scholarly journals Christian visions of homosexuality: new debates of old churches

2018 ◽  
pp. 144-163
Author(s):  
Alla V. Aristova
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Canon Law ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Christian Anthropology ◽  
Official Position ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Church ◽  
Pastoral Practice

The article is devoted to the study of the relationship between the processes of erosion of the traditional norm vs deviation matrix in the public consciousness and changes in the position of Christian denominations and churches, new tendencies in theological research, canon law, social work, pastoral practice. The purpose of the work is to characterize the processes of diversification of Christian churches for their attitude towards homosexuality under the pressure of changes in the structure of social deviations and the liberalization of the Christian environment. The author defines the main types of historical stigma of homosexuality; characterizes changes in the public opinion of the population of traditionally Christian countries (based on the modern sociological studies); highlights the main innovations in the social doctrine and practice of various Christian denominations; and identifies the dominant trends in eastern and western Christianity in relation to homosexuality. It is substantiated that the contradiction between the official doctrine, the conservative position of the church hierarchy, on the one hand, and liberal tendencies in the public opinion of the secular community, on the other hand, are more or less common to all Christian denominations. The most difficult situation related the Roman Catholic Church, whose followers live in Western countries with a high level of tolerance for homosexuality. Under the pressure of changes in legal institutions, public morals and public opinion, the traditional Christian interpretation of homosexuality is filled with new connotations; changes were introduced in canon law, institute of spiritual education, other religious institutions; the church becomes more open to discuss problems that have long been taboo. Church policy and pastoral practice are based on the clear delineation of the concepts of "homosexuality", "acts of homosexuality", "homosexual inclinations", "homosexual intentions", "homosexual temptation", etc. It has been shown that despite the existing changes in rhetoric, canon law and church practice, the official position of churches is subject to constant critical attacks. Criticism refers not only to the "lack of" acts of homosexuality, the preservation of religious stigma of homosexuality as sin, the condemnation by the church of homosexual behavior, same-sex marriages and gay culture, but also the rooting of patterns of such behavior in monastic and priestly structures. An alternative to the official position of traditional Christian churches is the growing theological movement, which was called "Queer-Theology", which produces its own version of Christian anthropology. Processes of destroying of traditional structure of deviations in the globalized world, from one side, and processes of post-secularizing - from other, generate contradictory consequences for functioning of religious institutes; the palette of possible attitudes to homosexuality becomes complicated. Overall, the differently directed trends were done distinctly in western and east Christianity. In Catholicism, there are processes of liberalization of Christianity, the search for ways to adapt homosexuals to the religious environment, and in the problem field of Christian anthropology new theological interpretations of gender ethics are proposed. In the flow of Orthodoxy, especially of Russian, the fundamentalization and nationalization of Orthodoxy, the defense of the matrix of traditional values will preserve the religious stigma of homosexuality in the future. Research results can be drawn on in the courses of religious-studies and sociological disciplines; in research of the problems of social and religious deviation. Foreseeable assumptions about the development of the research object are finding the best ways to investigate the newest tendencies in attitude of Christian churches toward the social issues of the day; to provide comparative and cross-cultural analysis of processes of diversification of Christian environment.

The Samarin Family and the Parish Question in the Russian Empire. 1860s–1910s

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 235-246
Author(s):  
Alexey L. Beglov
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Church Life ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The Church ◽  
Do So

The article examines the contribution of the representatives of the Samarin family to the development of the Parish issue in the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The issue of expanding the rights of the laity in the sphere of parish self-government was one of the most debated problems of Church life in that period. The public discussion was initiated by D.F. Samarin (1827-1901). He formulated the “social concept” of the parish and parish reform, based on Slavophile views on society and the Church. In the beginning of the twentieth century his eldest son F.D. Samarin who was a member of the Special Council on the development the Orthodox parish project in 1907, and as such developed the Slavophile concept of the parish. In 1915, A.D. Samarin, who took up the position of the Chief Procurator of the Most Holy Synod, tried to make his contribution to the cause of the parish reforms, but he failed to do so due to his resignation.

ВИДОВИЩЕ ТА ВИДОВИЩНІСТЬ В СУЧАСНІЙ КУЛЬТУРІ УКРАЇНИ

2020 ◽  
pp. 110-116
Author(s):  
Admink Admink ◽  
Катерина Гайдукевич
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Contemporary Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social

Обґрунтовано, що видовища характеризуються специфічними ознаками, серед яких варто наголосити на культурній цінності, що виявляється у використанні видовищем різних складових культури. Доведено, що видовища є показниками суспільних зрушень у системі цінностей, ідеологій, наявних і латентних проблем, устремлінь та бажань громадськості. Показано, що в сучасній культурі України пріоритетною є функція соціальної регуляції й формування  суспільної думки, яка реалізується у форматі імітативних практик та множинних культурних інтерпретацій. Проаналізовано напрями, за якими розвиватимуться видовища й видовищність в Україні: зміцнення й популяризація традиційних видовищних заходів; усталення нових видовищних практик; збагачення видовищної культури інноваційними формами та практиками. It is substantiated that the spectacle is characterized by specific features, among which it is worth emphasizing the cultural value that is expressed in the use by the spectacle of different components of the culture. It has been proved that the spectacles are indicators of social shifts in the system of values, ideologies, existing and latent problems, aspirations and desires of the public. It is shown that in the contemporary culture of Ukraine the priority is the function of the social regulation and the formation of the public opinion that is implemented in the format of imitative practices and multiple cultural interpretations. The directions for development of the spectacles and entertainment in Ukraine are analyzed: strengthening and promoting traditional entertainment events; establishing new entertaining practices; the enrichment of the spectacular culture with innovative forms and practices.

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 Panggilan Sosial Gereja Berdasarkan Pelayanan Yesus dalam Lukas 4:18-19: Sebuah Upaya Merevitalisasi Pelayanan Gereja

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Herry Susanto
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Church Ministry ◽  
Book Of Isaiah ◽  
The Third ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Church

Salah satu unsur penting dalam pelayanan gereja yang terabaikan adalah peran sosial gereja untuk mewujudkan kesejahteraan. Padahal warga jemaat berhadapan dengan berbagai isu sosial. Salah satu yang cukup krusial adalah kemiskinan. Dalam upaya merevitalisasi pelayanan gereja, salah satu yang perlu diwujudkan adalah integrasi antara kepedulian sosial dan pelayanan gereja. Artikel ini akan menjelaskan bahwa gereja memiliki panggilan dan tanggung jawab sosial. Fondasi bagi gagasan ini adalah karakteristik pelayanan Yesus yang termuat dalam Lukas 4:18-19, yang merupakan kutipan dari Yesaya 61:1-2; 58:6. Berdasarkan penggunaan Yesaya 61:1-2 yang dikombinasikan dengan Yesaya 58:6, artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa penulis Injil Ketiga memodifikasi kutipan tersebut untuk memperkuat karakteristik sosial dalam pelayanan Yesus. Dimensi sosial pelayanan Yesus merupakan landasan penting untuk membangun pelayanan gerejawi yang memiliki kesadaran sosial untuk membentuk kehidupan umat secara menyeluruh. Dalam menguraikan gagasannya, artikel ini akan menerapkan metode kualitatif yang berorientasi pada studi literatur dan analisis hermeneutika. Adapun pendekatan hermeneutika yang akan diterapkan berfokus pada pembacaan Injil sebagai biografi Yunani-Romawi. Prinsip-prinsip yang umum digunakan dalam metode kritik naratif juga akan diterapkan. Karena adanya kutipan dari Kitab Yesaya, pendekatan hermenutika yang digunakan juga akan menganalisis cara penulis Injil Ketiga menggunakan teks Yesaya tersebut. Artikel ini akan berfokus pada tiga aspek, yaitu karakteristik sosial Injil Ketiga, karakteristik sosial pelayanan Yesus berdasarkan Lukas 4:18-19, dan implikasi dimensi sosial pelayanan Yesus bagi upaya revitalisasi pelayanan gereja. One important element that neglected in church ministry is the social responsibility of the church in realizing the well-being of the community. Whereas the congregation is dealing with various social issues. One that is quite crucial is poverty. In an effort to revitalize church ministry, one that needs to be realized is the integration of social care and church ministry. This article will explain that the church has social calling and responsibility. The foundation for this idea is the characteristics of Jesus' ministry conveyed by Luke 4:18-19, which is a quotation from Isaiah 61:1-2; 58:6. Based on the use of Isaiah 61:1-2 combined with Isaiah 58:6, this article shows that the writer of the Third Gospel modified the quotation to strengthen social characteristics in Jesus' ministry. The social dimension of Jesus' ministry is an important foundation for building church ministries that have social awareness to shape the lives of believers holistically. This article will apply qualitative methods that focus on literary study and hermeneutical analysis. The hermeneutical approach applied here focuses on reading the Gospels as Greco-Roman biography. The principles commonly used in narrative criticism will also be applied. Because of the quotation from the Book of Isaiah, this article will also analyze the way the writer of the Third Gospel used the text of Isaiah. This article will focus on three aspects, namely the social characteristics of the Third Gospel, the social characteristics of Jesus' ministry based on Luke 4: 18-19, and the implications of the social dimension of Jesus' ministry for revitalizing church ministry.

scholarly journals PRAISE OF THE CONVERT: BELIEVE AND BELONG FROM THE CATHOLICITY OF LATIN AMERICA

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-339
Author(s):  
Felipe Gaytán Alcalá
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Church

Latin America was considered for many years the main bastion of Catholicism in the world by the number of parishioners and the influence of the church in the social and political life of the región, but in recent times there has been a decrease in the catholicity index. This paper explores three variables that have modified the identity of Catholicism in Latin American countries. The first one refers to the conversion processes that have expanded the presence of Christian denominations, by analyzing the reasons that revolve around the sense of belonging that these communities offer and that prop up their expansion and growth. The second variable accounts for those Catholics who still belong to the Catholic Church but who in their practices and beliefs have incorporated other magical or esoteric scheme in the form of religious syncretisms, modifying their sense of being Catholics in the world. The third factor has a political reference and has to do with the concept of laicism, a concept that sets its objective, not only in the separation of the State from the Church, but for historical reasons in catholicity restraint in the public space which has led to the confinement of the Catholic to the private, leaving other religious groups to occupy that space.

scholarly journals Social and Political Consequences of the Pandemic for the Russian Orthodox Church

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-558
Author(s):  
Roman N. Lunkin
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cyber Space ◽  
The Church

In the article analyzed the social and political consequences of pandemic of coronavirus for the Russian Orthodox Church in the context of the reaction of different European churches on the quarantine rules and critics towards the church inside Russia. The author used the structural-functional and institutional approaches for the evaluation of the activity of the Russian Orthodox Church, was analyzed the sources of mass-media and the public claims of the clergy. In the article was made a conclusion that Orthodox Church expressed itself during the struggle with coronavirus as national civic institute where could be represented various even polar views. Also the parish activity leads to the formation of the democratic society affiliated with the Church and the role of that phenomenon have to be explored in a future. The coronacrisis makes open the inner potential of the civic activity and different forms of the social service in Russian Church. In the same time pandemic provoked the development of the volunteer activity in the around-church environment and also in the non-church circles among the young people and the generation of 40th age where the idea of the social responsibility for themselves and people around and the significance of the civil rights was one of the popular ideas till 2019. The conditions of the self-isolation also forced the clergy to struggle for their parishioners and once again renovate the role of the church in the society and in the cyber space.

scholarly journals The Limits of Income Inequality: Public Support for Social Policy across Rich Democracies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nate Breznau ◽  
Carola Hommerich
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Liberal Societies ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Income Concentration

Does public opinion react to inequality, and if so, how? The social harms caused by increasing inequality should cause public opinion to ramp up demand for social welfare protections. However, the public may react to inequality differently depending on institutional context. Using ISSP and WID data (1980-2006) we tested these claims. In liberal institutional contexts (mostly English-speaking), increasing income inequality predicted higher support for state provision of social welfare. In coordinated and universalist contexts (mostly of Europe), increasing inequality predicted less support. Historically higher income concentration predicted less public support, providing an account of the large variation in inequality within the respective liberal and coordinated contexts. The results suggest opinions in liberal societies – especially with higher historical inequality – reached the limits of inequality, reacting negatively; whereas in coordinated/universalist societies – especially with lower historical inequality – opinions moved positively, as if desiring more inequality.

Church, State and Secularism in Asia: The Public Nature of the Church in Timor-Leste

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-348
Author(s):  
Joel Hodge
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Nation State ◽  
The Public ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Practical Examination ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Church

Abstract The Western discourse and norms around secularism, particularly Church-state relations, are foreign in many ways to the majority world, especially Asia. However, as the modern nation-state has taken root in Asia, different models of secularism have developed with interesting relationships to the particular cultural and religious context of each country. In the difficult course of forming a secular nation-state, Asian nations have had to address the dominant religious traditions and institutions of each nation, including Christian churches. This process has occasionally provoked conflict and has presented a particular dilemma to Christian churches in how to respond and relate to the developing nation-state. In order for theology to adequately address this situation (particular the context of modern secular discourses) and conceptualise the public shape and role of the church, a practical examination of the church’s relationship to and formation of culture and politics is required. To explore this process, this essay examines the case of Timor-Leste (or East Timor) and its relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in regards to the state-building process that has occurred after independence. The Church’s influence, which grew rapidly during the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999), has been contested since independence by some in the political sphere, such as in the 2005 dispute with the Government. By examining the 2005 dispute, the essay analyses the nature of the Catholic Church’s influence on Timorese cultural and political identity and her relationship with the new Timorese nation-state. The essay identifies the different models of secularism operative in Timor as they have relevance to the Asian context more generally.

Convention and Conversion: Patterns in Late Medieval Piety

1998 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kieckhefer
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cultural Materialism ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Liberal Protestantism ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Teachings ◽  
Ernst Troeltsch ◽  
The Church

Ernst Troeltsch is known to church historians largely for his classic threefold distinction of church, sect, and mysticism. In The Social Teachings of the Christian Churches, Troeltsch describes the church as an institution enmeshed with society and making accommodations to the world's imperfections; the sects, driven by a quest for purity, refuse to make accommodations or compromises, while the mystics stand aside from this conflict and concern themselves with “a purely personal and inward experience” in which “the isolated individual, and psychological abstraction and analysis become everything.” Troeltsch sees mysticism not as a phenomenon naturally at home within the church but rather as one that leads away from the establishment, and it is perhaps this perception in particular that gives his work lasting relevance. The assumption that mysticism veers naturally in an antiecclesial direction, and that its more orthodox manifestations are anomalies requiring explanation, remains very much alive in the literature. Indeed, from the perspective of cultural materialism, it is the political, antiecclesial, subversive bite of mysticism that is its most interesting feature. On this point liberal Protestantism and postmodernism have come together, theology and cultural studies have embraced. Troeltsch's schema thus retains relevance well beyond the sphere of historiography.

Postawy wobec osób z niepełnosprawnością a postawy osób z niepełnosprawnością ruchową wobec ludzi z innym rodzajem niepełnosprawności – próba porównania

2018 ◽  
Vol LXXVIII (5) ◽  
pp. 342-352
Author(s):  
Monika Skura
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
General Public ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Motor Disabilities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

The topic of society's attitudes toward people with disabilities is very frequently explored by researchers, who want to show the transformation and stability of society's beliefs. Analyzing the results that demonstrate communities’ perceptions and attitudes in interactions with people whose appearance and functioning are different, authors attempt to show reasons, changes in attitudes and the level of integration that is taking place. The article attempts to compare the findings of Polish research on the attitudes of nondisabled people toward people with disabilities, and the attitudes of people with motor disabilities to people with disabilities different than their own. The paper includes the results of research conducted by the researchers of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) and the Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS) as well as the results of the author’s own research in which 90 people with motor disabilities expressed their position on people with different disabilities. The article aims to show the attitudes of the study participants and attempts to evaluate if their attitudes differ from the position of the general public. A diagnostic survey was used in the study. The findings indicate that people with motor disabilities, similarly to their environment, copy the social patterns of perception and judgment regarding different groups of people with disabilities. The participants agreed with popular beliefs not only on the question of support for integration and assistance, but also on preferences and judgments concerning different groups of people with disabilities. The study conducted suggests that it is difficult for people with motor disabilities, as it is for nondisabled people, to open up to relationships with people with various disabilities.

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