People Of Faith Research Articles

From prejudice to marginalization: Tracing the forms of online hate speech targeting LGBTQ+ and Muslim communities

This study investigates online hate speech in Finland, particularly Twitter messages targeting people of Muslim faith and the LGBTQ+ community, using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative text classification with a BERT model and qualitative thematic analysis via BERTopic and examination of highly interacted posts from 2018 to 2023. The study shows increasing instances of hate speech occurring online, primarily against Muslims, with topic modeling uncovering 32 topics for Muslims and 41 for the LGBTQ+ community, featuring themes of violence, cultural conflict, and challenges to traditional values. The LGBTQ+ community is depicted as undermining traditional norms, whereas Muslims are presented with hostility. The research underscores the necessity for digital platforms to employ nuanced strategies to counter hate speech, advocating for policies that tackle hate speech while also addressing the underlying factors and enhancing understanding of the social and cultural contexts of the targeted groups to refine detection accuracy.

Islamic Education's Role in Building Character, Teaching Moral Values to Students, and Becoming the Pillar of a Quality Society

This study examines the extent to which strengthening Islamic education is able to shape individual character and humans as quality society union. Film Study: The strategy followed in this study is a form of reading referred as to film-reading (Documentary Form analysis). The findings of this study suggest that the enhancement of Islamic education can develop the characteristics one has as an individual. In good Islamic teachings, human beings are given moral values such as honesty, nose-to-tail and the pursuit of justice. Islamic education teaches and develops human character including empathy, tolerance from each other to collaborate. Also necessary, the ascendancy of Islamic education is one pillar to uphold a qualified society. If society was sound Islamic education then people of different faith and race will have peaceful life where in they can respect each other in every walk of their religious and cultural lives. Islamic education is also instrumental in shaping a high social conscious society that respects diversity and accepts the responsibility for all.

INTER-CIVILIZATIONAL ISSUES AND THE FACTORS AFFECTING INTERFAITH RELATIONSHIPS: A STUDY OF MUHAMMAD HAMIDULLAH’S CONTRIBUTIONS

Interesting issues related to cross civilizations matters for linking the past with future. It becomes more significant when East meets the West. Contrast in civilizations and one’s exposure to this develops a different personality and Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah is one of them who is known for such intellectual contributions that has made an impact on the inter and intra civilisational issues. This paper explores the factors influencing interfaith relationships with a specific focus on the contributions of Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah. In an era of globalisation, multicultural and multi-religious societies are increasingly common. Dr. Hamidullah, having spent a significant portion of his life interacting with followers of various religions, provides valuable insights into fostering inter-civilisational harmony. His scholarly work and personal interactions highlight how different faiths can coexist peacefully within the same society. This study investigates the factors that enhance or hinder interfaith relationships and discusses the societal consequences of interfaith harmony. The research is framed around Dr. Hamidullah’s experiences and contributions, particularly during his time in France, where he engaged with people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. By examining his approach to interfaith dialogue and understanding, the paper aims to provide guidance on improving interfaith relations in contemporary society. This study employs a qualitative and narrative research methodology. It focuses on identifying and analysing the factors affecting interfaith harmony by interpreting the teachings and actions of Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah. The narrative approach is used to present real-life examples from his experiences, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in interfaith dialogues. The research is grounded in a detailed analysis of Dr. Hamidullah’s scholarly contributions and personal interactions with people of different faiths, emphasising practical solutions to improve interfaith relationships in today’s globalised world.

Preaching [and Teaching] Thurman’s New Testament Spirituality

The paper considers the hermeneutical and homiletical model of New Testament spirituality available through Howard Thurman’s writings. The paper argues that at least three features distinguish Thurman’s NT spirituality from dominant understandings of Christian spirituality that serve preachers, biblical and theological teachers, and the NT exegete. Attuned to the histories and contexts of African Americans and diverse understandings of spiritual experience, Thurman’s approach to NT spirituality attends to matters of genre and biography, explores the activities of God’s Spirit as attested in the Bible and the lives of faithful people, and utilizes diverse modes of African American rhetorical aesthetics from oral, literary, and visual materials.

Meaningful Vocation in a Climate-Changed World: Learnings from Seminary of the Wild

Practices and strategies for sustaining resilient spiritual leadership are critical in this time of climate crisis. Learnings from participants in the Seminary of the Wild eco-ministry certification program offer guidance for engaging in practices of education and formation that can help people of faith meet the challenges of these times and meaningfully contribute to the flourishing of their communities and the planet. The implications of these learnings for wider contexts will be explored.

Empowering Diverse Faith Communities through Engagement in Participatory Science

Developing successful strategies that promote meaningful dialogue between scientific and religious communities is arguably one of the most urgent issues of our time. Perceptions of science as hostile to religion have led governments to adopt educational policies that are not in the best interest of communities and adversely affect participation in science by people of faith, disproportionately excluding minorities and women (e.g., Bolger and Ecklund 2022; Barnes and Brownell 2018; Ecklund et al. 2019). Diversifying science requires respectfully and constructively engaging with diverse worldviews and cultures. One way this can be accomplished is through collaborative projects that facilitate building relationships across communities that might not otherwise interact.

The Franciscan Undercurrent in Polish Literature as Exemplified by the Works of Józef Wittlin and Roman Brandstaetter

This article discusses the Franciscan theme in Polish literature, which was apparent from the 19th century onwards, and especially towards the end of that century. This trend involves the works of many authors and an enormous variety of texts. Therefore, this article focuses on two writers—Józef Wittlin and Roman Brandstaetter—who clearly inherited the broad Franciscan tradition, and also developed and popularised the Franciscan message. The Franciscan revival in Polish literature was initiated by Protestants, which often meant a departure from the figure of St. Francis established by the Church in favour of an individual understanding and presentation of him. The first Polish centre of the revival of Franciscanism as a literary and cultural formation was Lviv. Józef Wittlin grew up in this environment; moreover, he authored, inter alia, the first Polish unfinished novel about St. Francis Salt of the Earth, which refers to Franciscanism, as well as a number of smaller texts with a Franciscan message. Wittlin was a mentor to Roman Brandstaetter, who, after World War II, became the greatest bard of Assisi and St. Francis in Polish literature. Unlike Wittlin, who was Protestant-inspired, Brandstaetter clearly placed the Assisi saint in a Catholic context. This writer greatly expanded references to Franciscan tradition and art in his work. He wrote essays on Assisi, wrote a drama about St. Francis, and combined Franciscanism with biblical themes, as evidenced by his Jesus of Nazareth tetralogy. Despite their differences, what both writers shared is that the saint from Assisi was neither an object of devotional worship nor an outdated figure, but a representative of ideas and layers of spirituality that had remained fresh for people living in that conflicted era. Although they emphasised other aspects of the Franciscan ethos, they both accepted it as a counterbalance to a cold and indifferent world, an idea for living addressed not only to Christians, but also to people of other faiths and agnostics.

Gathered: A Theology for Institutions in a Changing Church

Practical theology has historically engaged in sustained theological reflection on the practices of the Church that intersect with the practices of the world. As field of study, it engages in interdisciplinary engagement that combines social and theological forms of reasoning and analysis. As a broader field of praxis, it seeks to support the conditions where people of faith are formed, and communities of faith may flourish. In both expressions, practical theology exists in a dynamic relationship to institutions (e.g., congregations, denominations, universities) and contributes research and praxis that supports the future of institutions and the faith they mediate. While institutions are often the source and site of practical theology, “institutions” are taken for granted as a clearly-identifiable social form and a fixed expression. However, transnational changes in congregations and related faith-based institutions require an account of the nature and role of institutions within practical theology. In this gap, this paper advances a two-part argument: first, institutions are sites of multimodal gathering, creating containers for various forms of encounter where individuals and communities gather around a shared context, shared stories, shared practices, shared resources, and a shared journey. Second, theology for institutions can be sustained by attending to five modes of institutional engagement and analysis that are marked by attention to shared context, narratives, practices, resources, and a journey. Three sections advance this argument. The first part introduces three different situations of institutional encounter to question the relationship between theology and institutions amid a changing organizational landscape. The second part engages Alasdair MacIntyre as an interpretive framework to identify the gap of institutions in the field of practical theology. The third part concludes by detailing the structure of a theological account that resolves this gap in the field and may attend to the forms of gathering institutions provide.

Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in North-Central Nigeria

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has emerged as a major challenge to global efforts to control the pandemic, particularly in Nigeria, where hesitancy to other effective vaccines such as polio and measles has been widely reported. Several individual, societal, and structural factors contribute to this behaviour and prevent the effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention efforts. Objectives This study sought to identify the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the seven states of North-Central, Nigeria. Methods A population-based cross-sectional online survey was conducted among residents using a semi-structured questionnaire adapted from the WHO SAGE vaccine hesitancy scale and distributed via social media networks over 8-weeks. Results A total of 1,429 responses met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. Among the respondents, 60.7% were males, 47.5% were between the ages of 26 and 45, and 80.1% had postsecondary education. A total of 421 respondents (29.5%) were hesitant and unwilling to receive the vaccine. The reasons for hesitancy were concerns about side effects (37.1%), doubt about the existence of COVID-19 (11.0%), and the perception of time required to receive the vaccine (9.6%). Post-secondary education (AOR: 0.49, 0.36-0.66) and people of the Islamic faith (AOR: 0.68, 0.52-0.90) were found to be associated with lower levels of hesitancy. Conclusion The study found that vaccine hesitancy is a complex problem that is linked with multiple social determinants of health as lower educational attainment, lower income and Christian faith were found to be predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Confidence, Complacency and Convenience factors were expressed by respondents as concerns about side effects, doubt about the existence of COVID-19 and time required to receive the vaccines were the most prominent reasons for unwillingness to receive the vaccine. In order to protect the public health of communities, targeted interventions are required to increase vaccine acceptance by cultivating trust in vaccines, disseminating accurate information, and engaging with community stakeholders including religious groups.

Symposium: From coming out to coming in: Roundtable conversation among Southeast Asian queer theologians

Through a roundtable conversation via Zoom, teachers, pastors, and graduate students discussed the place of gender, citizenship, and faith in their identity formation and social accountability to articulate a hermeneutical lens specific to Southeast Asian contexts that shape and critique queer identities. These participants—primarily ministers, theological students, and seminary formators—engaged in organic, fluid, and multifocal turns to capture experiences that undergird the realities of women and LGBTQIQ+ people of faith in the region.

Re St Nicholas, Leicester

The church has a growing reputation as a safe place for LGBTQIA+ people of faith. In September 2022 it received a gift of an altar frontal in the form of the Progress Pride flag, which had been removed following a complaint from outside the diocese; the present petition was for a faculty to authorise its introduction.

Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights: A Novel by Salman Rushdie: A Postmodern New Atheist Novel

Abstract: The essay offers a reading of Salman Rushdie's Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights (2015) in the dual context of the New Atheist novel and postmodernist conventions. Rushdie's novel argues that (1) God is a powerful, fearsome, and indeed dangerous being created by the human imagination, (2) religion has a damaging effect on social life: it inevitably leads to conflicts between people of various faiths and is used to support all kinds of exploitative policies, (3) people might be free of religions only if they become fully rational, which entails renouncing their storytelling capacity. The novel's critique of God and religion is consistent with that of New Atheism. But this critique does not exhaust the novel's meaning. The novel also expresses (4) faith in love, of which humanity seems capable and which—like religion—depends on the human capacity for storytelling. Belief in secular transcendence available through storytelling and love also complies with New Atheism. To convey its ideas, the novel uses postmodernist conventions. Apparently, this makes the book self-contradictory: the postmodern radical epistemic skepticism disagrees with the ideals of the Enlightenment embraced by New Atheists. Examined more closely, postmodern conventions can be read as conveying a fairly consistent set of plausible ideas concerning, in particular, the "fictionality" of social life, while the New Atheists' writings turn out to be highly dogmatic. Interestingly, the dogmatism of Rushdie's novel is decreased by postmodernist contradictions, ironies, and ambiguities, which undermine the novel's meaning.

Exemplifying the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) in Fostering Peaceful Co-Existence among Christians and Muslims in Nigeria

In the last three decades, most of the major conflicts in Nigeria are centered on ethnicity and religion. Fundamental Muslims and Christians or moderate (liberal) Muslims and adherents of African Indigenous Religions have wrecked a lot of havoc in Nigeria. In many cases, religious leaders and politicians have manipulated these conflicts for political and economic gains. These conflicts have resulted in the death of several thousands of people and loss of unquantifiable amount of money and property. Various attempts by government, individuals, religious and other interest groups on resolving the lingering and hydra-headed crisis have not yielded holistic and desirable result. Some scholarly articles have been written to proffer solutions to Nigeria's ethno-religious crisis; these include research on interfaith dialogue, social integration, sustainable communal developments, the impact of ethno- religious crisis on the security, economy and sociopolitical stability of the country. However, the exemplary nature of loving, empathizing, accepting, accommodating and living with one’s known or perceived enemies have not been adequately explored with religious hindsight. This paper therefore considers the exemplary character of the “Good Samaritan” in the parable of Jesus Christ (Luke 10:25-37) as a spring board for peaceful co-existence between Christians and people of other faiths in Nigerian multicultural contexts, particularly the Muslims. Exegetical and historical methods are used; the Theoretical Framework is premised on Eisenberg Pro-social Behaviour theory, which is defined as voluntary behaviour intended to benefit another (Eisenberg, 1986). Findings reveal that Nigeria has been wracked by periodic violent clashes between political, ethnic and religious groups since the second half of the 20th century. Reasons for these clashes vary from one locality to another but they are mostly motivated by religious, social, economic and political disputes. Conclusively, exemplifying the teaching of Jesus Christ on love for one's neighbour in the parable of the "Good Samaritan" here proposed first to the Christian community gives a new hope on the quest for peace in Nigeria and re-orientation for Christians and their Muslim neighbours. It is recommended therefore that both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria should leverage on the “Good Samaritan’s” peace accord to one’s neghbour proposed by Jesus Christ without prejudice or stereotyping one another.

CHRISTUS SALVATOR

Considering the many diverse religious traditions coexisting in the same societies across the globe, the issue of how Christianity relates to other religions has become increasingly important. Theologians have developed three main approaches that address this issue: exclusivism, inclusivism, and religious pluralism. This article offers a critical examination of these approaches using a literature study. It also delves into the truth claim about Christ’s finality and salvific role in the world, exploring its implications for Christian missions. It argues that while adhering to Christ’s finality in the religiously pluralistic world is still relevant for contemporary Christians, it is necessary to engage respectfully and sensitively when approaching missions among people of other faiths. The article advocates a P-H-D model for missions, demonstrating the significance of three missional attitudes: Perseverance, Humility, and Dialogue.

Meister Eckhart: A True Dominican

ABSTRACT Considering the many titles ascribed to Eckhart – philosopher, theologian, mystic – this paper argues that in his ‘Sermons and Lectures on Ecclesiastes’ we see that these are all aspects of the Meister which can, and should be, subsumed under the title of Dominican. Eckhart was living out the vision of Dominic, the founder of the Order, that vision of able men who, rooted in the contemplative discipline inherited from Augustine, could articulate the faith in intellectual terms. In his work on Ecclesiastes, he was passionately concerned that those for whom he was responsible should be people of deep faith and integrity as well as intellectually able.

Integrasi Ilmu Dan Pendidikan Dalam Islam Surah Al-Mujadillah Ayat 11

Islam is a religion whose holy book is the Koran and respects people of knowledge and faith. Knowledgeable people will have a positive attitude because of their knowledge and can apply it in everyday life. The purpose of writing this article is to discuss the importance of understanding Surah Al-Mujadillah verse 11 in the Al-Qur'an according to several interpretations. According to some interpretations, humans are commanded to respect other people in meetings. The discussion remains focused on how to gather according to the interests of the ulama, where to achieve higher knowledge, seekers of knowledge must follow the provisions of Allah SWT and must be polite when attending meetings.

Linguistic Landscape Analysis of Identity Representation in Public Signs at Watugong Buddhist Monastery Semarang

Public signs at Watugong Monastery in Semarang serve not only as guides for visitors but also as representations of identity, meaning, and values. This study aims to uncover the meaning and representation of identity in the public signs of Watugong Monastery by considering the cultural, religious, and social contexts in accordance with the dominant ideology in the place. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method with a Barthes (1991) semiotics approach. Research data was collected through observation and documentation methods using photography techniques. The results of this study show that there are representations of cultural, religious, and socio-religious identities in the Public signs of Watugong Monastery. Religious identity comes from the interpretation of the object label signs 福 (fú), 祿 (lù), and 壽 (shòu) which reflect Chinese cultural values. Religious identity emerges from hiolo stick sign, which contains the meaning of strong faith in Buddha and his teachings through prayer and devotion supported by morality and exemplary behavior. Finally, socio-religious identity appears on the Ashoka inscription sign, the strong religious element derived from Buddhist teachings, the inscription also shows an example of social life between people of different faiths who must always teach tolerance and moderation in religion. This research is still very open for further research in various other aspects of LL, for example, visitors' perceptions of the language used at Watugong Monastery.

Religious Diversity, Personal Knowledge, and Oblivious Salvation

In this paper, I employ recent work on divine ineffability (Jacobs, 2015) and personal knowledge (Benton, 2017) to argue that specific propositional knowledge cannot be required for salvation, where salvation is understood to involve a general claim about a person’s union with God. If this is true, I show that nobody can be excluded from salvation through mere happenstance of birth. Furthermore, I argue that adherents of this minimalist order of salvation ought to adopt a position of significant religious humility, for it is a consequence of this view that those with wildly divergent propositional beliefs about God, including people of different faiths, and even of no faith, can ultimately experience union with the same God. Although presented as an argument for salvific inclusivity, I conclude by showing that a similar argument can be adapted in defence of salvific pluralism. If there are no fundamentally true propositional beliefs about God to be had, each true claim made about God must be non-fundamentally true. Furthermore, just as there are multiple ways to truly, but non-fundamentally, describe the same object (ways that might contradict each other), so might there be multiple ways to truly, but non-fundamentally, describe God.

Non-Muslims’ Rights in the Jurisprudential Approach of a Contemporary Shīʿī cleric: Ayatollah Yūsef Ṣāneʿī’s View

Abstract This article explores the approach of contemporary Shīʿī Iranian cleric Ayatollah Yūsef Ṣāneʿī to the rights of non-Muslims. It addresses his ideas with regard to three key issues: 1) the notion of the ritual impurity (najāsat) of non-Muslims and interfaith marriage; 2) the inheritance of a Muslim and a non-Muslim; and 3) the retaliation (qiṣāṣ) and the blood money of a Muslim and a non-Muslim. The article demonstrates that Ṣāneʿī, as a reformist Shīʿī scholar, uses a variety of methods to challenge traditional Shīʿī jurisprudential rulings about people of other faiths, arguing that their rights should be enhanced considerably. Ṣāneʿī’s ideas, as will be argued, represent a significant break with dominant Shīʿī views concerning the rights of people of other faiths. His ideas have the potential to eliminate some of the inequalities between Muslims and non-Muslims prescribed in traditional jurisprudential literature, and to increase social relationships between Muslims and people of other faiths.

Islam's View of Pluralisme:A Study of Maudhu'i Tafsir

This research discusses the Islamic perspective on diversity and efforts to create harmony between religious differences. The primary sources of this research are the Koran, hadith, and the words of scholars about diversity. Meanwhile, the secondary sources of this research are derived from the literacy of several articles. The results of this study highlight the importance of communication and mutual understanding in creating a friendly environment for all. This research will also deepen our understanding of Islamic diversity and encourage peace-building between people of different faiths. Then, this research is conducted using the thematic approach method, which is to collect verses related to pluralism and identify the interpretation of the verse by clarifying the background of the revelation of verses related to pluralism and its relationship with other verses in the Qur'an.