Concrete holiness and place attachment: Christian Zionist agricultural volunteers in Samaria

Christian Zionism is a Protestant theology rooted in nineteenth-century Britain, advocating the return of Jews to the land of Israel as the fulfilment of God’s will and plan for the salvation of humanity. This article deals with the unique theology of the Christian Zionist group Hayovel, an organization dedicated to bringing Christian volunteers for agricultural work in the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Based on fieldwork conducted among Hayovel volunteers, this article offers an analysis of Hayovel’s theology of rootedness and faith in the religious significance of the land. In contrast to mainstream Evangelical Christianity, Hayovel emphasizes the importance of sacred space and attempts to construct an experience of concrete holiness through agricultural work and touring the region’s Biblical sites. Hayovel’s activity is described here as the construction and cultivation of the Israel as a spatial and spiritual core and as a place of potential refuge and as a reaction to the increasing detachment from space in the global era.

The Confucian Moral Community of the Clan Association in the Chinese Diaspora: A Case Study of the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association

Using the Lung Kong Association as a case study, this article explores the cultural and socio-religious significance of the clan association in overseas Chinese societies. It argues that the Chinese diaspora has continually endeavored to utilize Confucian resources, via the clan association, to construct a “moral community” for the facilitation of their internal solidarity and external identity.

Better than any Doctor

Himalayan peoples bathe in hot springs for medical and spiritual therapy. Included in local myths, hot springs are natural features that form a part of cultural memory and are social, cultural, religious, and medical venues. They also represent the tension between economic growth and environmental protection and, consequently, the competition between different parts of people’s identities. By analyzing religious, historical, and medical texts in combination with biographical accounts, a comprehensive picture of the cultural and religious significance of hot springs in the Himalayas is presented. The focus lies on Buddhist influenced societies within the Tibetan Cultural Area which are those parts in the Himalayas that have been influenced by Tibetan culture

Translation in the Context of Preserving Languages and Cultures of the Siberian Indigenous Population

In this article weve focused on the topical problem of preserving the languages and cultures of indigenous peoples of Siberia, which can be solved through the translation of ethnic texts (as an important category of Siberian texts) into Russian and other languages, and translation of texts of great cultural and religious significance from Russian and other languages into languages of Siberian peoples. We aim to study initiatives of individual scholars and enthusiasts who have been translating both strong texts from indigenous languages of Siberian peoples and strong texts of Russian literature (mostly religious ones) into these languages. The ethnic literature of the peoples of the Krasnoyarsk Krai is considered in historical and comparative perspective, taking into account the national and cultural conditions of these peoples. The conclusion concerns the importance of ethnic translation with the cultural information and memory as the key unit of translation and the saving of the unique languages and cultures of Siberia as its main task.

Minding the pandemic

This article analyses clusters of Muslim responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a theoretical framework provided by the cognitive science of religion. The responses include theological reflections on the origin, nature, and religious significance of the disease, religious justifications for restrictions on communal worship, apologetics in the light of COVID-19, and how aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to issues of purity, impurity, and contagion. This article places the responses in a wider theoretical context that contributes to explaining their emergence as cultural representations, and, as a consequence, may promote further comparative research into responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in other religious traditions.

Cathedral and Town

Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim is the historical resting place of St. Olav and an end point of many of the pilgrimage trails in Norway. The history of the cathedral intersects with the history of the city and the region as one of significant economic and religious significance. The movement of St. Olav’s relics throughout the city matches urban and religiocultural development of city and nation. This chapter explores the cathedral’s architecture and use and how contemporary engagements with the space facilitate ritual creativity and are part of the hosting and welcoming of pilgrims. Along with other centers of hospitality, the cathedral looms especially large as a main attraction point for both tourists and pilgrims in Trondheim, as an adaptable space for many purposes. The annual St. Olavsfest is a ten-day festival that begins with the saint’s day and features liturgies, concerts, plays, lectures, a medieval market, and televised panel discussions to involve city and region in the celebration of local history and culture. Controversial topics such as the colonial repression of Sámi indigenous peoples, the violent heritage of Viking king St. Olav, religious and other forms of discrimination, social injustice, and international solidarity are among the themes discussed during the festival. Thus, the “protest” in Protestantism is reflected in a critical engagement with history and with the ongoing development of the ritualization of Christian history and heritage in Norway.

Generating Sacred Space beyond Architecture: Stacked Stone Pagodas in Sixth-Century Northern China

A large number of stone blocks, stacked up in diminishing size to form pagodas, was discovered in northern China, primarily eastern Gansu and southeastern Shanxi. Their stylistic traits and inscriptions indicate the popularity of the practice of making stacked pagodas in the Northern dynasties (circa the fifth and sixth centuries CE). They display a variety of Buddhist imagery on surface, which is in contrast with the simplification of the structural elements. This contrast raises questions about how stone pagodas of the time were understood and how they related to contemporaneous pagoda buildings. This essay examines these stacked pagodas against the broader historical and artistic milieu, especially the practice of dedicating Buddhist stone implements, explores the way the stacked pagodas were made, displayed, and venerated, and discusses their religious significance generated beyond their structural resemblance to real buildings.

Transformation of a Sacred Landscape: Veneration of Amun-Re in Graffiti in the Valley of the Kings

More than 4000 graffiti are scattered throughout the Theban necropolis. Among them, around 2500 graffiti can be dated to Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-First Dynasties. These New Kingdom graffiti were made by members of the community of workmen from Deir el-Medina. Only a small group of no more than 120 graffiti consist of depictions of deities and veneration scenes. The interpretation of graffiti with depictions of Amun-Re on rock surfaces in the Valley of the Kings reveals valuable information regarding their locations. This study thus attempts to identify particular locations in the valley where the workmen of Deir el-Medina venerated Amun-Re in different forms. These spots may have been considered to be of religious significance to the workmen of Deir el-Medina.

Ilaje names: an appraisal of Yoruba culture

Naming is an intrinsic aspect of the Yorùbá culture. Beyond identification tags, it also serves as an anchorage to project culture, didactics and the destiny of a name-bearer, particularly in Ìlàjẹ communities of Oǹdó State, Nigeria. Notwithstanding, critics of Yorùbá names have overlooked the deep historicity and culture preservation entrenched into Ìlàjẹ names. This study, therefore, examines Ìlàjẹ names based on their linguistic and religious significance to consolidate the need for culture retention among the Yorùbá. The study employs traditional criticism as a theoretical construct to analyze the primary data, which were indigenous names collected through oral interviews from indigenes of Ìlàjẹ communities. The secondary data comprised of books, journals, internet articles on names. Findings reveal that despite modern civilization and western religion, Ìlàjẹ communities maintain indigenous names which bother on profound Yorùbá culture manifested in the names of their children and their ornate consequence within the broader spectrum of the Yorùbá culture. Ìlàjẹ names were categorized based on association with prominent Yorùbá concepts like destiny, death, religion, metaphysics, morality, children, kinship, social relations and wealth. The study though a contribution to existing knowledge on Yorùbá names is a unique interdisciplinary blend of culture and linguistics of Ìlàjẹ communities.

Tumult i konfederacja

The Tumult and Confederation: Religious Significance of the Toruń 1724 and 1767 Events in the Light of Contemporary Manuscript Newsbooks In the eighteenth century, the town of Toruń, which was politically, religiously, and demographically dominated by Protestants, became twice the nucleus of a countrywide rebellion. The first insurgency occurred in 1724, when the town became the place of religious riots known as the Toruń tumult. The second rebellion appeared in the form of the dissident Crown Confederation of Toruń in 1767, which was founded in response to a Catholic confederation organized in Radom. Both incidents had meaningful impact on the overall situation in Poland-Lithuania. One can find information on these disturbances in contemporary political writings and press. In particular, we find interesting opinions about the Toruń tumult in handwritten newspapers, the only source of news in the Polish territory before the establishment of the first printed newspaper in 1729.