From the Death to Rebirth of Religion: Evolution of Leszek Kołakowski’s Thought in the Context of the Question: “Who Is Man?”

In his numerous books and articles, Leszek Kołakowski brought up a number of topics in the fields of the history of philosophy and contemporary philosophy. His work offers valuable insights into problems revolving around Karl Marx’s philosophy, social philosophy, and the philosophy of religion, to mention but a few. In all these areas of thought, the Polish philosopher centres his focus on the fundamental question of man. The present paper is aimed at discussing Leszek Kołakowski’s contribution to the philosophical debate on this topic. The evolution of Kołakowski’s views is traced from the Marxist concept of man which, after a certain period, is discarded by the philosopher in favour of a religious concept, to be confronted again with a liberal theory. Kołakowski is not uncritical about any of the conceptions, which testifies to the profound complexity of every attempt to gain insights into the very essence of the human being which, irrespective of the doctrine or perspective taken for interpretation, escapes clear-cut definition. However, despite the lack of unambiguous definitions Kołakowski recognises that the sole point of reference in any attempts to gain an understanding of the human condition in culture is religion.

A CABEÇA DO SANTO A proposal for a sensitive understanding of the religious concept in brazilian society

A cabeça do santo, book by the writer Socorro Acioli, reveals a Brazil sewn by religion. This review proposes a reflection on the seams that the narrative presents about the understanding of religiosity between brazilians and invites scientists of religion to read through a decolonial look to understand the cosmoperception in constant becoming of a society that does not fit the discipline’s hegemonic epistemology.

James Baldwin and the “Lie of Whiteness”: Toward an Ethic of Culpability, Complicity, and Confession

This article is an attempt to draw on James Baldwin’s depiction of white identity as the “the lie of whiteness” to tease out a nascent ethics that centers the role of genuine, honest confrontation with this so-called “lie.” In order to connect the dots between excavation of Baldwin’s lie of whiteness and the provinces of religious ethics, we will explore the role that truth-telling plays in the form of something like a religious notion of confession, limiting our engagement with confession to an honest and genuine encounter with culpability and responsibility through truth-telling. The analysis will be guided by several questions: how might a genuine reckoning with the reality and prevalence of what Baldwin intimately describes about whiteness and its connection to anti-black racism be understood morally? How might this confrontation with the truth be understood in relation to a religious concept like confession, as defined above? Finally, how might this process of confrontation further expose the machinations of Baldwin’s “lie of whiteness” and, in so doing, offer an ethical response that includes culpability and complicity? In so doing, this article seeks to begin sketching out an ethics of the role of confession in the struggle against the evils of anti-black racism, through direct engagement with Baldwin’s description of the “lie of whiteness.”

THE ORTHODOX CONCEPT «SOUL» IN THE STORY «TAIGA» BY V. SHISHKOV

Повесть В.Я. Шишкова «Тайга» рассматривается с точки зрения воплощенной в нем христианской идеи. Автор исследует религиозный концепт душа , его взаимодействие с такими библейскими понятиями, как грех, праведность, жертвенность и ряд других. Делается вывод, что мотив человеческой души в христианском понимании является одним из ведущих в произведении Шишкова, он активно участвует в создании оригинальной картины мира, в основе которой лежат православные ценности. Исходя из анализа текста делается вывод о том, что традиционное восприятие повести «Тайга» как произведения революционно-демократической направленности не учитывает многих аспектов, связанных с православной верой, что существенно обедняет и сужает понимание ее идейного содержания. V. Shishkov’s novel «Taiga» is considered from the point of view of the Christian idea embodied in it. The author explores the religious concept of the soul, its interaction with such biblical concepts as sin, righteousness, sacrifice, and a number of others. It is concluded that the motive of the human soul in the Christian sense is one of the leading ones in the work of Shishkov, he actively participates in the creation of an original picture of the world, which is based on Orthodox values. Based on the analysis of the text, it is concluded that the traditional perception of the story «Taiga» as a work of revolutionary-democratic orientation does not take into account many aspects related to the Orthodox faith, which significantly impoverishes and narrows the understanding of its ideological content.

The Negotiation of English Teachers’ Identity Representation In EFL Classroom

This study applies a sociocultural linguistic approach where it examined the representation of English as International language teachers' identity negotiation in their classroom interactions. The important role of the teachers involving their efforts, values ​​, and beliefs preceded this study. Furthermore, the findings in this study indicated that the English teachers negotiate their identity as they still bring out the teaching with the reference to cultural, social, political, and religious constructs. The different ways of the teachers showing their identity infused in their linguistic use in the classroom. Moreover, the religion bounding values and beliefs that the teachers motivated to explore were shown in the connection between the English teaching topic being discussed in class and the religious concept in teaching, which in this case related to the Islamic teachings. The teachers also perceive their identities which can be assembled into four broad areas showing their understanding and the important function of their identity representations in the way of teaching. Lastly, some pedagogical implications were also found from this study.

Zimitsani Moto: Understanding the Malawi COVID-19 Response

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has unsettled societies and economies of people and countries all over the world. Malawi is no exception. As such, the COVID-19 pandemic is more than just a health crisis. Countries have responded by instituting lockdowns and other restrictive measures among the populace. These have, in turn, elicited negative responses and legal challenges; most of which are rights-based. The main challenge has been that of the restriction of individual and religious freedoms. It is, thus, no surprise that reactions against government decrees restricting religious gatherings in the wake of the pandemic have been challenged in the courts. We will explore the Malawian traditional religious concept of healing and wholeness, give a chronological outline of government decrees and the responses to the pandemic, and conclude with an analysis using some reflections on Ferdinand Tönnies concepts of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft and recollection of traditional religion and critique of the new evangelicalism leading to an understanding of the Malawian response to the pandemic.

The Religious Studies System of Mircea Eliade: The Phenomenology of Religion or the Politics of Myth?

Задача статьи состоит в сопоставлении религиоведческой концепции Мирчи Элиаде с традицией феноменологии религии. Устоявшаяся идея существования так называемой «чикагской школы», понимаемой обычно как форма феноменологии религии на американской почве, вызывает большие сомнения. Современные исследователи утверждают, что между лидерами этой «школы» (И. Вахом и М. Элиаде) нет никакой научной связи, а само понятие «чикагская школа» - конструкт, созданный учеником И. Ваха Дж. Китагавой. Чтобы проверить эти утверждения, в статье последовательно анализируются центральные концепции системы Элиаде: представление о центре религии, иерофании, крипторелигиозности, его идеи сопоставляются с системами классиков феноменологии религии - Р. Отто, Ф. Хайлера, И. Ваха. В заключении статьи делается вывод о том, что Элиаде не принадлежал к феноменологической традиции изучения религии ни в её голландском, ни в её немецком вариантах. Концепты illud tempus , ностальгии по истокам, иерофании, а также систематика через архаизацию проявлений священного пространства и времени, составляющие ядро системы Элиаде, не имеют параллелей в творчестве феноменологов-классиков. Показывается, что религиоведческая концепция Элиаде была укоренена не в феноменологической традиции, а в его внутреннем психологическом опыте. Не проблема систематизации и описания религиозной жизни и не дискуссии о «Святом» лежали в её основе, а поиск противоядия против исторического редукционизма, желание сбежать от необходимых процессов старения, изменения, экзистенциальной неуверенности в идеализированный образ вечного прошлого. Эта психологическая ориентация Элиаде роднит его с направлением, называемым «политикой мифа», пытавшимся реабилитировать мифологическое сознание, к которому принадлежали К. Г. Юнг, Дж. Кэмпбелл, А. Корбен. Но тем не менее, проект Элиаде схож с феноменологией религии, поскольку религия понимается им как suigeneris . The aim of the article is to compare Mircea Eliade concept of religion with the tradition of the phenomenology of religion. The well-established idea of the existence of the so-called Chicago school , usually understood as a form of phenomenology of religion on American soil, raises great doubts. Modern researchers argue that there is no scientific connection between the leaders of this school (J. Wach and M. Eliade), and the very concept of Chicago school is a construct created by a student of J. Wach, J. Kitagawa. To verify these claims, the article has analyzed the central concepts of Eliade’s system: the idea of the center of religion, hierophany, crypto-religion, his ideas are compared with the systems of the classical phenomenology of religion - R. Otto, F. Heiler, and J. Wach. The article concludes that Eliade did not belong to the phenomenological tradition of studying religion, either in its Dutch or German versions. The concepts of Illud tempus , nostalgia for the origins , hierophany , systematics through the archaization, manifestations of sacred space and time, which form the core of the Eliade’s system, have no parallels in the work of classical phenomenologists. It is shown that Eliade’s religious concept was rooted not in the phenomenological tradition, but in his inner psychological experience. In its core lay the search for an antidote to historical reductionism, the desire to escape from the necessary processes of aging and existential uncertainty into an idealized image of the eternal past. This psychological orientation of Eliade is related to the so called the politics of myth , which tried to rehabilitate the mythological consciousness, to which C. G. Jung, J. Campbell, H. Corbin belonged. Nevertheless, Eliade’s project is similar to the phenomenology of religion, since religion is understood by him as sui generis .

DEATH IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Nowadays, death, illness, and suffering are experienced as danger: a threat to one’s own physical, psychological and social identity. And what accompanies all these, particularly paralizing from a spiritual perspective, is fear; the dread that all is lost, that things cannot be controlled by means of medicine, only to reach the greatest angst: the fear of death. And, in this respect, we can say that pain, suffering and the fear of death make up the anthropological foundation of the most profound religious concept of life, in the sense that these realities show man his limitations, his finite build, that of a creature, and, consequently, determine him look beyond his limitations. The fear of death brought about angst, anxiety, passion, hatred, and despair in man’s life. His need to escape death made him look for even more material elements to render him oblivious to it. The solution against despair is God: faith vanquishes despair because, by faith, man acknowledges his dependence on God, but turning within himself, at the same time.

The Religious and Quasi-Religious Genealogy of the Theology of Nazism

The article is dedicated to the understanding of the Nazi anthropology as an element of the quasi-religious concept. Adolf Hitler’s racial theory unequivocally rejected the human status of persons not belonging to the Caucasian race, labeling them as Untermensch (“under-man”). Such an attitude was due to several prerequisites. However, the core reason is manifested not in the rational sphere. In the twentieth century, concepts of quasi-religions and political religions became widespread due to the reign of two totalitarian ideologies in Eurasia—Nazism and Communism. Numerous scholars emphasized the fact that these ideologies performed religious functions thus occupying an intellectual space at the interface between the religious and the secular. Quasi-religion adherents may be equally fanatic as religious radicals. Questions about whether this similarity is mere coincidence or whether quasi-religions are derivatives from traditional religions and the meaning of this problem today deserve close attention.