Religious Inclusion Research Articles

Worldviews education: cosmopolitan peacebuilding and preventing violent extremism

ABSTRACT Since the mid-2000s soft power approaches to counter and prevent violent extremism (C/PVE) have increasingly been implemented by civil society, state actors and UN agencies internationally. Education is a critical and previously undervalued component in PVE, as it has only recently begun to attract significant scholarly and policy attention. This article briefly reviews the emerging field of education and PVE, and argues that it could benefit from drawing on insights from research on education about diverse religious and non-religious worldviews and PVE in Australia. Our research indicates that these types of educational initiatives can assist with addressing religious vilification, discrimination and interreligious tensions, and also with building religious literacy and social inclusion of young people, thereby minimising risks of alienation and vulnerability to extremism. We also argue that a critical approach to education about religions can assist young people to identify religions’ ambivalent role in contributing to both cultures of violence – direct and structural – and cultures of peace. We present a case study on learning about diverse worldviews in Victoria, Australia in this article to illustrate our arguments and finally make a series of recommendations regarding religion, education and PVE, and cosmopolitan peacebuilding strategies more broadly.

Religious education between inter - school function, religious perceptions and social practices of the religious field: A case study

The social and political characteristics of religion influence the lesson of Religious Education in modern school and the functioning of the Religious Field, the conflicts within it and the efforts to control its content. However, in a pluralistic society, how important is the presence of a lesson of interreligious education on terms and criteria of school learning rather than religious inclusion? Can the school bring religion back into the public debate with the conditions of the functioning of a secular society, or the restoration of religion will be a return to the pre-modern situation? In this direction we considered it appropriate to investigate the perceptions of 540 students, mainly from the Theological and the Pedagogical Faculties, about the content of the lesson, their religious perceptions and the Greek society.

PRODI STUDI AGAMA-AGAMA SEBAGAI PELOPOR INKLUSIFITAS BERAGAMA: REFLEKSI PENGALAMAN PRODI STUDI AGAMA-AGAMA UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR

Radicalism is a complex problem. By that, a holistic approach is needed to overcome this issue. Every element of society and the state are morally responsible to support the process of deradicalization and strengthening the spirit of togetherness as a nation. This paper tries to explain how Religious Studies can be a study program that is expected to be able to support and actively involved in preventing young people engage with radicalism. All this time, radicalism has been understood to arise because of exclusives religious attitudes. On the contrary, religious studies is a place that leads students to get out of the trap of religious exclusivity. Religious Studies is an incubator where the spirit of religious inclusiveness is built. The attempts to counter radicalism can be one of the works for religious studies majors, especially the Religious Studies of Alauddin State Islamic University, Makassar. The religious study program must be at the forefront of campaigning religious inclusivity, anti-religious radicalism and also initiating a spirit of tolerance between religions.

Religious Pluralism and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Religious pluralism implies a diverse variety and multiplicity of faiths found to exist simultaneously in a given society. The beauty of these religions in their respective distinctiveness, even as they uphold and teach variegated divine sparks of the incomprehensible Supreme Being (God), is seen when they inclusively work together in one purposeful and concerted effort to unfold (de-envelope) the naturalness which humanity must conquer in order to be termed: developed. The platforms and bridges of religious inclusivism, ecumenism and tolerance lead naturally to greater freedoms, self-actualization, civilization and peace which are critical components of sustainable development. Religious pluralism has inherent integrative powers to transform the society positively. However, historical experiences reveal that societies which tie political battle for supremacy, socio-economic dominance and cultural superiority complex to their religions breed developmental crises. One example of such a specimen is Nigeria. The interactions between the three dominant religions in Nigeria, namely: Christianity, African Traditional Religion and Islam have been largely governed by divisiveness, hatred, bigotry and violence. The consequence is developmental deficits. This paper strove to discuss the integrative value of religious pluralism which brings sustainable development. It also examined exclusivity as a common possible weakness of religious pluralism which destroys the integral growth of peoples and nations. The methodology employed in this work is historic-descriptive which means that the relationship patterns of the three religions in Nigeria and their impacts on sustainable development were studied over time guided by the progressive value of religion. Finally, the paper recommended the need to eschew religious absolutism or totalitarianism, and secularity of constitutions to be upheld among others to promote the harnessing of the gains of religious diversity. Key Words : Religious pluralism, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, Sustainable development, Nigeria.

Postscript on Dialogue and Inclusive Religious Education: The ReDi Studies in a European Context

This postscript relates the findings of ReDi studies to the Council of Europe’s work on “the religious dimension of intercultural education,” and to studies conducted by members of the Signposts International Research Network (SIRN). It summarizes developments in religious education and their relationship to human rights, and then focuses on Council of Europe’s work. The findings reported by ReDi and SIRN researchers are seen to be complementary, both addressing issues raised in the Council of Europe’s Signposts book.

Гуманистическая интенция джадидистской экзегетики (по материалам работы М. Бигиева «Фикх ал-Кур’ан»)

The article presents an analysis of the commentary to the sura “The Opening One” (al-Fatiha) and the first five ayats of the sura “the Cow” (al-Baqara) by the Russian Muslim theologian-reformer Musa Jarullah Bigiyev (1874-1949) “Fiqh al-Qurʼan” (The Understanding of the Qurʼan). It is a unique example of the jadidist reading of the Qurʼan and contains the basic principles of this movement — the rejection of the imitation of tradition, the use of the methodology of European science, humanistic intention expressed in anthropocentrism, rationalism, social orientation and religious inclusiveness.

Religious Inclusivity in Islamic Education Course Book of the 2013 Curriculum

A survey of Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) in 2017 states that Islamic Education course is one of the triggers for the rise of intolerant attitudes and thoughts in the younger generation of Indonesian Muslims. This background encourages this paper to examine the content of tolerance in Islamic Education textbook of the 2013 curriculum. This study is a library research using Fairclough’s Critical Discourse method for senior high school’s Islamic Education textbooks of X, XI, and XII grade. The results of the study show that, (1) the general framework of the 2013 curriculum is oriented towards building an inclusive generation of young Muslims, but the textbooks are ambiguous, (2) the discourse battle between substantive Islam and Islamism in the curriculum causes ambiguity in the textbooks, and (3) the book’s producers are not official institution of Islam, therefore the course’s teaching material is personal, as the author’s personal opinion. Implementation and limitation of papers are presented at the end of this paper.

‘…we don’t bring religion into school’: issues of religious inclusion and social cohesion

This paper examines the approaches of cultural and religious inclusion at one small state-funded primary school situated in suburban Australia. The school community is experiencing high levels of racialised, gendered and religious conflict. Through case study data from leaders and teachers, we illustrate the potential and limitations of these approaches and consider their location within the notions of secularity and Christian privilege that characterise Australia’s public education system. The paper is situated within the context of current anxieties around social conflict and unrest especially in relation to religious racism or Islamophobia and amid calls for the introduction of a multi-faith education in Australian public schools. Against this backdrop, we highlight key tensions and difficulties confronting schools in their efforts to be inclusive towards creating a climate of social cohesion.

Navigating religious diversity: exploring young people’s lived religious citizenship in Indonesia

ABSTRACTAgainst the backdrop of several concerning reports which have noted growing socio-religious conservatism and intolerance amongst Indonesia youth, this study examined how school-aged Indonesian young people navigate encounters with religious difference in their everyday lives. Recognising the significance of religious and citizenship education curricula, the research included classroom observations and interviews with 20 religiously-diverse Indonesian young people in three purposively selected high schools in Jakarta. The paper reveals that participants in all three schools agreed that religious studies and their personal religious frameworks were central to their approaches toward religious tolerance. However, their lived everyday experiences of rubbing shoulders with religious ‘others’, expanded upon and critiqued the narrowness and rigidity of these frameworks and showed greater religious inclusivity. Through this analysis the paper integrates prior work on ‘lived religion’ and ‘lived citizenship’ to fuse a ‘lived religious citizenship’ concept, arguing that this adds depth to both fields by recognising that religion cannot be separated from the experience of being a citizen. A focus on lived religious citizenship provides a deeper account of individual identity and highlights the importance of qualitative studies focused on the living out of religion and citizenship.

Leadership for Democracy in Challenging Times: Historical Case Studies in the United States and Canada

Purpose: This article focuses on the role of school and district leadership in the development and implementation of reform aimed at increasing racial and religious tolerance. It chronicles the rise of intercultural and democratic citizenship curriculum in three North American sites—Springfield, Massachusetts, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and San Diego, California—during the 1940s. Research Method: Parallel historical case studies were conducted using traditional historical research methods through the analysis of archival documents, school district memos, school board minutes, and contextualization through relevant secondary source literature. Findings: School and district leaders supported curriculum innovation aimed at prejudice reduction and propaganda analysis, networked and collaborated with community organizations, and used foundation funding to support curriculum and professional development for racial and religious inclusion. Implications: These cases highlight the critical role of leadership to support democracy in the development of partnerships between school and district personnel, community activists, and civic foundations; the establishment of advocacy networks across borders; and the “borrowing” of diversity policies from other school districts, which were adapted to their unique community contexts. This historical study has implications for how current school leaders might “lead for democracy” in challenging times.

Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy's Religious Integrative Thinking

The objective of this essay is to reveal how the intricate relation among speech, time, history, and space was successfully employed by Eugene Rosenstock-Huessy in order to promote a new type of integrative vision based on religious inclusiveness. We have chosen to focus on Rosenstock-Huessy because of his theological thinking that is marked by the presence of the Cross conceived as death and resurrection. Our basic concern is his book, The Christian Future, or the Modern Mind Outrun, mainly centered upon the concept of the Cross of Reality, which brought about his inclusive attitude regarding some religions from the Far East as well as Judaism.

Prophethood of Jesus and Religious Inclusivism in Nursi’s Risale-i Nur

This article examines Said Nursi’s understanding of Jesus, his comparison of the prophethood of Jesus with that of Muḥammad, and his conception of Christianity and Islam as partners in the struggle against irreligion. Nursi’s views are then placed in the context of interreligious dialogue and the argument made that Nursi’s critical respect for Christianity can be read as an Islamic version of religious inclusivism, i.e. Nursi’s recognition and valuing of the truth, goodness and holiness of Christianity, while affirming that these qualities reach full expression only in Islam.

Mempertimbangkan Gagasan Hermeneutika Farid Esack untuk Membangun Kerukunan Hidup Umat Beragama

<em>There is no religion encourages its adherents to commit violance. However, it is not rare acts of violence committed by religious peoples, even by those with a strong religious base and they do it in the name of their religion. In fact, the idea to undertake dialogue and cooperation among believers have often done. However, the passion and intensity of dialogue is still a lot that is done on the basis of sociological and political interests or the like. It has not been coupled with changes in dogma and the more fundamental religious thought, so the dialogue, cooperation and harmony that is generated is only an artificial unity, not a genuine unity. In this context, the “harmony” hermeneutics of Farid Esack uphold pluralism and religious inclusivism is worth considered for developed in Indonesia given one of the causes of tension and violence that the nuances of religion is accentuating the views and attitudes of religious exclusivism.</em>

Tradition, Identity and Scriptural Authority

It is commonly held that one of the distinguishing features of modern Hinduism is its all-inclusive tolerance and comprehensive openness for religious plurality. However, this universalism contrasts in important ways with the traditional inclusivism found in the writings of classical and medieval Indian brahminical thinkers. This article focuses on the inherent complexity and modalities of religious inclusivism in the early modern period. How was inclusivism construed and defended by Sanskrit intellectuals of this period? How do inclusivist models relate to broader concepts of identity, tradition and scriptures? An attempt is here made to answer these questions through examining the work of the sixteenth century scholar Appaya Diksita. Special attention will be paid to arguments he presents in his Sivarkamanidipika concerning the legitimacy of the Pancaratra tradition and the authority of Saivagamas.

Redefining cultural, national, and religious identity: The Christian–Vodouist dialogue?

This essay examines the work of two prominent progressive Haitian Theologians: Laënnec Hurbon, a Catholic Theologian and former Priest, and Jean Fils-Aimé, a Protestant Theologian and former Pastor in Montreal, and their interaction with the Vodou religion. Both thinkers have written prolifically about the three major religious expressions in Haiti and the enduring religious conflict between Protestantism, Catholicism, and Vodou in the Caribbean nation. The history of relations between Christianity—both Protestant and Catholic—and Vodou in Haiti is marked by a high degree of combativeness, hostility, and discomfort. To resolve the religious tension between Haitian Vodou and Haitian Christianity, Hurbon has suggested a frank ecumenical dialogue between Vodou, Catholicism, and Protestantism, and carefully demonstrated the legitimation of Vodou in the Haitian experience and life. In the same line of thought, Fils-Aimé has recommended an interreligious dialogue between the two religious traditions, and brilliantly argued for the inculturation of the Vodou faith in Haitian Protestantism and culture. Through their work, both thinkers continue to campaign for more religious tolerance, pluralism, and religious inclusivism in Haitian society. I am suggesting that the Catholic theologian Laënnec Hurbon in his classic work Dieu dans le vaudou haïtien (1972) has inaugurated what we phrase the Christian–Vodouist compromissory tradition. Following the footsteps of Hurbon, Fils-Aimé in his controversial and learned work Vodou, je me souviens, published in 2007, has done for Haitian Protestantism what Hurbon has achieved for Haitian Catholicism—pushing forward the idea of the inculturation of Vodou culture and practices in Protestant Christianity in Haiti—within the framework of a Protestant–Vodouist compromissory tradition.

REINTERPRETASI MAKNA AL-ISLĀM DALAM AL-QUR’AN (Menuju Keagamaan yang Etis dan Dialogis)

Re-interpretation of the term al-islām in al-Qur’an is still very relevant today. Especially if it is associated with increasing extreme religious movement, which emphasizes the angry face of Islam, rather than the” friendly Islam”. At the same time, radical ideology that carries the motto ‘back to the Qur’an and Sunnah,’ often emphasizes the claim of truth and takfīr. Therefore, the authors noticed that one of the ways to erode the radical ideology is the re-interpretation of the meaning of al-islām in al-Qur’an. Many view considers that the interpretation of the term al-Islam is final and raw. Especially if linked with the traditions of the Prophet narrated by ‘Umar bin Khattab. Often interpretations al-Islam has always been associated with all forms of formal worship, and only associated with the teachings brought by Prophet Muhammad. In fact, of the hundreds of verses that speak of al-islam and various derivatives, there is no verse that is associated with formal worship such as prayer, fasting, zakat and hajj. The verses of al-islam always talk about spiritual values, nature, and all of Islam’s various predecessor prophets before Prophet Muhammad. Through this article, the author tries to give a new interpretation on the term al-Islam to create a more inclusive religious, ethical, and dialogic.

NEO MODERNISME ISLAM INDONESIA: WACANA KEISLAMAN DAN KEBANGSAAN NURCHOLISH MADJID

Neo modernism emerged as a critical discourse face the phenomenon of modernist Islamic thought that emphasizes reason and ratio in view of the existence of religion in a struggle and debate ideas discourse on Islam and society. In the neo modernism discourse, the phenomenon of religious exclusivity becomes a very important study. Exclusive theology is used by some hard-line Islamic groups to judge other religions or other Islamic groups that are not inline with Islam that they believe to be the real truth. Neo modernism evolved to respons this religious exclusivity and the religious inclusivity comes to make a new discourse on Islam which has the main idea of an understanding of the universal message delivered by God not only to one particular religion but also to other religions in the scriptures each. The efforts to avoid subjectivity of religion and promote objectivity in the social sphere in Nurcholish Madjid’s thought will not reduce the religious existence, but will make it more effective and elegant can also be easily accepted by modern society without suspicion.

“Shipwreck of Faith”: The Religious Vision and Ideas of Wole Soyinka

This article investigates the religious vision and ideas of Wole Soyinka in selected non-fiction writings. While African spirituality is deployed as a literary trope in Soyinka's creative works and dramatic masterpieces such as Death and the King's Horseman and A Dance of the Forests, scholars have given scarce attention to his engagement with religion in his non-fiction productions. To highlight that engagement, first, this article proposes the notions of radical skepticism and religious inclusivism as symbolic markers to describe Soyinka's perspective on religion and his shipwreck of faith. His witness of religious violence and fanaticism in his home country of Nigeria and the host countries outside of his native land has shaped his religious experience and altered his religious vision. To call Wole Soyinka a radical agnostic and religious inclusivist in the humanist tradition is to confront his uneasiness with and ambivalence toward religion that had marked both his adolescent and adult life. Second, it argues that Soyinka's abandonment of his Anglican faith, the “imported religion” of his childhood and Nigerian parents, was a consequence of his re-evaluation of the merits and liberalism of his ancestral faith: the Yoruba religious tradition and spirituality. Third, it contends that Soyinka rejected the Christian faith because of a theological crisis he encountered both as a teenager in Ake (his hometown) and as a student at the University College in Ibadan. The article resituates Soyinka's religious sensibility not in the tradition of the Abrahamic religions but within the religious world view and cultural framework of African indigenous faiths and spirituality. Finally, it presents Wole Soyinka as a religious critic and radical theistic humanist.

The Historical Jesus as Peacemaker between Judaism, Christianity and Islam

The present-day world is marked by religious conflict (especially amongst the monotheistic Abrahamic religions) to such an extent that it is often asserted (especially by neo-atheists like Dawkins and Harris) that the world would be a better place without religion. It is argued in this contribution that focus on the historical Jesus and his religion (especially his teaching on peacemaking and religious inclusivity), constitutes the key to the elimination of religious conflict. In this regard the work of Jewish (e.g., Buber, Lapide, Vermes, Moore) and Christian (e.g., Theissen, Borg, Crossan, Charlesworth et al.) historical Jesus scholars will be interfaced with the image of the (historical) Jesus that one encounters in the Qur'?n (cf. Parrinder, Mourad). A hermeneutical reflection that endeavours to appropriate Jesus's call to peacemaking in the present-day world concludes the article.

Cities of Refuge: Harassing Nation-States’ Legal Systems for a More Inclusive Religious Stance

On 2 September 2004, at the start of the new school year in France, a law was enacted banning all religious symbols and garb in public schools. The media interpreted this law as focused on the khimar (headscarves) that Muslim girls wear as part of hijab (modesty). On 14 September 2010, a ban on covering one's face in public followed. Such legal action, limiting religious freedom, is gaining traction among European nation-states partly due to their inability to deal with religious diversity in a constructive way, partly fuelled by a fear of religious extremism. According to the developing study of complexity theory in philosophy, however, dealing with religious diversity in such a way will only lead to a larger rift between nation-states and religious extremists; decreasing the meaningfulness and limiting the resilience of societies. This paper, attempts to track ways around such limiting legal moves by revisiting Derrida’s 1996 speech at the International Parliament of Writers published as On Cosmopolitanism. Employing an idea from Derrida’s address and supplementing it with one from Žižek, I will show how cities might become spaces that challenge austere and protective legal measures, enacted against religions, by European nation-states.