Evangelical Research Articles

How to Study Religion? Notes on Research Methodology in the Context of Latin American Religions

The aim of this paper is to discuss on the main methodological procedures used in Anthropology and Sociology and applied in studies of Latin American religions, particularly in the context of diasporic Brazilian Protestantism-Pentecostalism. After introduce the two principal categories (quantitative and qualitative) – which include various types of procedures, such as the case study, interdisciplinary, historical, comparative and cross-cultural—and based on ethnographic experiences of the author in America, Europe and Asia, examine the world scale and ‘glocal’ multi-situated ethnography and the traditional localized participant-observation, including the ‘outsider-insider dichotomy’ and Asia, the article examines. However, today, with new digital technologies and the broad cultural and religious manifestations in the Internet, the researcher can complement the search for information (ethnographic data)—and accompany of the daily life of the group, of the community under study—using the Internet, the various social networks, namely, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. The principal contribution of this work is to present the specificities of the ethnographic field in the studies of religious movements, evangelical churches, in particular, where issues and problems posed to researchers requiring appropriate ethical and methodological procedures for overcoming them.

Mark O. Hatfield: Oregon Statesman. By Richard W. Etulain

Richard W. Etulain, a well-known historian of the American West, offers a short, readable, and sympathetic biography of Mark O. Hatfield, long-time U.S. Senator from Oregon. He is best remembered today as a Republican Senator who opposed the Vietnam War in the 1960s, supported the nuclear freeze movement in the 1980s, and voted against the Gulf War and the Balanced Budget Amendment in the 1990s. In his thirty plus career in the Senate, he seemed more in line with liberal Democratic Senators, George McGovern (S.D.), Frank Church (Id.), and Edward Kennedy (Mass.). At the same time, Hatfield was a deeply devout Evangelical Christian and good friends with Rev. Billy Graham, who pushed Nixon to put him on the presidential ticket in 1968. The strength of Etulain’s biography is that he captures the frenetic energy Hatfield brought to his rise in state and national politics. Etulian devotes four of the five chapters to Hatfield’s emergence as a political force in Oregon. Hatfield’s followed a natural political trajectory, beginning with his election to the state legislative assembly in 1950, then election to the Secretary of State, followed by two successful terms as governor from 1959–67, before winning election to the U.S. Senate, where he served the next thirty years.

Wenn der Sterbeprozess nicht zum Tod führt

For some patients death no longer occurs as an event but comes at the end of a prolonged dying process. Particularly in patients with primary or secondary brain injury, physiological body functions can be maintained for weeks and months thanks to modern medical technology but these patients will never have a chance to regain consciousness. How long this dying process lasts depends on the intensity and duration of the medical and technical measures. It is known that the attitude of the population in Germany is divided with respect to the question of intensive medical measures to preserve life. According to a survey carried out by the Social Scientific Institute of The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), 57% of the participants feared being kept alive only by “machines”, whereas 30% were worried that the medical measures will not be exhausted and death prematurely occurs [1]. As far as an advance directive (living will) is present or a clearly expressed will can be identified, the legal and medical situations are unambiguous. The physician must respect and follow the self-determined will of the patient, the patient’s will is binding; however, there is a much more difficult problem if this will is not known or not clearly expressed. This problem area results in highly complex ethical, legal and social crossroads issues: is the limitation of medical and technical measures permitted under certain circumstances? Which criteria should be used as a basis for such a decision? Who has the authority to make the decision? Do we need a consensus procedure that leads to the decision? This article addresses these questions and aims to intensify the discussion on a problem that will become significantly more important in the future due to the rapid progress in medicine.

Growing in grace: how the experience of divine grace cultivates humility

ABSTRACT The perception that one is a recipient of divine grace is a salient spiritual experience and is one that lies at the heart of Christianity. This qualitative study sought to address a gap in the psychological literature regarding how the perceived experience of divine grace enacts internal change. For the sake of this study, grace was defined as God’s undeserved gifts to believers. Thirty adult, self-identified evangelical Christians were interviewed to explore the perceived relationship between God’s grace and the cultivation of humility. Using grounded theory data analysis, themes emerged to reveal that participants expressed a dynamic relationship between receiving God’s grace and three dimensions of humility related to (a) a grounded view of oneself, (b) an orientation toward others, and (c) an overall dependence on God. These findings expand the current body of literature regarding religiosity and humility by highlighting how divine grace acts as a mechanism of transformational growth.

Viper on the Hearth's Unfinished Business: Anti-Mormonism and Mormon Studies

<i>Viper on the Hearth</i>'s Unfinished Business: Anti-Mormonism and Mormon Studies

REDUCTION INTERPRETATION STRATEGIES ON CHURCH SERMONS: A STUDY OF KISWAHILI TO ENGLISH INTERPRETATION IN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN GATANGA SUBCOUNTY

This paper examined reduction interpretation strategies on church sermons. Currently, there is an increase need for interpretation in most of the Kenyan churches due to the increase in a number of evangelistic churches in the country. This study examined sermons preached in English and consecutively interpreted to Kiswahili. The study focused on the effect of reduction interpretation on the intended meaning. The study applied interpretive theory of Interpretation as propounded by Marianne (2003). The study was anchored on a descriptive research design where both interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data. Purposive sampling was used to select five churches that used interpreting, in which the sermons were preached in English and interpreted to Kiswahili. The study used a descriptive research design in collecting data from the respondents. The target population was drawn from each of the eight evangelical churches in Gatanga Sub County which consisted of pastors, interpreters and the audience. The study findings revealed that reduction interpretation strategy affect the interpretation of church sermons in Evangelical Churches. The study concludes that Reduction strategies did not meet the goal of interpreting church sermons instead they had a negative impact on the interpreted message. This study recommends that church interpreters should be brought to light to the works of other experienced interpreters as this will add to their knowledge

(Des) igualdades de género nas igrejas evangélicas na Europa

This article presents the theme of our research "The role of women in evangelical churches in Europe". We intend to conduct an in-depth, intensive, and qualitatively study based on the Grounded Theorymethodology on gender (in)equalities in evangelical churches in Europe. This is a contemporary, pertinent and original theme, little developed in sociology of religion. We intend to compare the data collected in five European countries, diversifying the geographical location and other relevant sociological anddenominational variables described in the following text.

Exvangelical (De)conversion Narratives and the Religious Politics of Spiritual Autobiography

Abstract: Scholars and pundits have devoted significant attention to the rise of the religiously unaffiliated in the United States in recent years. Within that demographic there are many former evangelical Christians who remain Christian but are no longer evangelical or have abandoned Christianity altogether. Many of these former evangelical Christians identify as exvangelicals . This essay analyzes autobiographies written by exvangelicals, and argues that their narratives of deconversion can best be understood in the generic tradition of the conversion narrative. When situated in this generic context, these exvangelical autobiographies testify to a crisis in twenty-first-century religious politics that mirrors similar tensions in the past and suggests the US is in a period of civic transition.

Разногласия в общинах евангельских христиан-баптистов Западной Сибири в середине XX века

The aim of the paper is to identify the causes of divisions and frictions among believers in the intricately organised communities of Evangelical Christians and Baptists (ECB) in the middle of the XX century. The study is novel in that it identifies the tensions between believers on the eve of the religious split of Evangelical-Baptist associations involving archival sources introduced into scientific use for the first time. The paper examines the impact of the activities of local authorities on the intensification of discord within the communities. The author analyses the problem of relations between Evangelical Christians and Baptists and Christians of Evangelical Faith, as well as Russian and German groups within the registered associations of the ECB. As a result, it has been proved that the split in the Evangelical-Baptist communities in the early 1960s happened not accidentally, but due to the planned anti-religious policy of the Soviet state.

ИСТОРИЧЕСКИЙ ОПЫТ ПАЦИФИЗМА СОВЕТСКОГО ЕВАНГЕЛЬСКОГО СООБЩЕСТВА: ЗАЯВЛЕНИЯ ЦЕРКВИ И ВЫБОР ВЕРУЮЩИХ

The paper presents the historical experience of pacifism of evangelical believersб specifically Evangelical Christians-Baptists and Pentecostals, in the USSR. The main postulates of evangelical pacifist convictions were for-mulated in the early 20th century, with doctrinal provisions emerging in the 1920s and subsequently becoming wide-spread. The article analyzes the changes of state policy regarding pacifism, as well as the reaction of the evangelical community to the pressure of the authorities. Initially, the Soviet state granted believers the right to replace military service with alternative civil service. However, in the 1930s, this option was revoked. Despite the proclamation of freedom of conscience, the Soviet state forced evangelical structures to perform civil duties, including bearing arms for military service. . The evangelical community has developed a flexible position on pacifism, officially declaring the requirement to comply with state laws and personal responsibility for choice. During the Soviet period, the evan-gelical community developed several strategies of action in relation to participation in military operations and mili-tary service: from categorical refusal to total acceptance of the need for army service. Different evangelical churches have their own traditions of attitudes towards military service. In illegal communities, there were often cases of re-fusal to take the military oath with weapons in their hands. In the late Soviet period, for most believers, military ser-vice was a way to test the "steadfastness of their faith" and a demonstration of law-abiding and inclusion in the life of Soviet society.

Česko-slovenské reflexie v prostredí národnostných škôl slovenských komunít na tzv. Dolnej zemi

The paper discusses Czech-Slovak relations, as reflected in the history of Slovak communities in Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, commonly known as Dolná zem [Lower Land] Slovaks. They lived in distinct linguistic and ethno-cultural enclaves in close proximity to linguistically different populations. They were mostly members of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession and thus culturally linked to the Czech language. In each of the above countries, there was a varying degree of contact between Slovak and Czech minority communities. The second part of the paper focuses on the Czech-Slovak reflections in teaching within the minority education system in the different countries. These reflections are possible thanks to minority schools in Hungary and Romania having, in addition to the subject of state history, special subjects covering history and ethnography with specific textbooks, and in Serbia, the subject of history having extra time allocated and a supplementary textbook. Czecho-Slovak reflections are still present in the states with Lower Land Slovak communities and are mostly linked to the traditions associated with the Evangelical Church.

The “filial piety” of the C&amp;MA Evangelical denomination and the Vietnamese tradition

Filial piety is one of the central issues of Vietnamese culture. It is not only a matter of social morality or human outlook but also has a close relationship with faith - belief and religion of most Vietnamese people. For the Vietnamese, filial piety is an extremely important moral value and a basic - most important standard of human-to-human relationships. The C&amp;MA Evangelical denomination has existed in Vietnam for more than 100 years and although it has affirmed its position with practical contributions, it still encounters prejudice about a religion that teaches people “to deny their roots", "to abandon their grandparents", and “not to be filial to their ancestors", which is contrary to Vietnamese cultural tradition. The research shows the concept of filial piety in the human outlook of the C&amp;MA Evangelical believers from the perspective of the classical analysis of religion. In addition, the author also contributes to clarifying the causes of the C&amp;MA Evangelical Church's failure to practice ancestor worship and analyzing research hypotheses about the relationship between Evangelicalism and Vietnamese culture in the "filial piety" through doctrines, thereby pointing out the most common reasons to answer the question why the filial spirit of the C&amp;MA Evangelical denomination in Vietnam still encounters cultural barriers in the development process.

Enlightenment and religion in Kant

How can we reconcile religion and Enlightenment in Kant? I begin by analyzing Kant’s conception of a rational religion and the key concepts of radical evil and ethical community. I refer to many instances of overcoming evil in Kant’s work. First, I show that in the Anthropology, the cultivation of society is one possibility, while in the Idea for a Universal History, the unsociable sociability plays a role to accomplish a moral end. In Religion, on the other hand, only an ethical community can defeat evil. Since evil has its source in social relations, only a society of virtue can counteract passions. Second, I ask whether we can reconcile religious faith with rational Enlightenment or if some concepts used in Religion, such as radical evil, are only a disguise for anti-Enlightenment conceptions. Finally, I ask if it is reasonable to argue that we should keep religion as an important social practice or if it always brings a higher risk of anti-Enlightenment outcomes such as fanaticism. I analyze the case of Brazil, where the Evangelical church helped to elect a right-wing president with a very conservative and anti-Enlightenment agenda.

Respuesta bíblica sobre la invisibilidad de la mujer

The objective of this Essay is to respond objectively to the accusations that are leveled against the Holy Scriptures and the evangelical church, accusing them of sexism, misogynists and discriminators of women. To carry out this Essay we propose three moments; the first, to define and clarify the concepts that feminist literature uses on the subject of the Invisibility of Women; in a second moment we make a brief explanation of some biblical texts based on the gospel according to Saint John when Jesus Christ is related to some women; Finally, the results of the survey that we carried out in the month of August are presented, as a result of a course that we were giving at Landmark Baptist Theological Seminary, at the postgraduate level. After carrying out these moments, we affirm that, in no way can the Holy Scriptures and specifically Jesus Christ be described as sexist, misogynist or oppressive; on the contrary, women are dignified and have an important participation in ecclesiastical work. The results of the applied surveys allow us to affirm that, in our churches and homes, the aforementioned Invisibility of Women does not exist; they decide and participate actively in the economy and administration in their home, they also enjoy and decide regarding their sexual intimacy, while participation in the Church is still regular.

Finnish Response to NATO - Views from the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Christians in Finnish Politics

Finland placed an application for NATO in May of 2022, together with Sweden, with whom Finland’s foreign policy goals had been aligned for years.

Understanding Covenants and Communities: Jews and Latter-day Saints in Dialogue

Understanding Covenants and Communities: Jews and Latter-day Saints in Dialogue

The Coveted Hated Friend: Israel as the Method and Goal of Christian Zionism in the United States

This paper examines the influence of American Christian Zionism as a religious-political movement on changes in US-Israeli relations. Christian Zionism is a widespread theological theory in evangelical Protestant Christian circles, which forms the main base of support for Republican politicians in the United States and demonstrates unquestioning support for Israel. Nevertheless, the reasons for this support have a certain direction, finding supporters among ideologues of desecularization, religious extremists and anti-Semites, especially through the words of prominent pastors and leaders of the Christian Zionism movement in the United States. The paper will analyze its potential negative consequences for Israel in the transformation of US-Israeli relations under the influence of Christian Zionism.

The Repressive Policy of the Soviet Totalitarian Authorities Towards the Evangelical Baptist Christians of Ukraine

The Repressive Policy of the Soviet Totalitarian Authorities Towards the Evangelical Baptist Christians of Ukraine

Neo-Gnosticism and the American Dissident Right

Neo-Gnosticism and the American Dissident Right

Remarks on Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Conversion

abstract: This article reflects Carolyn Chen's remarks at the Buddhist-Christian Studies panel on her book, Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Conversion (Princeton, 2008) at the 2022 American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. The article embeds the book's study of Taiwanese immigrant conversions to evangelical Christianity and Buddhism within larger patterns of migration, religious community, and ethnic formation in American history.