Praying through the pandemic: Religion, uncertainty, and care

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARKÉTA DOLEŽALOVÁ
Keyword(s):  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Church Members ◽  
Material Support ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Prayer Meetings ◽  
Private Homes ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church ◽  
Gain Access

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Roma Pentecostal converts in England continued to meet for religious gatherings and communal prayer, either outdoors or in private homes of church members, despite measures put in place by the British government that limited the number of social contacts between individuals and at times forbade visiting other households. Among the members of the Life and Light church are many who belong to one of the high-risk categories for complications from Covid-19. Why would converts take part in activities that involved increased risk of virus transmission and increase their possibility of getting ill? This paper draws on informal online and in-person conversations with Roma that took place during the summer and autumn of 2020 and reflects on religion and communal prayer as a strategy of coping with the heightened uncertainty brought by the pandemic. It argues that participating in religious meetings where people jointly pray for others, both those who present and those who are absent, is an intangible form of care that helps to forge, shape, and maintain social relationships and creates a sense of belonging and continuity. In addition, praying is an embodied expression of one’s relationship to a transcendental entity, Jesus, and of placing oneself into the caring hands of God and Jesus. Lastly, the Church provides material support for members who are in a difficult financial situation. Participating in Church activities like prayer meetings is an expression of belonging to a religious collectivity and can help gain access to this material help in situations when access to state-provided care and material support is limited or absent, thus opening for church members the possibility of tangible forms of care. The paper looks at the role of religion in dealing with the uncertainty that Roma migrants experience when dealing with the state and going about their everyday lives and the upheaval and increased uncertainty brought by the pandemic.

scholarly journals The Bones of Contention: The Secularization of Cemeteries and Funerals in the Spanish Second Republic

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-95
Author(s):  
Matthew Kerry
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Culture War ◽  
Second Republic ◽  
The People ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church

The secularizing efforts of the Spanish Second Republic met fierce resistance from Catholics and the Church. Local authorities spearheaded secularization in an unclear legal context, yet they also attempted to mediate between different demands, while protecting Catholic sentiment and respecting property rights. Cemeteries and funeral processions were a key battleground in a ‘culture war’ which straddles the nineteenth-century preoccupation with the role of religion in the lives of Spanish citizens and the intensity of interwar conflict, the bitter struggles to occupy public space, and the mobilization of antagonistic conceptualizations of the ‘people’.

scholarly journals THE PLACE OF WORSHIP IN SOLEMNIZATION OF A MARRIAGE

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-294
Author(s):  
Wendy Kennett
Keyword(s):  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Constituent Element ◽  
History Of ◽  
English Law ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Alternative Solutions ◽  
The Church

AbstractThe recent decision of the United Kingdom Supreme Court in Regina (Hodkin and another) v Registrar General for Births, Deaths and Marriages concerned the registration of the premises belonging to the Church of Scientology in London as a place of worship, specifically for the purpose of enabling a marriage to take place there which would be valid in law. This article examines the continuing significance of a registered place of worship in the English law rules on formalities of marriage. It provides a brief history of the role of religion in the solemnization of marriages in England and Wales, and the emergence of the “place of worship” as a constituent element in the celebration of a valid marriage. The role of marriage at a registered place of worship in the current legislation governing the formalities of marriage is considered, along with the impact on that scheme of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The exceptional character of the approach adopted by English law is highlighted by a comparative survey of laws on the solemnization of marriages, which also demonstrates some of the problems arising out of alternative solutions. Finally, recent attempts to reform the law are noted, followed by some concluding remarks on possible future developments.

Ethno-Regionalism, Politics and the Role of Religion in Zambia: Changing Ecumenical Landscapes in a Christian Nation, 2015-2018

Exchange ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-126
Author(s):  
Teddy Chalwe Sakupapa
Keyword(s):  
Religion And Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Religion And Ethnicity ◽  
Ethnicity And Politics ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Christian Nation ◽  
The Church

Abstract This contribution explores the interaction between religion and politics in a religiously plural and ethnically multidimensional Zambian context. Given the political salience of both religion and ethnicity in Zambian politics, this research locates an understudied aspect in the discourse on religion and politics in Zambia, namely the multiple relations between religion, ethnicity and politics. It specifically offers a historical-theological analysis of the implications that the political mobilisation of religion has for ecumenism in Zambia since Edgar Chagwa Lungu became the country’s president (2015-2018). Underlining the church-dividing potential of non-theological (doctrinal) factors, the article argues that the ‘political mobilisation of religion’ and the ‘pentecostalisation of Christianity’ in Zambia are reshaping the country’s ecumenical landscapes. Accordingly, this contribution posits the significance of ecumenical consciousness among churches and argues for a contextual ecumenical ecclesiology.

Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) and Early Christianity

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. C. Frend
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Ancient Rome ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
Secular Society ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church

Thus Gibbon opened the thirty-seventh chapter of the History of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, a lengthy chapter devoted to the twin topics of ‘the institution of monastic life’ and ‘the conversion of the northern barbarians’. The connection between the history of the Roman Empire and the Christian Church was indeed indissoluble. The Church was destined to follow the pattern of the empire by gradually degenerating as it grew in strength from original purity in the life of Christ and the Apostles to become a corrupt and baleful influence on the fortunes of secular society. Looking back over twenty years of research and writing (1767–87) he wrote near the beginning of his final chapter, ‘In the preceding volumes of this History, I have described the triumph of barbarism and religion and I can only resume in a few words, their real or imaginary connection with the ruin of ancient Rome.’ He goes on to list ‘potent and forcible causes of destruction’ by barbarians and Christians respectively. As he finally laid down his pen on 27 June 1787 at Lausanne, he concluded with a sentence whose strict accuracy has sometimes been doubted: ‘It was among the ruins of the Capitol that I first conceived the idea of a work which has amused and exercised twenty years of my life, and which, however inadequate to my wishes, I finally deliver to the curiosity and candour of the public.’ The date of this decision was 15 October 1764. Here we survey briefly the role of ‘religion’, i.e. Christianity in the ruin of the Roman Empire.

scholarly journals Euodia, Syntyche and the Role of Syzygos: Phil 4:2–3

2018 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-234
Author(s):  
Richard G. Fellows ◽  
Alistair C. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Church Leaders ◽  
The Other ◽  
Church Members ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Church

Abstract In Phil 4:2–3 Paul urges Euodia and Syntyche to unite with each other. He also addresses ‘true yokefellow’, and asks him to assist the two women. This paper disputes the almost universally held assumption that Paul was asking him to mediate a conflict between the two women. Rather, Paul is here calling the church leaders, Euodia and Syntyche, to have the mind of Christ and to foster unity among the Philippian churches, and the other church members to support them. The term ‘true yokefellow’ is a piece of ‘idealized praise’ and is Paul’s way of diplomatically correcting one or more church members.

scholarly journals Anthropological Aspects of Problem Of God, Faith and Grace

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-63
Author(s):  
Edward Ozorowski
Keyword(s):  
Practical Theology ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Moral Theology ◽  
Christian Religion ◽  
The Will ◽  
Homo Faber ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church

e arguments presented here can be qualified as a part of the more extensiveproblem concerning relations between the Christian religion and human nature.We have only limited ourselves to paying attention to the essential componentsof the religious phenomenon&Y. It seems, however, that in the context of all thesetheological theses and church rites, the question should be posed about howthey arise from human existence as well as how they can serve it since only thenwould their fully anthropological value be fully manifested. What is more, oneshould refer to a religious phenomenon as such and consider Christianity in itscontext. Christian religion, in spite of its essential separateness from other religions,shares many common features with them. Christians, therefore considerimportant the philosophical question of whether religiousness defines man to thesame extent as the category homo sapiens, homo socialis, homo faber, etc. does&_.e problem of the role that religion plays in human life is also significant. Manyscholars, for example, emphasize the personality-forming role of religion andits role in maintaining man’s mental health;`.Man is then the point of reference when proving the raison d’être of theChristian religion. It is not enough to say that the Church comes from God, wemust also justify that it is necessary for people.Similarly, the problem of verification of the Christian religion does notonly consist in proving that the present-day Church comes from Christ and thatin its historical duration it remains faithful to the will of its founder, but alsoin justification of the thesis that it represents the value necessary for people. Since according to the scholastic principle of verum, it can be considered ensand bonum at the same time. e latter is, however, an anthropological issue.Also dogmatic and moral theology, not to mention practical theology andtheology of internal life, which by their very nature deal with man, is characterizedby an anthropological attitude. We have already mentioned that contemporaryCatholic theology is strongly inclined towards anthropology. It must beadded here that the interests of dogmatics and moral theologians should not belimited to the mere interpretation of revealed truths about man, but should alsotake into account the confrontation of these truths with the experience of a manabout himself. en the relevance and validity of dogmatic theorems will becomeclearer and indications of moral theology will become more convincing.

scholarly journals Conducting a campaign to remove church values ​​during the famine of 1921-1923

2009 ◽  
pp. 170-174
Author(s):  
O.S. Bykova
Keyword(s):  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
Independent State ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church ◽  
Active Assistance

With the development of Ukraine as an independent state, interest in its history and especially in the turning points of history is increasing. One such period was the famine of 1921-1923. At this time, contradictions between the Soviet government and the Russian Orthodox Church were particularly acute. In 1922-1923, a campaign was taken to seize church values ​​to help the hungry, in which the Church was unable to increase its authority through active assistance to the population and which significantly reduced the role of religion in the lives of Soviet people. The consequences of these events are still relevant today.

scholarly journals The role of the church members and nurses in improving self-awareness to prevent HIV

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elysabeth Sinulingga ◽  
Agung Waluyo
Keyword(s):  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Church Members ◽  
Descriptive Phenomenology ◽  
Protestant Church ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Church ◽  
Hiv Aids

Background: Karo District is one of the districts in North Sumatera province where from 2016 to 2018 the number of HIV sufferers increased dramatically to 384 people and then it increased to 775 people up to September 2020. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of people with HIV/AIDS and the experiences of the church members regarding people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).Design and Methods: Qualitative research design with descriptive phenomenology approach. Data collection was carried out by interviewing 34 participants in Karo District. The data analysis in this study used the Collaizi technique.Results: Five themes were obtained from the results of the study, namely the responses of the participants diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, health problems faced by PLWHA, stigma and discrimination, the support of family and church members given to PWLHA, and family/church members' expectations toward PLWHA.Conclusions: Based on the findings of the themes, the role of the National AIDS Commission of Moderamen Karo Batak Protestant Church (GBKP) in responding to HIV and AIDS cannot be optimally implemented because of some obstacles namely, localization which is a determinant of the spread of cases, the unavailability of service and ARV in all health centers, lack of sectoral cross-cooperation, very insufficient financial support from the government, the role of nurses played only in the hospitals and the stigmatism to those people with HIV/AIDS due to lack of knowledge of HIV and AIDS.

Building the Church and Missionizing in a ‘Religiously Indifferent’ Country: Korean Protestant Churches in Czechia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-335
Author(s):  
Andrea Beláňová ◽  
Tomáš Havlíček ◽  
Kamila Klingorová ◽  
Zdeněk Vojtíšek
Keyword(s):  
Religious Faith ◽  
New Members ◽  
The Public ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Main Barrier ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Mixed Types ◽  
The Church

Czechia could be labeled as country of an indifferent approach to religious ideas, as religious faith is considered a private issue, and the role of religion in the public sphere is low. This article summarizes the first attempt to research Korean Protestant churches active in current Czechia. A total of fourteen churches is briefly overviewed stating that the churches are not successful in gaining new members throughout the Czech population. Also, a clear distinction cannot be drawn between diaspora and missionary churches, but rather mixed types can be observed. The findings show that the churches do not accommodate their mission strategies according to the religiously indifferent milieu in Czechia, mostly because the missionaries are not aware of this situation. Moreover, language is identified as the main barrier in communication. We conclude by stating that this topic is poorly understudied and difficult to follow due to its dynamic yet closed nature.

scholarly journals ON SOME HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF THE INTERACTION OF THE CHURCH AND THE STATE IN THE EXECUTION OF PUNISHMENTS IN RUSSIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
Валерий Вячеславович Харитошкин
Keyword(s):  
Church And State ◽  
The State ◽  
Historical Aspects ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Church ◽  
Historical Periods

В статье рассматриваются особенности взаимодействия церкви и государства при исполнении наказаний в России в разные исторические периоды, а также роль религии в духовно-нравственном воздействии на осужденных. The article examines the features of the interaction of church and state in the execution of punishments in Russia in different historical periods, as well as the role of religion in the spiritual and moral impact on convicts.

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