Christian Identity Research Articles

Caring for Our Common Home: Christianity, Chinese Religions, and the Challenge of Ecology

Abstract Pope Francis has emphasized that the current ecological crisis challenges practitioners of all religious traditions to cooperate in responding constructively and creatively. The resources of Chinese religious traditions have special importance in shaping the integral ecological culture that Pope Francis calls for. Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist values frequently converge with Christian ideals to respect our common cosmic home.

Same God but Different? Politico-Religious Dynamics and the New Hong Kong Christian Diaspora in the United Kingdom

This article examines the impacts of new Christian immigrants from Hong Kong on Chinese Christian churches in the United Kingdom. While the new arrivals have helped boost the vitality of Chinese immigrant churches, they also pose new challenges to the established Chinese Christian communities. Drawing on qualitative data from our fieldwork in different locations in the United Kingdom, we seek to delineate the intra-ethnic dynamics and dilemmas within the Chinese Christian communities formed by new and old Hong Kong immigrants, and immigrants from mainland China. While new immigrants from Hong Kong manifest a strong dedication to their Christian identity, many of them are also resolute in their uncompromising political stance and identity, which puts them at odds with other Chinese Christians in the United Kingdom. We argue that Christian immigrants from Hong Kong are creating a new landscape of Christianity and a distinctive religious diaspora in the United Kingdom.

Under Caesar’s Sword

Abstract In 2019, Cambridge University Press published an edited volume entitled Under Caesar’s Sword, the product of a three-year study on contemporary Christian responses to persecution in various parts of the world. As part of the overall findings, the project directors noted three primary methods of response: (1) Survival strategies (trying to avoid the attention of the persecutors); (2) Association strategies (building relationships beyond their own communities in order to create a broader network of potential support); and (3) Confrontation strategies (directly challenging the persecutors through various means including martyrdom, which Christians accept as an act of resistance). These categories provide a useful heuristic tool for reevaluating the discourse in some early Christian texts, including the apocryphal acts of the apostles and other texts related to martyrdom. This article employs the insights from Under Caesar’s Sword to explore examples of all three strategies from the earliest Christian centuries. However, not all strategies were equally appreciated in that time. Because suffering came to be so closely linked to Christian identity, survival strategies were sometimes critiqued as evidence of a lack of faith.

From conformity to transformation: Discipleship and identity in the context of social conflict

Around the world social polarization and conflict is being increasingly experienced both in the general society and within church. There is evidence that many Christians are being more influenced by their social affinity groups than by their sense of identity in Christ, contributing to social tensions. This essay addresses the challenge of making disciples who are not conformed to the world but rather transformed (Rom 12:2). An approach is proposed that first defines the nature of discipleship and the importance of fostering a biblical “in Christ” identity among followers of Jesus. Social identity theory is employed both in biblical interpretation and in understanding Christian identity that transcends other identities. Adult learning theories are then used to propose an approach of “disequilibration and reframing” to foster identity formation. Three types of transformative encounters as pedagogical methods are described.

Negotiation of Indonesian Orthodox Christian Identity in the Context of Interfaith Communication in Depok

This paper describes the experience of negotiating the identity of Indonesian Orthodox Christians in the context of inter-religious communication in Depok. The discussion is intended to find out the identity negotiations carried out by the Orthodox Christian Community during the presence of religious people in Depok so that differences of opinion and understanding between religious communities can be mediated and to find out the obstacles in maintaining communication between Indonesian Orthodox Christians and Protestant, Catholic and Muslim Christians. This research uses qualitative methods which are carried out using a phenomenological approach, while phenomenological research is a type of qualitative research that sees and hears closely and in detail regarding individual understanding of the experiences needed. So, this study aims to find out and confirm the 10 main assumptions in negotiating identity in the context of inter-religious communication in Depok and knowing the obstacles to maintaining inter-religious communication in Depok. Data were collected by interview, observation, and document methods. The validity of the data was obtained by means of triangulation, examination of respondents, and assessments from supervisors. Data were analyzed by (1) data reduction, (2) data presentation, and (3) drawing conclusions.

Politics Identity in Christian Perspective and the Implication for Christian Politicians in Indonesia

This research examines political identity from the Christian perspective and the Implication for Christian politicians. In 2024, Indonesia will run the presidential election. The most apparent phenomenon of identity politics in the history of Indonesian democracy was the election for the Jakarta area in 2017. It was done by a handful of people considering the success of identity politics in 2017. They want to repeat their success in 2017 in the forthcoming 2024 election. Politicians and Christians must be different; they must stand firm in their Christian identity and bring important messages to Indonesia. The study adopted a literature study which is a library study method research technique that involves seeking sources that offer factual information or expert opinions relevant to a research question. This method utilizes various library resources, such as books, scholarly journals, and online databases, to collect reliable information. The authors carefully analysed works to build a frame of mind to answer the problem that was formulated. Data analysis techniques were based on careful content analysis. All data are presented descriptively. The result and key finding of the study is that Christian politicians must play their roles as prophetic politicians.

The Dilemma Of Syncretism in The Church Of Uganda Christian Faith Development from 1877 to 2019

The Anglican Church of Uganda has been impacted by the increased syncretism brought on by the continuance of African Traditional Practices (ATPs) by her faithful members today. Its against this context that this study set out to perform a thorough analysis of secondary data to investigate why syncretism has persisted in the Church of Uganda despite the large proportion of Christian identities present in the organization today. The main objective of the study was to find out why although Christianity has been present in Uganda for a long time ATPs have continued to co-exist in Christian practices, posing a barrier to the growth of the Anglican Church of Uganda's faith. The study was guided by qualitative research methodology that involved a review of secondary literature of textbooks and journal articles on the research problem. The findings were that the overall uneasiness within the Christian community led to animosity and hatred that drove Christians to witchcraft tendencies, was one of the factors contributing to the continuance of ATR practices by Christians. It was further established in the review of literature that existing studies have not taken keen interest to identify ATR values that align with or complement Christian values which could be a major source of the problem. It is recommended that the Church should research non-conflicting values from ATR that could be incorporated into Christianity to avoid overlaps. The church should further open more spaces for dialogue with lead spiritual figures of ATR to strike a win-win outcome.

Transition from the Opium of Religion to Religion as Opioids: Abuse of Religious Teachings in the New Prophetic Churches in South Africa

The New Prophetic Churches is a religion in the mix, demonstrated by their points of contact with classical Pentecostalism, the prosperity gospel, African independent churches, and African traditional religion. New Prophetic Churches have points of contact with classical Pentecostalism with reference to the doctrine of baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. They are also influenced by the African traditional religions with reference to their connection with the spirit world. In addition, they have points of contact with the African independent churches concerning the use of healing and deliverance products. Furthermore, they have points of contact with the prosperity gospel in teaching the message of material blessing. The original form of these influences is presented in this article as opium religion, whereas the corrupted form of these influences is presented as opioid forms of religion. The latter refers to a somewhat dangerous mix of religious teachings, advocated by self-appointed spiritual leaders within the New Prophetic Churches. These spiritual leaders have concocted this mixture contrary to the original purpose of such teachings with the intention to satisfy their commercial desires to the detriment of the spiritual wellbeing of their followers and the sa-credness of religious teachings, particularly Christian teachings. Relying on a literary analysis, this article challenges the religious teachings of opioid religions that undermine the original good intentions with which these teachings are mixed. It suggests that any religious teaching in the Christian tradition should be consistent with the eternal purpose of God's mission, identity in Christ, and the fundamental tenets of the Christian tradition. There are neo-Pentecostal churches that are consistent with the mission of God, bringing solutions to various challenges in Africa. However, the focus here is on the New Prophetic Churches that have transited from the opium of religion to religion as opioids.

Pietro Della Valle: Christian pilgrimage, antiquarianism and cosmopolitanism in the age of the Baroque

The Roman aristocrat Pietro Della Valle, who defined himself as a pilgrim and as a citizen of the world, can stand as a paradigmatic case of the emergence of the modern curious traveller out of a religious tradition of pilgrimage. Della Valle did indeed travel to the Holy Land as a pious Catholic, in the second decade of the seventeenth century. However, his pilgrimage was from the start conditioned by antiquarian and romantic concerns, and he eventually extended his journey beyond Ottoman lands towards Persia and India. This article will elucidate how the pilgrim fashioned and transformed himself around a multi-faceted idea of travel in his letters at different stages of his journey, and as a member of a learned academy upon his return to Italy. Looking back at his visit to the Holy Land as part of a project of aristocratic self-fashioning, it will argue that the transformation of a religious pilgrimage into a complex experience involving religious and political schemes, scientific erudition and love did not open a chasm between piety and worldly learning, but instead widened the scope of curiosity in more exotic and cosmopolitan directions. The case of Della Valle exemplifies how early modern European Christian identities, in this respect often at odds with late antique and early medieval antecedents, were frequently built around the idea that religion and knowledge of the world were largely complementary, in a manner that facilitated new attitudes of cultural accommodation that placed increasing emphasis on the universality of learned civility over strictly religious experiences.

“Sing and make music to the Lord”: cultural difference in South Africa’s urban religious soundscapes

Scholars of contemporary Christianity have long noted the importance of sacred music in constructing faith communities and distinguishing religious actors from one another. Drawing on historical and ethnographic evidence gathered over 16 months in Johannesburg, South Africa, I examine the role of music in contributing to the Christian identity of conservative evangelicals and in mediating their relationship with religious others. For the interdenominational, multiracial network of conservative Christians with whom I worked, music sung during weekly church services was carefully curated to meet elders’ pastoral aims informed by the conventions of orthodox Christian theology, yet it was also a site of tension and innovation as efforts to appeal to wider demographics were implemented. The palpable contrast between this music style and that of more charismatic evangelical churches was a point of implicit social commentary, semiotically standing in for the spectre of dangerous religious difference. This ethnographic research illustrates the power of embodied, sonic “feeling” to maintain cultural boundaries in South Africa’s heterogeneous religious soundscapes.

Seeger Lecture, Society for Ethnomusicology Virtual Meeting 2021

Seeger Lecture, Society for Ethnomusicology Virtual Meeting 2021

Instances of Preaching in a Medieval Transylvanian Town. The Case of Cluj in the Century before the Reformation

Preaching was an essential component of the religious life during the Middle Ages, shaping the Christian identity and promoting the norms and decisions of the Church. In line with recent contributions that have drawn attention to Transylvanian expressions of medieval preaching, the present paper intends to examine its significance in the urban milieu prior to the Protestant Reformation, by exploring the case of Cluj (hu. Kolozsvár/ germ. Klausenburg). An important town of the region, it was inhabited by a mixed population of Hungarian- and German-speaking communities, whose pastoral care and access to the divine Word was facilitated by various religious institutions. Although the extant sources do not provide detailed accounts regarding specific sermons delivered in town, their actual contents and mise-en-scène, the present paper outlines the profile of the routine preaching activity, based on homiletic works that belonged to the secular and regular clergy of the town, as well as charters attesting their complementary or competing actions. The analysis reveals that homiletic concerns progressively increased from the beginning of the 15th century onwards, reaching a pinnacle in the decades prior to the adoption of the Reformation.

Creative Thinking about God and Respect for Christian Identity

In the article I refer to the philosophy of William Hasker and his proposal to reconcile respect for the basic dogmas of Christianity with the contemporary standards of knowledge and the needs of people today.
 In the first part I analyse Hasker’s view on the idea of Christian philosophy. Since he assumes the truthfulness of the main doctrines of Christianity, he is not opposed to being referred to as a Christian philosopher, but neither is he enthusiastic about this name. This attitude is the result of his conviction that the state of absolute neutrality is not possible in philosophy and that regardless of the views accepted as true by a given thinker the requirement for good philosophy is fairness and evaluating all perspectives and beliefs for their internal coherence and their correspondence with the evidence. Therefore, Hasker first tries very carefully to reconstruct positions different from his own and to track down various difficulties in them, especially contradictions. In my opinion, however, the objection of self-contradiction is ineffective when applied to philosophical positions which, as a rule, use vague concepts. The same applies to the claim that these positions are contradictory to evidence, because one of such vague notions is also the notion of evidence. That is why philosophical claims have the extraordinary ability to persist in life or unexpectedly revive after being considered definitively dead. It does not follow from this that one cannot convincingly justify one’s position using less formal criteria. 
 In the second part I focus on the rhetorical device used by Hasker to make his concept of God more attractive. He suggests that we should shape our concept of God based on our idea of a great man, i.e. one who educates children to live independently and is able to effectively and fairly manage large groups of people. Leaving aside the accusation of anthropomorphism, the question arises about the epistemic value of this image, which is not universal, changes over time and depends on the conditions in which people live. The content of this image proposed by Hasker isn’t also consistent with the idea of the God of Christian orthodoxy, which is dominated by traditional rather than open theism. This is where the problem of linking creative thinking and respect for Christian identity arises. Regardless of the opinion that open theism has among traditional theists, Hasker supports the concept of a strong Christian identity determined by a universally recognized creed. I propose to treat this identity a little more flexibly.

Christian Philosophy and Christian Philosophers: Response to Gutowski

The essay is a response to Piotr Gutowski’s Creative Thinking about God and Respect for Christian Identity. The author clarifies his understanding of the Christian integrity and responds to some criticisms formulated by Gutowski.

(Special Section) Translating Race: Mission Hymns and the Challenge of Christian Identity

(Special Section) Translating Race: Mission Hymns and the Challenge of Christian Identity

‘Only the murder accusations are missing’

In 1848, the Götheborgs Dagblad newspaper was revived after a ten-year gap, and launched the anonymous submission column entitled ‘Anonyma Lådan’ (the Anonymous Box). In January and February 1849, many antisemitic letters and articles were published in the Swedish newspapers. Some letters defending Jews and Judaism were published in both ‘Anonyma Lådan’ and Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning. Short of blood libel, the antisemitic side accused Jews of typical anti-Jewish stereotypes: for example, greed, hypocrisy and Jewish hatred of Christianity. Anti-antisemitic writers proclaimed a Christian identity that was based on humanism, stating that one could not be a true Christian if one attacked and hated Jews and Judaism. The Jewish congregation in Gothenburg and the society Judiska Intresset (The Jewish Cause) both chose a non-engaged approach to the antisemitic attacks in the newspaper, since it was not respectable to engage in such debates and, in their view, it would only cause more anti-Jewish sentiments if they did so. In this art­icle, it is argued that the reasons behind the attacks were societal changes, but also, more importantly, that with ‘Anonyma Lådan’, antisemitic sentiments found a platform where such sentiments could be freely expressed.

Peran Katekese Digital Sebagai Media Pembinaan Iman Kaum Muda Kristiani

This article highlights the important role of catechism in developing the faith of young Catholics in the modern era. This study uses a theological analytical discourse methodology to analyze the role of catechism as a medium for building faith. Catechesis is a means used by the Church to communicate the teachings of faith to the people. Through catechesis, the Church can provide effective accompaniment of faith to young people. This study focuses on the problems faced by young people today. They are the next generation of the Church who need special attention because they are very vulnerable to being influenced by the fast and swift currents of modernity. Therefore, an effective assistance effort is needed for them. The research findings show that young people, who are in a period of searching for identity, tend to get bored easily and are quickly satisfied. In this context, catechesis as a form of faith formation is an effective choice and responsive to the lifestyle of today's youth. Through catechesis, young people can gain a deeper understanding of the teachings of the faith, strengthen their relationship with God and develop a strong Christian identity. Digital catechesis, which combines technology with messages of faith, can be a relevant and attractive medium for young people. In conclusion, digital catechesis has a significant role in developing the faith of young Christians. In facing the challenges of modern times, the Church needs to use catechesis as an effective strategy to assist young people in strengthening their faith. By utilizing technology and adapting the right content, digital catechism can be an effective tool in forming a young generation who are firm in their faith and ready to face the changing times.

Patterning Constitutional Conflicts in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe

This paper set out to analyse the patterning of conflict in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (COCZ) with the introduction of the Constitution; which has been described as an unfair proposition, given that conflict is inevitable in a postmodern society. Conflicts in communities have largely been caused by resource scarcity, group affinities, and poor leadership. The study used data collected from participants who were purposively selected to answer electronic questions posted on a WhatsApp group platform for this study. They were randomly chosen from the national fellowship of the COCZ pastors. The study observed that conflict was caused by the shifting centres of power through the adoption of the Somabhula Conference Centre. These conflicts thus bolster a deeper appreciation of Christian identity and mission in contemporary ecclesiastical circles. The data analysed revealed that there are three frameworks: concept, content, and composition of constitutions. It also revealed that conflicts in Zimbabwean churches happened in the Anglican Diocese of Harare; the Apostolic Faith Mission of Zimbabwe; the Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe and the Marange Apostles’ succession battles. Positively, conflicts have been observed to remove complacency among the leadership and followership. It concluded that citing the 2015 Constitution, therefore, becomes an unfair proposition as conflicts occurred in the history of mission churches in Zimbabwe inclusive of the conflicts in the COCZ history. This study contributes in a small measure to discussions around international best practices for resolving church conflicts. Keywords: Constitutions, Conflicts, Conflict Resolution Mechanisms, Church of Christ in Zimbabwe

Making Christians in the Umayyad Levant: Anastasius of Sinai and Christian Rites of Maintenance

Toward the end of the seventh century, Anastasius of Sinai took it upon himself to offer advice to lay Christians facing a new Umayyad world. For Anastasius, Christian identity needed simplification. In his Edifying Tales and Questions and Answers, he would de-emphasize theology, arguing that Christian identity was a more basic affair, involving baptism, the eucharist and the sign of the cross. For him, these were ‘rites of maintenance’, acts which sustained Christian identity in a fluid world of religious alternatives. Such actions warded off the demonic and drew a clear boundary between Muslim and Christian. This was important for Anastasius, who considered it his pastoral duty to offer uneducated Christians a tangible sense of their own identity (and superiority). His ritualistic simplification bears witness to an important shift in Palestinian-centred Christianity, as intra-Christian disputes were set aside in an attempt to maintain a ritualistic boundary between Christian and non-Christian.

Reimagining Ecumenism for the 21st Century—Stăniloae’s Theology as a Source and Inspiration

There are many competent voices who estimate that in recent years ecumenism has been going through a crisis. Concern for ecumenical dialogue is becoming secondary for many theologians or members of the clergy, including hierarchs, who are preoccupied almost exclusively with addressing the problems facing their local and confessional communities. As a result, receptivity to ecumenical dialogue and cooperation is even lower among the faithful, who are preoccupied with assessing their own Christian identity in a socio-cultural context marked by rapid change and unprecedented challenges, of which secularism is only one of many. The disappointing assessment of the state of contemporary ecumenism, has led some ecumenists to an effort of identifying solutions for reimagining interconfessional dialogue in an ever-changing world. Theologians from all Christian traditions seek to contribute to identifying ways to unblock the current situation and to propose concrete approaches for rethinking ecumenism for future generations of believers. One of the ways suggested in the literature is to think of ecumenism less in terms of theological agreements, and more in terms of a process of mutual learning, considering that we can receive and offer our gifts in a mutual process, being aware of the need for each community to be open to such a perspective. In this paper, we argue that the constant receptivity to Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae’s theology, and to his anthropology in particular, that exists in Western traditions can be an opportunity for revitalising the ecumenical dialogue through the gift exchange model described above. We start from the premise that Fr. Stăniloae’s work represents an important gift not just for the Orthodox, but also for many Protestant and Catholic theologians, and we suggest that this direction can produce a reciprocal effect on Orthodox theologians to open up and receive the gifts of Western theology.