Not Set in Stone

2022 ◽  
pp. 154-178
Author(s):  
Barry W. Bussey
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

In recalling the Newfoundland school debate during the late 20th century, this chapter considers the use of a direct democracy initiative that purportedly sought public input on a matter of communal religious rights. It raises the question as to whether a referendum is an appropriate tool to abandon minority rights which form part of a country's constitution. First, there is a brief discussion on the importance of free and democratic societies to foster civil society, including religious communities engaging in the public square. Second, the history of the Newfoundland education system will lay the foundation for a review of the perceived problems with churches running government-funded schools. Third, a short synopsis of the political machinations that led to two referendums and how the referendums were used as a legitimization tool by a government apparently unwilling to work out a viable solution that allowed some residual accommodation of the church schools. Finally, a reflection on what lessons may be learned from the Newfoundland experience.

A state within a state: the role of the church in two Italian political transitions

Modern Italy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-459
Author(s):  
John Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
Second Republic ◽  
Liberal State ◽  
Political Transitions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

This article analyses the parallels between the role played by the Church, first during the Crisis of the Liberal State in the early twentieth century and then during the transition from the Christian Democratic regime to the ‘bi-polar’ Second Republic more than 70 years later. It explores both the particular, contingent forces at work in each, and the underlying explanations as to why the Church was able to successfully exploit these two processes of transition in the political history of Italy to its advantage. It concludes by arguing that the experience of these two crises demonstrates that the Church is not only a powerful force in Italian civil society but also effectively ‘a state within a state’ in relation to the functioning of Italy's political structures.

scholarly journals Origins of State and Legal Ideas of Russian Freemasons in the Late 18th – First Half of the 19th Century

2019 ◽  
pp. 207-215
Author(s):  
Alexey Dmitriyev
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Public Welfare ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Ideal ◽  
Moral Nature ◽  
The 19Th Century

The research was triggered by the opinions spreading in the contemporary academic literature, according to which the ideology of Russian freemasonry was associated with constitutionalism and Order of Illuminati, and the theory of public welfare was a formal rationale for the monarch’s unlimited power. The main goal of this research is analyzing the public welfare concepts in the teachings of Russian and foreign thinkers, as well as in provisions of acts and writings of Russian freemasons. The author uses methods of the history of notions and the intellectual history to analyze the links between F. Prokopovich’s, S. Pufendorf’s, V. N. Tatishchev’s, Y. F. Bilfeld’s and I. G. Justi’s ideas and provisions of freemasons’ charters and writings by Russian freemasons – A. P. Sumarokov, I. V. Lopukhin, I. A. Pozdeyev. The author’s core findings were as follows: public welfare is mostly understood as a merging of wills achievable on condition of realizing everyone’s welfare. The concept of public welfare includes the principle of a limited union between the authorities and the society, as well as the principle of fulfilling mutual obligations by the monarch and citizens (subjects), failing which the morals decline and the state falls. The study’s main conclusions illustrate that Russian freemasons adopted theoretical constructs of public welfare, mutual obligations of the monarch and the subjects (citizens), and the moral nature of will. Russian freemasons developed these ideas in their own works, interpreting them mainly in the conservative and protective vein. The political ideal of the Russian freemasonry is a single and indelible limited monarchy headed by an enlightened monarch whose authority of governing the civil society is limited by the natural law and the law of God.

Clerical Education in Nineteenth-Century Mexico: The Conciliar Seminaries of Mexico City and Guadalajara, 1821-1910

1980 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
The Political ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Church

The nineteenth century represented an era of declining influence for the Catholic church in Mexico, and no aspect of that trend created broader repercussions than the eclipse of the clergy's traditional role in higher education. Before the midcentury civil wars the conciliar seminaries graduated nearly as many laymen as did the public colegios, the majority of which in any case employed priests on their faculties. The seminaries, consequently, forged a vital link between the church and civil society, a link which potentially enhanced the political and social influence of the episcopate.

Kultūrvēstures aspekti Jāņa Čakstes vācu valodā sarakstītajā apcerējumā „Die Letten und Ihre Latwija” (1917), tā tulkošanas un izdevumu vēsture latviski („Latvieši un viņu Latvija”, 1989/1990–2019)

2021 ◽  
pp. 155-162
Author(s):  
Ivars Orehovs
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Aspects ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
30Th Anniversary ◽  
History Of Writing ◽  
History Of

On May 4, 2020, the 30th anniversary of the restoration of Latvia’s national independence was celebrated, and the 160th anniversary since the birth of the first President of Latvia, Jānis Čakste (1859–1927), was remembered on September 14, 2019. In 1917, even before the establishment of the Latvian state, Čakste published a longer essay in German, entitled „The Latvians and Their Latvia” (Die Letten und ihre Latwija), in which both the ethnic and geopolitical history of the Baltics was presented to communicate the public opinion and strivings of that time internationally. The essay also reflected economic relations in the predominantly Latvian-inhabited territory, demonstrating the political convictions and the culture-historical background of the era. The article aims to characterise the history of writing and publishing the essay in German, and its translation into Latvian (1989/90), and the translation’s editions (1999, 2009, 2014, 2019). Part of the article is devoted to analysing the culture-historical aspects, which in the authorial narrative have been expressed in the interethnic environment of the territory and the era.

The 1912 Duma Elections: The State, the Opposition and the Clergy

Orthodoxia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
F. A. Gayda
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Press ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church

This article deals with the political situation around the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Empire in 1912 (4th convocation). The main actors of the campaign were the government, local administration, liberal opposition and the clergy of the Orthodox Russian Church. After the 1905 revolution, the “official Church” found itself in a difficult situation. In particular, anti-Church criticism intensified sharply and was expressed now quite openly, both in the press and from the rostrum of the Duma. A consequence of these circumstances was that in this Duma campaign, for the first time in the history of Russian parliamentarianism, “administrative resources” were widely used. At the same time, the authorities failed to achieve their political objectives. The Russian clergy became actively involved in the election campaign. The government sought to use the conflict between the liberal majority in the third Duma and the clerical hierarchy. Duma members launched an active criticism of the Orthodox clergy, using Grigory Rasputin as an excuse. Even staunch conservatives spoke negatively about Rasputin. According to the results of the election campaign, the opposition was even more active in using the label “Rasputinians” against the Holy Synod and the Russian episcopate. Forty-seven persons of clerical rank were elected to the House — three fewer than in the previous Duma. As a result, the assembly of the clergy elected to the Duma decided not to form its own group, but to spread out among the factions. An active campaign in Parliament and the press not only created a certain public mood, but also provoked a political split and polarization within the clergy. The clergy themselves were generally inclined to blame the state authorities for the public isolation of the Church. The Duma election of 1912 seriously affected the attitude of the opposition and the public toward the bishopric after the February revolution of 1917.

The Orthodox Preference for Democracy: An American Response to “The Church in the Public Square” (Section II), in For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-430
Author(s):  
Jonathan Tobias
Keyword(s):  
Orthodox Church ◽  
The Public ◽  
Clear Preference ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
The World ◽  
The Church ◽  
Social Ethos

In For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church, there is a clear preference for the “democratic genius of the modern age.” This preference for democracy is due, in part, to the long experience of the Orthodox Church with other governmental forms, especially autocratic and authoritarian states.

The Church and the Development of Doctrine

2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Chan
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Living Body ◽  
Living Tradition ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Church

AbstractDoctrines are the authoritative teachings of the Church, yet the modern church is hampered by its inability to speak authoritatively even to its own members on matters of doctrine. One reason is that doctrines are widely perceived as archaic and fixed formulations with little significance for the present day. True doctrines, in fact, are constantly developing as the Church moves towards eschatological fulfillment. Yet for doctrines to develop properly there needs to be a proper ecclesiology. The Church is not an entity that God brought into being to return creation to its original purpose after the Fall; rather, the Church is prior to creation, chosen in Christ before the creation of the world (Eph. 1.4). It is a divine-humanity, ontologically linked to Christ the Head. It is the living Body of Christ, the totus Christus.Within the continuing life of prayer and worship, the Church’s doctrines are re-enacted, renewed and developed. These acts constitute the ecclesial experience or the living tradition. The living tradition is the transmission and development of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the on-going practices of the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost is not just to enable the Church to preach the gospel but to constitute the Church as part of the gospel itself. That is to say, the gospel story includes the story of the Spirit in the Church. The third person of the Godhead is revealed as such in his special relation to the Church. The Church, therefore, could be called the ‘polity of the Spirit’, that is, the public square in which the Spirit is especially at work to bring God’s ultimate purpose to fulfillment. There is, therefore, no separation between ecclesiology and pneumatology. They are necessary for maintaining the living tradition and ensuring the healthy development of doctrine until the Church attains unity of the faith. Pentecostals who see the Pentecost event as the distinctive mark of their identity have a special role to play: by becoming more truly catholic in their ecclesiology, they become more truly Pentecostal. This accords well with their early ecumenical instinct.

scholarly journals Fatma Aliye Hanım: Gender Debates in Turkey

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 693-716
Author(s):  
Zeynep Direk
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Early Republic ◽  
Public Intellectual ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Impact ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Ottoman Empire ◽  
Republic Of Turkey ◽  
Late Ottoman

Abstract This essay explores the late nineteenth and early twentieth Century gender debates in the late Ottoman Empire, and the early Republic of Turkey with a focus on Fatma Aliye’s presence in the public space, as the first Ottoman woman philosopher, novelist, and public intellectual. I choose to concentrate on her because of the important stakes of the gender debates of that period, and the ways in which they are echoed in the present can be effectively discussed by reflecting on the ways in which Fatma Aliye is read, presented, and received. In the first part of this paper, I talk about Fatma Aliye’s life and experience of her gender as a woman, and point to her key interests as a writer and philosopher. In the second part, I situate her in the political history of feminism during the Rearrangement Period (Tanzimat), the Second Constitutional Era (II. Meşrutiyet), and the institution of the modern Republic of Turkey. Lastly, in the third part, I discuss the diverse ways in which she is interpreted in contemporary Turkey. I explore the political impact of the reception of Fatma Aliye as an intellectual figure on the current gender debates in Turkey.

scholarly journals The “Slavic-Russian Nation” in the Historical Literature of Ukraine and Russia from the 1600s to the mid-1700s

Slovene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-447
Author(s):  
Petr S. Stefanovich
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Russian History ◽  
Slavonic Language ◽  
Imperial Identity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Church ◽  
Century Literature

The article analyzes the history of the concept of a “Slavic-Russian nation”. The concept was first used by Zacharia Kopystenskij in 1624, but its wide occurrence starts in 1674, when Synopsis, the first printed history of Russia, was published in Kiev. In the book, “Slavic-Russian nation” refers to an ancient Slavic people, which preceded the “Russian nation” (“rossiyskiy narod”) of the time in which the book was written. Uniting “Slavs” and “Russians” (“rossy”) into one “Slavic-Russian nation”, the author of Synopsis followed the idea which was proposed but not specifically defined by M. Stryjkovskij in his Chronicle (1582) and, later, by the Kievan intellectuals of the 1620s–30s. The construction of Synopsis was to prove that “Russians” (“rossy”) were united by both the common Slavic origin and the Church Slavonic language used by the Orthodox Slavic peoples. According to Synopsis, they were also supposed to be united by the Muscovite tsar’s authority and the Orthodox religion. The whole conception made Synopsis very popular in Russia in the late 17th century and later. Earlier in the 17th-century literature of the Muscovite State, some authors also proposed ethno-genetic constructions based on Stryjkovskij’s Chronicle and other Renaissance historiography. Independently from the Kievan literature, the word “Slavic-Russian” was invented (first appearance in the Legend about Sloven and Rus, 1630s). Both the Kievan and Muscovite constructions of a mythical “Slavic-Russian nation” aimed at making an “imagined” ethno-cultural nation. They contributed to forming a new Russian imperial identity in the Petrine epoch. However, the concept of a “Slavic-Russian nation” was not in demand in the political discourse of the Petrine Empire. It was sporadically used in the historical works of the 18th century (largely due to the influence of Synopsis), but played no significant role in the proposed interpretations of Russian history.

Toward a Pastoral Reading of the Bible Not Confined to the Church

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-587
Author(s):  
Jorge Pixley
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Study ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Composition ◽  
The Church

AbstractUsing the experience of the network of popular biblical study groups in Latin America and the biblical scholars who accompany them, this article outlines the basic requirements for a pastoral reading of the Bible. Special emphasis is given to the need for using the history of composition, necessarily hypothetical, in order to recover the political dynamics of the texts. The resulting pastoral reading will serve a public as well as a church function.

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