THE POLITICAL NATURE OF THE CHURCH ACCORDING TO STANLEY MARTIN HAUERWAS, WILLIAM T. CAVANAUGH AND WALTER BRUEGGEMANN

In the context of the fragmented and multiple theological discourse of postmodernism, one of the important themes that unites modern theologians and political theologians in particular is the theme of the Сhurch. However, it is not about the Сhurch in general, but about those special features and dimensions that have been forgotten or lost in the modern era. Primarily, it is related to the political dimension of the Christian community, which has become the subject of research by representatives of various theological schools.This article is devoted to the theological analysis of the ecclesiology of three prominent contemporary theologians: Stanley Hauerwas, William Cavanaugh and Walter Brueggemann. Each of them, despite belonging to different schools, different areas of interest and church affiliation, addresses the topic of the political nature of the Church in search of a constructive response to current challenges. According to Hauerwas, there should be a restoration of the vision of the Christian community as an alternative to the world in which it is located. For Hauerwas, the Church is not only a community, one of many, but a polis, which challenges both modern empires and dominant ideologies. This is exactly what William Cavanaugh is talking about, when he emphasizes that the Church's tragic loss of its own political dimension has led to the "migrations of the Holy" and the sacralization of ideologies and power structures. At the same time, Walter Brueggemann writes Church’s prophetic authority and practical capability to resist the "royal consciousness", which manifests itself in the demonstration of strength and power, as an important feature of the Church.

The Most Significant Book of the Netherlands — And Its Ordinary Readers

Although the Netherlands has become one of the most secular countries in the world, the Bible still plays an important role for many people as a source of cultural and spiritual inspiration. Despite extant empirical research, there remains a pressing gap of knowledge concerning the actual use of the Bible by “ordinary readers.” This makes it more difficult for organizations such as the Dutch Bible Society to engage the public with the distribution of Bible translations and inspirational products. This large-scale mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) research project aims to provide both practical (or commercial) and academic insights on Bible reading practices and views on the Bible among Dutch “readers” in various ‘ideological’ contexts. One of the most significant results is that biographical factors appear more indicative for how the Bible is approached than more ‘conventional’ denominational factors such as church affiliation.

Church and religious situation in the Ukraine: Trends 2019 - request for extension of questionnaires for sociological surveys

Recently the Razumkov Center published new sociological data “State and Church in Ukraine - 2019: results of the year and prospects of relations development” and organized a round table on “Religion and power in Ukraine: problems of relations”. This sociological data is an extremely important fixation of the empirical indicators of the religious situation in contemporary Ukraine. Analyzing them, we can see a clear correlation between faith, religious and church affiliation, and the experience and position of those interviewed. However, for further in-depth understanding of how religious and denominational identity and church affiliation correlate with event experience, prevailing historiographical discourse, life position, and civic consciousness, it would be worthwhile to expand the questionnaires. Undoubtedly, religion is a significant factor in shaping Ukraine's future. Especially the influence of church affiliation on social reality is noticeable in the situation of armed aggression against Ukraine of the Russian Federation, which does not neglect to use as a weapon in the information war a religious sermon in the temples of the subordinate Moscow center of the church. That is why it is so important to systematically monitor the correlation of religious and ecclesiastical affiliations with world-view parameters and real events in the context of which transformations of the religious situation and socio-state-church relations take place.Current trends in religious change clearly include factors that are reflected in sociological research (such as a decline in the Church's recognition of moral authority is an indication of the spread and affirmation of secular tendencies and the activation of secular ideology in conjunction with cultural and world-view circumstances of the Church. and confessions turned out to be unsolicited, irrelevant, ineffective, incompetent, etc.) and factors that went unaddressed due to the fact that previous questionnaires did not contain questions that Anish not issued to date. Therefore, it is time to complete the questionnaires to explain the jumps unexpected in terms of previous sociological data. The information age updates additional parameters: here it is necessary to find out the relation of religious, civil, state systems with the information environment, to understand how specific information flows influence the spread of confessional, religious, civilizational and other discourses. Another block of issues that need to be covered in future polls is to find out the level, form and type of religiosity not only in relation to religious, denominational and ecclesiastical affiliations, but also in the value-meaning parameters of the consciousness of believers / non-believers in Ukraine. After all, religion is not only a religious activity, which is evidenced in the attendance at worship and financial support of the church, but also a vital position in accordance with the values and guidelines of the basic religion / denomination / church. Under these circumstances, a partial decrease in trust in the church as a moral authority will also be understandable. What will be manifested is the type of consciousness of the "Soviet human" brought up during the totalitarian-Soviet era. We assume that the transformation of the ideology of militant secularism into a quasi-religion of vulgar utilitarianism can partly explain the current world outlook in Ukraine.

The impact of social norms on female corporate board membership inclusion

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document that religious adherence in the county of the corporate headquarter and educational attainment of the female director pool near the firm headquarters are influential to the likely addition of female corporate board directors. Design/methodology/approach The sample covers 1,630 unique firms and 30,369 unique directors covering a ten-year period to investigate the effects of religiosity and educational attainment. Findings The analysis reveals that while the number of women has increased in general terms, this change is mostly limited to boards that are increasing in size. Women do not tend to replace exiting male board members but are appointed when the board size grows. Therefore, while the number of women is increasing in absolute terms, they are not increasing in relative terms. In areas where religiosity is high, as measured by church affiliation and attendance, female participation in the boardroom is lower and a more educated and qualified female population leads to higher board participation. These effects supersede any regional effects. Originality/value The study adds insights into corporate board dynamic, providing new evidence concerning the impact of local conditions on board composition as well as additional information concerning the interplay of board dynamics and female board representation.

Love thy neighbor – religion and prosociality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between religious involvement and attitudinal (importance of helping others and of being socially active) and behavioral components of prosociality (volunteering, charitable giving, and blood donations) in Germany. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analyses are based on representative, longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, which allows avoiding issues of reverse causality. Findings The results suggest for a moderate, positive link between individuals’ religious involvement as measured by church affiliation and church attendance and the prosociality aspects addressed. Despite the historic divide in religion, the results in West and East Germany do not differ substantially in terms of the underlying mechanisms. Originality/value The paper complements the growing literature from experimental economics on the relationship between individuals’ religiosity and their prosociality. Based on representative longitudinal data, it contributes by providing evidence for Germany for which there is barely any insight yet and by addressing a wider range of attitudinal and (self-reported) behavioral components of prosociality.

Godly Walkers

Drawing on an exceptional collection of church admission relations from the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Part 1 examines the widely shared religious vocabulary through which Congregational church membership candidates during the period between 1680 and 1740 pledged to "walk answerably" to their doctrinal professions in the hope that a vengeful deity would not pour out affliction on their bodies, families, and communities. The multiple demands of a "Godly Walk" entailed spiritualizing everyday occurrences, meditating in secret, baptizing children in a timely fashion, and raising them in church fellowship. During the early decades of the eighteenth century, the rhythms of church affiliation were closely tied to family formation and social maturation, and women emerged as the primary source of religious authority. A godly walk was the key to safety and prosperity in this world, if not salvation in the next.

Academic integrity and community ties at a small, religious-affiliated liberal arts college

While the increased incidence of academic integrity violations in university classrooms has been well documented over the past several decades, inconsistent attention has been given to small liberal arts colleges in terms of both cheating practices and attitudes towards cheating. This study aims to address this disparity by focusing on academic integrity at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota; a small undergraduate institution with a strong church affiliation. We hypothesise that institutional practices and the small-college culture that are unique to smaller colleges like Concordia act to limit the incidence of academic integrity violations. Our case study makes use of data collected from two student surveys - one conducted in 2008, and a follow-up survey conducted in 2010. Variables representing a range of internal and external factors that contribute to cheating were incorporated into a regression model designed to measure the impact of contextual influences that are potentially unique to students at a small, church-affiliated liberal arts college. Given our findings, we conclude that the college would be wise to consider adopting a traditional honour code system.

Heaven, Hell, and Hipsters

Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll attracts unconventional churchgoers. Hipster youth ages 18–25 comprise the core of the church’s 12,000+ weekly attendees – surprising, amid Driscoll’s controversial promotion of strict gender binaries and fundamentalist theology. Furthermore, the Pacific Northwest boasts the country’s lowest rate of church affiliation (Killen 2004). How, in this so-called ‘religious none-zone,’ has Mars Hill grown rapidly among young adults? I suggest only a portion of Mars Hill’s regional growth relies on content preached in the pulpit. Using ritual theory (Collins 2008) and non-linguistic semiotics (Turino 2008), I posit a connection between Mars Hill’s music ministry and Seattle’s vibrant indie guitar rock scene. By identifying Mars Hill’s mimicry of local concert culture aesthetics, I argue that secular ritual in a sacred space has created a potent ritual environment (Sylvan 2002), contributing massively to the church’s appeal among a majority “unchurched” demographic.

Christian America? Understanding the Link between Churches, Attitudes, and “Being American” among Latino Immigrants

In recent decades, Evangelical churches in the United States have expanded their outreach to Latino immigrants, seeking to incorporate these new Americans into their churches. We investigate the implications of this movement by examining the impact of church affiliation on Latino immigrants’ conceptions of what it means to be “fully American.” Relying on the 2006 Latino National Survey, we find that church affiliation significantly impacts immigrants’ beliefs about what it means to “be American” in the eyes of other Americans and the likelihood of identifying themselves as “American.” Specifically, Protestant Latinos (be they mainline or Evangelical) are more likely than Catholic Latinos (the majority of Latinos) to identify as American and to believe that Americans think being a Christian is a defining feature of American identity. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings.