarístico. Mikhail Bakhtin. Rito e Fé. Antropologia da Religião. </span></p><p><span>A</span><span>BSTRACT </span></p><p><span>Eucharist is a Catholic rite that aims to reaffirm the Christian faith. This paper analyzes the Eucharist rite as instituted act of being and aims think that rite in the Mikhail Bakhtin ́s perspective. So, from an anthropology's approach, it is based in some perspectives that recognize validity in of what is assumed true, in a cognition point of view, depends on whether this is or is not known to anyone. That is because the man is the one who unites faith and rite, truths of science and physical phenomena. Therefore, when we postulate the existence of God from certain canonical writings - and reaffirm the Eucharistic rite, we give him existence and tangibility. Most of all, this text argued that the Eucharist is as instituted act or a rite, is nothing more than a statement of itself that only has meaning, manifest in their content-sense, if enunciated by one who experience and performs the act. </span></p><p><span>K</span><span>EYWORDS</span><span>: </span><span>Eucharist. Eucharistic rite. Mikhail Bakhtin. Ritual and faith. Anthropology of Religion </span></p></div></div></div>


Author(s):  
François Provenzano

The so called French-speaking world is much more than a community of speakers using the same language. Since the era of decolonization, language has become a major economical stake for France, as well as an important symbolic struggle against Anglo-Saxon linguistic and political hegemony. In the academic context also, the developments of Francophone studies demonstrate a current preoccupation with integrating francophone reality into the common encyclopaedia. This paper steps back from such contemporary debates. Analysing the historical and epistemological backgrounds from which francophone projects have been emerging since the end of the nineteenth century, the paper discusses a number of useful concepts for approaching francophone realities. I argue that the main difficulty of the theoretical work in this field is the diversity of definitions of the object, as well as the inability to separate it from ideological content. Starting with the so called first occurrence of the word ‘francophonie’, I examine the institutional, sociolinguistic, poetical and socioliterary definitions that have attempted to explain the constitutive dimensions of an abstract francophone unity. Taking a metacritical point of view, and inspired by Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological works on the one hand and discursive approaches on the other, this article hopes to present pointers for future research into the study of French-speaking zones, peoples and cultures.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-284
Author(s):  
Fumitaka Matsuoka

The question to be explored is that of how far a Christian identity can be stretched and yet still remain “Christian” and who determines the limits and for what reasons. This question is explored in light of the kakure kirishitan (hidden Christians) studies in Japan. More precisely, the question is that of how the historically singular epistemology embodied in the “one-God” understandings of Christianity has played out in multiple readings of reality, a “many gods” epistemology, in Japan. This is an exploration of the “meaning of divine revelation of Christ” set within the context of ecclesia semper reformanda. I would claim that the “character of love” as defined by Ernst Troeltsch’s notion of the revelation of Christ (“In our earthly experiences the Divine Life is not One, but Many. But to apprehend the One in the Many constitutes the special character of love”), which is a distinct Christian faith paradigm, contrary to the popular paradigm in the academic and civic discourse of “one in many,” takes on the character of “the sounding of the heart.” Even when the historical identity of Christ is extensively eroded, the “sounding” speaks to people beyond the difference of the worlds with a language that is so intimate that it profoundly grasps the heart.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Knauss ◽  
Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati

In this introductory article to the special issue of Religion and Gender on gender, normativity and visuality, we establish the theoretical framework to discuss the influence of visual culture on gender norms. This introduction also provides a reflection on how these norms are communicated, reaffirmed and contested in religious contexts. We introduce the notion of visuality as individual and collective signifying practices, with a particular focus on how this regards gender norms. Two main ways in which religion, gender and normativity are negotiated in visual meaning making processes are outlined: on the one hand, the religious legitimation of gender norms and their communication and confirmation through visual material, and on the other hand, the challenge of these norms through the participation in visual culture by means of seeing and creating. These introductory reflections highlight the common concerns of the articles collected in this issue: the connection between the visualisation of gender roles within religious traditions and the influence of religious gender norms in other fields of (visual) culture.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 325
Author(s):  
M. Baharudin ◽  
Muhammad Aqil Luthfan

<p>This study is conducted to answer an important question: is there any transcendent unity behind the diversity or plurality of religions and religiosity? This question will be answered through perennial philosophy approach. The study found that, according to perennial philosophers, there is a transcendent unity behind the diversity or plurality of religions and religiosity. This transcendent unity is seen in ‘the common vision’, or what in Islam is called the ‘basic message of religion’, namely ‘submission’ to always fear God and live His presence in everyday life. Further, the perennial philosophers argue that the True God is one; therefore, all religions emerging from the One are in principle the same for they come from the same source. In other words, the diversity of religions and religiosity lies only in the exoteric level, and all religions actually have a transcendent unity in the esoteric level. However, in this case, the perennial philosophers do not mean to unify or equate all religions. In fact, they try to open a way to a spiritual ascent through the reviving of the religious traditions in every religion.</p><p>Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menjawab sebuah pertanyaan penting: adakah kesatuan transenden di balik keragaman atau pluralitas agama dengan religiusitas? Pertanyaan ini akan dijawab melalui pendekatan filsafat perennial. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa, menurut para filsuf perennial, ada kesatuan transenden di balik keragaman atau pluralitas agama dan religiusitas. Kesatuan transenden ini terlihat dalam pandangan bersama, atau apa yang di dalam Islam disebut pesan dasar agama, yaitu tunduk untuk selalu takut kepada Tuhan dan menjalani kehadiran-Nya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Selanjutnya, para filsuf perennial berpendapat bahwa Tuhan yang Sejati adalah satu. Oleh karena itu, semua agama yang muncul dari Yang Satu pada prinsipnya sama karena mereka berasal dari sumber yang sama. Dengan kata lain, keragaman agama dan religiusitas hanya terletak pada tingkat eksoteris, dan semua agama benar-benar memiliki kesatuan transenden di tingkat esoteris. Namun, dalam kasus ini, filsuf perennial tidak bermaksud menyatukan atau menyamakan semua agama. Sebenarnya, mereka mencoba membuka jalan menuju pendakian spiritual melalui kebangkitan kembali tradisi keagamaan di setiap agama.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Agnieszka KIJEWSKA

This paper presents an outline of the way Boethius conceived the human path to the Supreme Good (Summum bonum). In order to achieve this goal one has first to specify the way he construed this Supreme Good, and this discussion is naturally related to the much-discussed problem concerning the Christian identity of Boethius: was he indeed a Christian? does his Consolation, from which any overt allusions to Christian faith are absent, provide us with any clue as to whether the Supreme Good of Boethius can be identified with the God of the Gospel? In the course of the analysis we propound a hypothesis that the message that Boethius puts forward through the means of his Consolation and the utterances he puts in the mouth of his dame Philosophy are not far removed from the advice offered by Fulgentius to Proba. She, too, was encouraged to acknowledge her own weakness and lack of sufficiency, to be contrite, and to have humble trust in wisdom and guidance of God, who is the best of all doctors. Is dame Philosophy’s message not very similar? did not Alcuin, who regarded himself as a faithful «disciple» of Boethius, share a conception of philosophy as being the «teacher of virtues» and wisdom, as the one who leads man along the path of wisdom towards the divine light?


1986 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-550
Author(s):  
A. K. Min

One Of the many challenges of the theology of liberation of Latin America (TL or LT) has been to rethink the relation between theory (theology) and praxis. A debate, which has been going on for over a century among philosophers and social thinkers since Hegel and Marx has finally hit the serene shores of Christian theology. Are theory and praxis two co-equal dimensions of human existence, or is the one derivative from the other? Is Christian faith primarily a matter of theory, belief and truth, or is it primarily a matter of praxis, action and justice? Is theology only a reflection on faith or a reflection in faith as well? What is the relation between theology and contemporary historical praxis? Does theology have to remain ‘external’ to that praxis in order to preserve its critical objectivity, or is participation of theology in that praxis the very condition of its objectivity? Is the prior commitment of theology— so much insisted on by TL — to the praxis of liberation detrimental or necessary to the integrity of theology? In this essay I propose to deal with these issues in the context of recent debates between Schubert Ogden and the Vatican on the one hand and TL on the other. I shall first review Ogden's and the Vatican's critique of TL, then present the position of TL, and finally evaluate both TL and its critics and reconstruct a theory of the relation between theology and praxis in light of the preceding discussion.


Author(s):  
Harvey C. Kwiyani

This chapter explores some connections between umunthu (a Malawian translation of Ubuntu) and the Christian faith in the hope that a dialogue between these two key themes of contemporary African life contributes to emerging postcolonial theological discourse in the world, especially at a time when African Christians are increasingly becoming the most visible and vocal in world Christianity. To do this, the chapter begins by reflecting on how the author's community in southern Malawi understands umunthu and the implications that growing up surrounded by this Ubuntu-shaped community has had on his own religious identity and thought and his understanding of the world. Following this, it explores umunthu in the context of postcolonial Christian Africa and the African diaspora. In the end, it calls for African Christians to find innovative ways to let ubuntu shape their Christianity.


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