scholarly journals Creativity, Community, Change: Functions of and motives for singing niggunim

1970 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 284-305
Author(s):  
Ruth Illman
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
Musical Practices ◽  
Mystical Traditions ◽  
Depth Interviews

Jewish musical practices stemming from Kabbalah and Hasidic mystical traditions are currently the object of growing attention among a variety of different Jewish communities in Europe and North America, as well as in non-Jewish spiritual circles. This article focuses on contemporary practices of niggunim – the (mostly) wordless melodies with roots in Hasidic Jewish traditions, sung, chanted and sometimes danced in preparation for, or as a form of, ardent prayer. The practice is seen as an example of the expressive, engaging, emotional and embodied forms of prayer that currently attract many Jews of different institutional attachments. As niggunim travel into new contexts, they are reframed and reconsidered in order to meet the needs and expectations of contemporary religious communities, characterised by a liberal and egalitarian, global and transformative religiosity. The article seeks to explore the different functions niggunim are put to today and the motives which drive different people to engage in the practice. The analysis is based on ethno-graphic material in the form of in-depth interviews conducted among progressive Jews in the London area. As a conclusion, the article suggests an approach to contemporary niggunim practices that incorporates perspectives from both literature and ethnography in order to deepen the understanding of the motives for and functions of singing niggunim today.

scholarly journals Interreligious Dialogue Groups Enabling Human Agency

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Roger Campdepadrós-Cullell ◽  
Miguel Ángel Pulido-Rodríguez ◽  
Jesús Marauri ◽  
Sandra Racionero-Plaza
Keyword(s):  
Human Agency ◽  
Interreligious Dialogue ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Dialogic Learning ◽  
United Nations Educational ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Diversity Issues ◽  
Dialogue Groups ◽  
Depth Interviews

Evidence has shown that interreligious dialogue is one of the paths to build bridges among diverse cultural and religious communities that otherwise would be in conflict. Some literature reflects, from a normative standpoint, on how interreligious dialogue should be authentic and meaningful. However, there is scarce literature on what conditions contribute to this dialogue achieving its desirable goals. Thus, our aim was to examine such conditions and provide evidence of how interreligious dialogue enables human agency. By analyzing the activity of interreligious dialogue groups, we document the human agency they generate, and we gather evidence about the features of the conditions. For this purpose, we studied four interreligious dialogue groups, all affiliated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Association for Interreligious Dialogue (AUDIR), employing in-depth interviews and discussion groups. In these groups, which operate in diverse and multicultural neighborhoods, local actors and neighbors hold dialogues about diversity issues. In so doing, social coexistence, friendship ties, and advocacy initiatives arise. After analyzing the collected data, we conclude that for interreligious dialogue to result in positive and promising outputs, it must meet some principles of dialogic learning, namely equality of differences, egalitarian dialogue, cultural intelligence, solidarity, and transformation.

scholarly journals Whose Golden Age? Some Thoughts on Jewish-Christian Relations in Medieval Iberia

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Ray
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Social Standing ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Spanish History ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
Interfaith Relations ◽  
Medieval Iberia

The medieval period in Spanish history has alternately been cast as a Golden Age of interfaith harmony and an example of the ultimate incompatibility of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities.  In this essay, I suggest that a better way to understand interfaith relations in medieval Iberia is to think about these religious communities in less monolithic terms.   With regard to Jewish-Christian relations in particular, factors such as wealth, social standing, and intellectual interests were as important as religious identity in shaping the complex bonds between Christians and Jews. 

‘Spiritual Risk’: A Parental Perception of Risk for Children in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1198-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yochay Nadan ◽  
Netanel Gemara ◽  
Rivka Keesing ◽  
Esther Bamberger ◽  
Dorit Roer-Strier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Orthodox Jewish ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Parental Perception ◽  
Spiritual Beliefs ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Parental Maltreatment ◽  
Depth Interviews

AbstractThis article addresses child protection in close-knit religious communities. Specifically, it presents the findings of a qualitative research project that examined Ultra-Orthodox Jewish parents’ perceptions and ascribed meanings of child risk and protection based on fifty in-depth interviews with parents from Israel and the USA. Here, we hone in on one key theme that emerged from our analysis of the interviews, which the interviewees themselves referred to as ‘spiritual risk’. ‘Spiritual risk’ is a complex construct comprising the following three interrelated dimensions: (i) a decline in observance of the Torah and the commandments, (ii) violation of socio-cultural norms and rules and (iii) a decline in spiritual beliefs, including the sense of connection with G-d. In the eyes of parents, it is decline in these three dimensions that constitutes the ‘spiritual risk’ to the child. ‘Spiritual risk’ can be a consequence of parental maltreatment and can result in children and adolescents moving away from the Ultra-Orthodox religious world and leaving their community. The results of this study advocate context-informed and religious-sensitive prevention and intervention programmes. They also highlight the need to include context and religious competency in the training of professionals working with diverse communities.

scholarly journals Komunikasi Multikultural dalam Menjaga Kerukunan Antar Umat Beragama di Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rini Fitria
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Type Data ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Collection Methods

The title of this research is Multicultural Communication in Maintaining Diversity among People of Diversity in Bengkulu Tengah Regency. The Research Team is: Rini Fitria, Japarudin and Nur Ibrahim. Research problem formulation of how multicultural communication in maintaining harmony between religious communities in Bengkulu Tengah regency. The purpose of this study is exploratory research, answering the formulation of the problem and providing solutions to understanding multicultural communication in maintaining harmony between religious communities in Sunda Kelapa and Abu Sakim villages, Pondok Kelapa subdistrict, Pondok Kelapa district, Bengkulu Tengah district. To examine these problems in depth and thoroughly, researchers used a qualitative approach with a descriptive type. Data collection methods used were participant observation, in-depth interviews and documentation studies. Analysis of the data used is triangulation. The results of the study are 1) Multicultural communication in Sunda Kelapa and Abu Sakim villages in the Cultural and Religious Studies is used effectively by the community. 2) The multicultural communication process in Sunda Kelapa and Abu Sakim villages uses a process of thoughtful sensation, perception, thinking and motivation so that harmony can be maintained well. 3) Multicultural communication in maintaining harmony between religious communities in the villages of Sunda Kelapa and Abu Sakim emphasizes religious tolerance in the form of mutual respect, respect, care, consensus and help.

Varieties of Atheism in Science

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Howard Ecklund ◽  
David R. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Science And Religion ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Daniel Dennett ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Science In Society ◽  
New Atheism ◽  
Depth Interviews

Not all atheists are New Atheists, but thanks in large part to the prominence and influence of New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens, New Atheism has claimed the pulpit of secularity in Western society. New Atheists have given voice to marginalized nonreligious individuals and underscored the importance of science in society. They have also advanced a derisive view of religion and forcefully argued that science and religion are intrinsically in conflict. Many in the public think that all scientists are atheists and all atheist scientists are New Atheists, militantly against religion and religious people. But what do everyday atheist scientists actually think about religion? Drawing on a survey of 1,293 atheist scientists in the U.S. and U.K., and 81 follow-up in-depth interviews, this book explains the pathways that led to atheism among scientists, the diverse views of religion they hold, their perspectives on the limits of what science can explain, and their views of meaning and morality. The findings reveal a vast gulf between the rhetoric of New Atheism in the public sphere and the reality of atheism in science. The story of the varieties of atheism in science is consequential for scientific and religious communities and points to tools for dialogue between these seemingly disparate groups.

scholarly journals Paleogene community change among terrestrial vertebrates of the Western Hemisphere

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 282-282
Author(s):  
Richard K. Stucky
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Dental Morphology ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Morphological Adaptations ◽  
Dinosaur Extinction

Paleogene vertebrate communities in North and South America show dramatic changes in taxonomic composition and ecological organization. Worldwide, mammals diversified substantially following dinosaur extinction (Fig. 1). Most families of living vertebrates appear by the end of the Paleogene. In North America, placental omnivores, herbivores and carnivores dominate mammalian communities, but in South America marsupial carnivores and omnivores and placental herbivores dominate them. Immigration from Asia and Europe to North America of taxa from several placental orders (Perissodactyla, Primates, Artiodactyla, Rodentia, Carnivora, Mesonychia, Creodonta) occurred periodically during the Paleogene. South America, however, was completely isolated from the Paleocene to the Oligocene when Rodentia and perhaps Primates first appear. Despite the independent evolutionary histories of these continents, their constituent species show remarkable convergences in morphological adaptations including body size distributions, dental morphology, and other features. Low resolution chronostratigraphic data for the Paleogene of South America precludes correlation with North American faunas. In North America, patterns of diversification and extinction appear to be related to climatic events. Morphological convergences appear to be related to climate and concomitant habitat change, but may also be a function of coevolution via predator-prey interactions and diffuse competition among guild members.

scholarly journals “Living Between Two Different Worlds”: Experiences of Leaving a High-Cost Religious Group

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Björkmark ◽  
Peter Nynäs ◽  
Camilla Koskinen
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Religious Group ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Life Change ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Interdisciplinary Study ◽  
Depth Interviews

AbstractThe aim of this interdisciplinary study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of individuals’ subjective experiences after leaving a high-cost religious group and how these experiences have affected their lives. In-depth interviews were done with 18 participants who had left different religious communities in Finland. The interviews were analysed through a thematic analysis. The results show that religious disaffiliation is a life change that may affect an individual’s life in profound ways. Life after being a member of a high-cost group may involve experiences of fear, guilt, sorrow, pain, loss and even suffering on an existential level. These experiences can have serious implications for one’s well-being and health. However, life after religious disaffiliation also includes many positive aspects, such as experiences of joy, freedom, relief, gratitude and empowerment.

scholarly journals Lack of fidelity revealed in an insect–fungal mutualism after invasion

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 20130342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Wooding ◽  
Michael J. Wingfield ◽  
Brett P. Hurley ◽  
Jeffrey R. Garnas ◽  
Peter de Groot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Culture Methods ◽  
Sirex Noctilio ◽  
Sirex Nigricornis ◽  
Obligate Mutualism ◽  
Novel Associations

Symbiont fidelity is an important mechanism in the evolution and stability of mutualisms. Strict fidelity has been assumed for the obligate mutualism between Sirex woodwasps and their mutualistic Amylostereum fungi. This assumption has been challenged in North America where the European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio , and its fungal mutualist, Amylostereum areolatum , have recently been introduced. We investigate the specificity of the mutualism between Sirex and Amylostereum species in Canada, where S. noctilio co-infests Pinus with native Sirex nigricornis and its mutualist, Amylostereum chailletii . Using phylogenetic and culture methods, we show that extensive, reciprocal exchange of fungal species and strains is occurring, with 75.3 per cent of S. nigricornis carrying A. areolatum and 3.5 per cent of S. noctilio carrying A. chailletii . These findings show that the apparent specificity of the mutualism between Sirex spp. and their associated Amylostereum spp. is not the result of specific biological mechanisms that maintain symbiont fidelity. Rather, partner switching may be common when shifting geographical distributions driven by ecological or anthropogenic forces bring host and mutualist pairs into sympatry. Such novel associations have potentially profound consequences for fitness and virulence. Symbiont sharing, if it occurs commonly, may represent an important but overlooked mechanism of community change linked to biological invasions.

scholarly journals RELIGIOUS MODERATION IN KARAPASAN THE LOCAL CULTURE OF TANA TORAJA COMMUNITY IN SOUTH SULAWESI

Al-Qalam ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Faizal Bachrong ◽  
Fitrah Auliya Ansar
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
Title Page ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Local Culture ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
South Sulawesi ◽  
Depth Interviews

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>This study aims to find out the religious moderation oriented on local wisdom in the local community, the function of local wisdom in establishing a religious moderation climate, and local wisdom development strategies that contain elements of religious moderation that can be implemented in the policy. This study used descriptive research to explore the local wisdom in the developing community which interrelated with religious moderation. The study was conducted in Tana Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi Province. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with informants, document study, and field observations. The data collected then analyzed in the writing stage and were analyzed when being reduced, then were presented in the form of a description. The results of this study indicated as follows: (1) the religious moderation oriented local wisdom contained in the local community are Aluk Tondolo and the Tongkonan traditional house as parts of the culture and local wisdom of Tana Toraja, (2) The Tongkonan traditional house is a symbol of harmony and kinship which contains some local wisdom, including the Rambu Solo, Rambu Tuka and Karapasan ceremonies, in which the Karapasan Culture is believed by its adherents or the Toraja tribe to be a path towards peace, (3) The moderation of life with ambiance of harmony between religious communities has gone very well since the Toraja people know harmonious life between 2 (two) or more different religions.</span></p></div></div></div>

Martyrdom and Religion in North America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Chastain Weimer
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
New England ◽  
American History ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Islamic Theology ◽  
Joseph Smith ◽  
Definition Of Death ◽  
Definition Of

In American history, venerating a death as martyrdom has been a way of claiming its significance within a narrative of ultimate victory. The words for martyr in both Greek and Arabic literally mean “witness”: martyrs’ willingness to die is a form of witness to the truth of a tradition. Figures claimed as martyrs in American history from the Mormon leader Joseph Smith to Baptist civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. have often prophesied their own deaths, embracing the hope that their sacrifice will inspire zeal in others. Religious communities in North America have commemorated martyrs through stories, paintings, shrines, maps, monuments, poetry, liturgy, and theological reflections. The category of martyrdom tends to become more diffuse over time. Moving beyond a strict definition of death for the faith, Americans have used the language of martyrdom to find spiritual significance in a range of physical and interior sufferings. For example, both French Canadian nuns and New England puritans claimed their daily colonial sufferings as a form of martyrdom. Narratives of martyrdom have also played an important role in political movements such as the anti-lynching crusade of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Martyr language can even push the boundaries of what constitutes religion itself. In the 20th century, the suffering of American jazz musicians, denied civil rights, has been described as martyrdom. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks by radical jihadists seeking martyrdom, the term has often been associated with terrorism. Debates about justifications for violence in the Qur’an and the true meaning of jihad have taken place among politicians, religious leaders, and academic scholars. This intense focus on Islamic theology of martyrdom has led both to widespread suspicion of Muslims (and those of South Asian and Middle Eastern descent generally) as well as to new ecumenical commitments to a shared ethic of loving God and neighbor.

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