Orthodox Groups Research Articles

Competing or completing digital religion: priests’ attitudes toward Ortho-bloggers in Romania

ABSTRACT Religious blogging has gained momentum in the last decade. Extensive research covers the evolution, organization, and activity of online Christian religious bloggers among Catholics, Protestants, and Neo-Protestant groups and most analyses focus on the perspective of bloggers. In this context, limited attention within the literature in English is paid to online Orthodox groups and very little is known about the clergy’s views of the activity of Ortho-bloggers. This article addresses this gap in the literature and aims to explain the attitudes of Orthodox priests toward Ortho-blogging activities. It uses Romania as a case study, due to its Orthodox majority, its strong internet infrastructure, and the online activity of the Orthodox Church. The analysis draws on qualitative methods—semi-structured interviews with Orthodox priests, conducted in January–February 2021. The results indicate that priests have normative attitudes toward Ortho-bloggers and their activities online. The findings have important theoretical and empirical implications for the study of religion and the engagement with new modes of communication in new democracies.

Greek Orthodox Communities, Religious Festivals, and National Identity in the Late Ottoman Empire

Abstract This article investigates the extent to which religious festivals played a formative role in shaping dynamic relations between Greek Orthodox Ottomans and the Ottoman and Greek states in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A considerable number of festivals held on recurring cycles in the Ottoman Empire served as a unifying force by bringing together Greek Orthodox groups hailing from disparate geographical locations in the Ottoman Empire, Greece, and elsewhere. Although they were primarily religious occasions, these festivals, especially Easter, carried substantial cultural and social importance since they served as a crucial catalyst in the emergence and articulation of nationalist ideals among Ottoman Greeks.

Churches Before the Russian-Ukrainian War

Besides its effects on the world political scenario, the war conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also disrupted the already powder keg-like and torn-apart Ukrainian canonical enclosure with a number of repercussions in the ecumenical field. As the war escalates, the role of the Churches, with special regard to the Orthodox groups and the Catholic Church, fits into a very broad process encompassing ecclesiastical geopolitics, human rights and social concepts. The “waltz” of stances and statements provides us with a changing framework but, at the same time, suggests some trajectories that help us shed light on a precarious and uncertain future.

“A Right to the Square”: Practices of Urban Space Appropriation by the Religious Community of the Strastnoy Monastery in Moscow

In post-secular cities, many representatives of different religions claim places that, for one reason or another, they consider theirs. Researchers call such places mixed. Pushkin Square in Moscow, one of them, is used simultaneously by different groups. The first group is the community of the Strastnoy monastery, whose members have been striving for eighteen years to make their religious presence a familiar feature of this square, through collective practices and material symbols. However, they constantly face the presence of other groups that force them to adapt and explain their presence. This article explores the case of the Strastnoy monastery community, which sheds light on the situation of religious initiatives in contemporary Russia. They are aware of their marginal position in public space: however, pursuing their goal of restoring Orthodox order in the country, they are looking, unlike many other Orthodox groups, for non-conflictual ways of interacting with citizens and government institutions, by appealing to historical memory and cultural heritage.

Youth Religious Socialization and Social Capital. A Case Study

This research focuses on the role played by youth religious organizations in the shaping of young people’s social capital in Romania. Based on a series of interviews and focus groups with young people engaged in religious organizations and the leaders of those organizations, we find that youth religious socialization is an important process in creating or reinforcing social and political values, and thus, it may be conducive to social capital. Although nuanced comparisons across denominations are difficult to make due to the unavailability of data, a distinction seems to appear between Orthodox and Catholic religiously active youth. For example, while young people in Catholic organizations are encouraged to forge relationships with people outside their organizations (bridging social capital), those belonging to Orthodox groups tend to keep to themselves, and, at times, even employ a strict access policy for newcomers wanting to join (bonding social capital). Conclusions suggest the need to approach the effects of youth religious socialization in a nuanced way.

Attributes and Activities of Religious Communities in Italy: First Results from a City Congregations Study (CCS)

This article explores the attributes and religious, social and political activities of local religious groups in three Italian cities across all religious traditions. This is the first application of Congregations Study methodology in Italy to analyze the social composition, structure and activities of religious communities. The research was conducted between 2020 and 2021 with a total number of 877 communities mapped in the cities of Bologna, Milan and Brescia, and their surroundings. All local religious groups in three cities and their surroundings were counted and one key informant per group was interviewed (N = 566) with a Congregations Study questionnaire. Based on the results of the interviews, we found that, during the last decade, the dynamics of growth of adults’ and children’s regular religious participation was distinct within the Muslim and Christian Orthodox communities. Social service for elderly, environmental programs and political activity were found to be promoted by the Catholic communities to a stronger degree, while activities linked to the support of migrants were endorsed stronger by Muslim and Orthodox groups. Moreover, this study assessed the theological, ethical and political orientation of religious communities, highlighting different trends across religious traditions. The article discusses various configurations of urban religious diversity by bringing similarities and contrasts between communities of dominant religious tradition and minority religions, thus questioning the applicability of City Congregations Study (CCS) methodology to the analysis of configurations of religious diversity in Italy.

Review: Urban Religious Events: Public Spirituality in Contested Spaces, edited by Paul Bramadat, Mar Griera, Marian Burchardt, and Julia Martínez-Ariño

Review: <i>Urban Religious Events: Public Spirituality in Contested Spaces</i>, edited by Paul Bramadat, Mar Griera, Marian Burchardt, and Julia Martínez-Ariño

Orthodox Judaism's Concept of the Political

Abstract: Guided by concepts advanced in Carl Schmitt's The Concept of the Political , this article attempts to formulate Orthodox Judaism's concept of the political. While it is evident that different Orthodox groups hold different and sometimes opposing political views, the question remains whether Orthodoxy as such possesses a foundational conceptualization of the sphere of the political that might be also be framed as "Orthodox." The article presents three possible internal Orthodox conceptualizations of "the political," yet highlights each of these positions' failure to integrate Orthodox commitment to halakha within a truly political framework. The first conceptualization negates the political in a manner that subsumes this realm under the purview of halakha. The second acknowledges the political as a secular realm standing outside the boundaries of halakha. The third possesses a religious understanding of the political that is nonetheless non-halakhic. In order to present an Orthodox concept of the political, the article turns to two thinkers who offered a critique of the epistemological regime of modernity (which is responsible for the existence of the political as a distinct sphere) from an Orthodox stance: Isaac Breuer and the young Leo Strauss. Their reflection on the political as such led them to call for a politicization of Orthodoxy's very commitment to halakha. Retrieving Breuer's and Strauss's truly Orthodox concept of the political enables the formulation of a novel, hitherto underdeveloped Orthodox critique of Zionism. Whereas Zionist voices tend to comprehend the exilic stance of Orthodoxy as apolitical compared to their own attempt to politicize Jewish existence, Breuer and Strauss argue that it is precisely Zionism that fails to offer a concept of the political that is truly Jewish.

Review: Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus: Judaizing Evangelicals in Brazil, by Manoela Carpenedo

Manoela Carpenedo presents the reader with a fascinating study of a group of Brazilians who have emerged from that country’s burgeoning Charismatic Evangelical Christianity to embrace much of the lifestyle and system of religious obligations of Orthodox Jews. She defines the group as “Judaizing Evangelicals” and attempts to describe and evaluate their path to becoming “Jewish,” their assertion of a suppressed Jewish ancestry, as well as their continuing belief in Jesus. They number in the thousands and are to be found not only in Brazil, but also elsewhere in South America and in Africa.The Judaizing Evangelicals present the author with a complex theoretical challenge as she attempts to situate their unique cultural hybridization in the context of contemporary Christian philosemitism and Zionism as well as the multiculturalist and racial discourses of contemporary Brazil. She also attempts to situate the ways in which the group’s past Charismatic Evangelical faith contributes to its present Judaic religious practices.One of the keys to the complexity Carpenedo confronts is Orthodox Judaism. It is not by chance that the Judaism the group seeks to embrace is “Orthodox.” Of all contemporary interpretations of Judaism, Orthodoxy possesses the most developed and sophisticated system of religious outreach [kiruv] to non-Orthodox Jews. The vast array of resources justifying Orthodoxy and teaching Orthodox Jewish practices that has been created on the internet and in social media lend themselves easily to non-Jewish groups seeking to embrace Judaic belief and practice in multiple ways, with or without a goal of formal conversion to Orthodox Judaism.The author, who lets the reader know that she comes to this study from a “socioeconomically privileged” background and embraces Brazilian “left-wing feminist politics” (x), attempts in this book to understand what she describes as her country’s “religious Other,” stemming from Brazil’s emerging lower middle class. Her study is generally sympathetic to the women of the Judaizing Evangelical group among whom she was a participant observer. However, in her attempt to understand the group’s embrace of Orthodox Judaism, Carpenedo has a weak point. She makes a credible effort to access a variety of sociological and anthropological studies of contemporary Jewish Orthodox groups, but in her approach to Orthodox Judaism and Judaic law, she often utilizes value-laden adjectives for these phenomena, such as “strict,” “rigid,” “exclusivist,” and “austere.” These adjectives contrast with her description of Charismatic Evangelical Christianity as “fluid and flexible” (111). These terms are reminiscent of early to mid-twentieth century approaches to Judaism made by Christian theologians and scholars of Religious Studies whose stance was based on a belief in the superiority of Christianity to Judaism.Carpenedo’s study places women Judaizing Evangelicals at the center. The voice of the group’s male leadership is certainly heard, but the study is largely based upon the author’s participant observation of the group’s women. Therefore, practice takes center stage and theological issues tend to be treated marginally. It is the women’s struggle with embracing the group’s ongoing adoption of Orthodox Judaic practices, such as modest dress, kosher food, and menstrual practices that the author emphasizes. It is clear that the adoption of Judaic practice within the group has been gradual, individual, and far from total. It is equally clear that the process involves considerable negotiation between male leadership and the women. An important example of this is when the group’s leaders created a synagogue with a balcony for the seating of women. However, as Carpenedo’s informant, Sarah, related to her, “the Judaizing Evangelical women did not approve. They felt excluded on the balcony.…This made the leadership reconsider its decision and move the women back to the main floor of the synagogue” (107).Women are also central to another crucial development within the movement. In the group’s Charismatic Evangelical past, women were able to take public leadership roles as pastors. The group’s ongoing embrace of Orthodox Judaic practice meant that the official leadership became entirely male and women with previous leadership roles had to formally abandon them. The author is very effective in depicting the result, the varied and nuanced strategies of the Judaizing Evangelical women in reaction to this development, and their active creation of meaning by embracing Judaic religious norms that gave them “the power to participate in the creation of their moral worlds” (247).This stimulating book should be read by scholars interested in exploring the ways in which different religious traditions, which tend to think of themselves as separate entities, are brought together in the contemporary world. It is equally recommended for scholars who are interested in religious phenomena in the Global South. Finally, it is likely that scholars of women and religion will gain from Carpenedo’s careful depiction of the Judaizing Evangelical women and their complex reactions to their group’s adoption of Orthodox Judaic practices.

The Efforts of Islamic Splinter Movements to Withstand from Heretical Issue in Indonesia: Study of LDII, MTA and Jam'iyyatul Islamiyah

This article discusses how the splinter movements in Indonesia, namely LDII (Lembaga Dakwah Islam Indonesia), MTA (Majlis Tafsir Al Quran) and JMI (Jam'iyyatul Islamiyah) can survive and develop against two constraints that are the state and Islamic orthodox group. The methods of this research-based article are both library and field research. This article uses comparative analysis from the three movements include their adaptive means to the social and political milieu in Indonesia. The movements start to grow in the 1970'. In New Order Era (1966-1998), under Suharto authoritarian regime, these movements use the state approach by joining Golkar, government political party, and help the party to win general elections. However, in the 1990 era, when Suharto starts to embrace the orthodox group, government protection to those religious groups is not enough to withstand the heretical issues that have already spread in public. The issues lead to physical persecution from the mass to these movements. Thus, the only way to survive from that conditions, the three movements start to make an approach to orthodox groups, especially MUI (Majlis Ulama Indonesia) the mainstream group representative such as NU (Nahdlatul Ulama) and Muhammadiyah two biggest Islamic groups in Indonesia, by making dialogues and complying the Islamic mainstream standards issued by MUI.

An Iconographic Theme Disseminated North of the Carpathians: Saint Christopher in Romanian Mural Painting of Southern Transylvania (1760–1835)

This paper aims to examine the context in which an iconographic topic, namely, the visual representations of Saint Christopher, was disseminated from the south to the north of the Carpathian Mountains, in the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In order to identify the circulation routes of the theme, I will investigate the artistic and spiritual relationship between the Romanian communities from southern Transylvania and those from Wallachia. The present analysis will also include the confessional solidarity between the Orthodox groups from both sides of the Carpathians and its role in the creation and transmission of a homogenous religious iconographic program.

From Pussy Riot’s ‘punk prayer’ to Matilda: Orthodox believers, critique, and religious freedom in Russia

ABSTRACTThis article analyses the configurations of belief, critique, and religious freedom in Russia since the performance of the Russian group Pussy Riot in 2012. The ‘punk prayer’ and its legal and political aftermath are interpreted as an incidence of the contestation of the boundary between the secular and the religious in the Russian legal and social sphere. The authors show that the outcome of this contestation has had a decisive impact on the way in which religion, critique, and the human right of religious freedom have been defined in the present Russian context. In response to Pussy Riot, the Russian legislator turned offending religious feelings into a crime. The article investigates two more recent cases where offended feelings of believers were involved, the opera “Tannhäuser” in Ekaterinburg in 2015 and the movie Matilda in 2017, and analyses how the initial power-conforming configuration that emerged as a reply to the ‘punk prayer’ has revealed a ‘power-disturbing’ potential as conservative Orthodox groups have started to challenge the authority of the State and the Church leadership. The article is based on primary sources from Russian debates surrounding Pussy Riot, Matilda, and “Tannhäuser” and on theoretical literature on the religious–secular boundary and human rights.

Complexities in identifying seed storage behavior of hard seed-coated species: a special focus on Lauraceae

ABSTRACTSeeds are broadly grouped into orthodox (desiccation-tolerant), intermediate and recalcitrant (desiccation-sensitive) based on their ability to withstand drying. Whilst the protocols developed to classify seeds into one of the three groups have aided ex-situ storage of germplasm, the classification of many species with seeds having a hard coat appears to be perplexing. Using Lauraceae as a model family, we address the possible reasons for this confusion. We collected data available in the literature on Lauraceae and found 30 species studied that were respectively assigned to orthodox (3 species), intermediate (4 species) or recalcitrant (23 species) groups. In addition, another 16 species (2 orthodox and 14 recalcitrant) were doubtfully classified and 6 species were labeled as uncertain. We speculate a hard seed coat found in many of Lauraceae species present substantial challenge in seed desiccation studies and identified five key problems including (1) inferring storage behavior without conducting desiccation-sensitivity assessment to evaluate the germination ability of seeds by drying to low moisture contents; (2) seed storage behavior was determined by germinating the seeds after partial drying and storing at various temperatures, e.g. 0 or −18°C; (3) seeds that failed to germinate at narrow range of temperatures and light conditions were concluded as dead, without considering the possibility that they might be dormant; (4) culminating germination studies quickly, sometimes within few days; and (5) not testing the drying ability of seeds without seed coat. We highlight that addressing these issues would lead to accurate categorization of seed storage behavior that can ensure better seed storage practices.

Traditionalist Orthodox Christian media: discourse structure and peculiarities of the functioning

The article considers how the traditionalist Orthodox groups use print and online media for retranslation of their version of Orthodoxy or their model of religious identity.&nbsp;The Orthodox traditionalists focus on the promotion of the Orthodox social mission, stronger cooperation between the Church and the state and anti-Western bias.&nbsp;The analysis is based on two cases: the Yekaterinburg Archdiocese’s periodical «Orthodox Newspaper» and pravoslavie.&nbsp;ru web portal.The study reveals that the traditionalist media have a number of features.&nbsp;Hybridization of genres is observed: sermons turn to interviews, and spiritual essays are presented as news stories.&nbsp;The media construct a specific Orthodox chronotope.&nbsp;The secular concept of relevance as constant change of agenda is substituted for the cyclicity of the church life: the most important events are related to religious feasts.The structure of religious institution is projected on media discourse: the «Orthodox Newspaper» and Pravoslovie.ru range the topics and the authors according to hierarchy principle, inherent in the off-line Orthodoxy.&nbsp;Thus, the traditionalist Orthodox media adapt print and online periodicals for the intergroup communications and needs constructing their own media content.

Food beliefs and food supply chains: The impact of religion and religiosity in Israel

This paper demonstrates that religion and religiosity affect norms, which affect food consumption patterns and production. Heterogeneity and asymmetric information lead to multiple certification channels as well as multiple supply chains. Major supply chains may address multiple constituencies that are secular or less religious. Technological change affects norms and thus the food system. We obtain these results by analyzing the food systems for meat products in Israel where there are three religions – Jews, Muslims, and Christians – and people assign themselves three levels of religiosity – secular, conservative, and orthodox. Israel has multiple Kosher and Halal certifiers and several specialized supermarket chains for orthodox groups. Its main supermarket chains serve secular and some conservative segments. The immigration of secular Jews from Russia led to the proliferation of non-Kosher supply chains and products, and increased consumption of pork. New technologies and higher incomes led to emergence of fast food chains serving orthodox Jews that had previously tended to eat at home.

Are women entitled to become ascetics? An historical and ethnographic glimpse on female asceticism in Hindu religions

This paper looks at the position of women in Indian asceticism through an historical and anthropological perspective. Introducing at first the traditional view that Brahmanic texts offer on the topic - women are innately impure therefore they do not have a natural inclination to dharma- the paper goes on demonstrating that women have always found ascetic paths to answer their religious quests. However, for these paths were jagged by social obstacles, women often lived their religious experience as a private one or had to cut the social norms in a revolutionary way to follow them. As a result of this discouragement, female participation remains low to be acknowledged and to become a normal reality rather than an exceptional one by the Indian lay and ascetic societies. Through examples from the past and the present, this paper shows that asceticism was and still is a path to realize an individual empowerment for those women who deliberately choose it. In contemporary India, the role of female ascetics is improving thanks to the new historical background: some have gained a position in traditional orthodox groups, others have created their own sect, and some others have become predominant activists in political and social movements. However, these female ascetics and gurus are still recognized as extraordinary, exceptional individuals. Women in the sādhu samāj continue to experience sometimes discriminations and difficulties, as they cannot strive for the highest assignments but in exceptional cases and outstanding characters. Therefore, as the case study of Rām Priya Dās presented in this paper demonstrates, the path to asceticism is still hard to follow and it needs a deep motivation and a strong personality to face the opposition of family and society.

Orthodox Christianity as a transnational religion: theoretical, historical and comparative considerations

In this article I analyse Orthodox Christianity as a transnational religion. In the first section I develop a theoretical argument concerning the relationship among diaspora, transnationalism and Orthodoxy. Seen through these lenses, transnationalism represents a newfound situation connected to the epochal shift from empires to nation-states. I then give a historical overview of demographic trends which shows that in the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries millions of Orthodox emigrated to North America and Western Europe; while large Orthodox groups were created in the USA by the early twentieth century, the majority of Orthodox immigrants to Canada, Australia and Western Europe are post-1945 arrivals. I then offer a brief overview of the situation of Orthodox transnationalism in the post-Soviet space since 1989, and argue that in contrast to that situation, it is the experience of migration that is most accurately captured by the label of religious transnationalism. Lastly, I conduct an initial comparison of North American and European experiences. The current fragmentation of Orthodox jurisdictions reflects the creation of autonomous church organisations or groups of parishes that extend the jurisdictions of Mother Churches into the host states. I contemplate the consequences of religious transnationalism for future developments.

No Trinity: The tripartite relations between Agudat Yisrael, the Mizrahi movement, and the Zionist Organization

This article investigates the dynamics between the two major Orthodox political movements of the twentieth century – the religious Zionist movement Mizrahi and its non-Zionist opponent Agudat Yisrael – in the context of their tripartite relationship with the Zionist Organization. Due to its increased involvement in Palestinian affairs, the Agudah entered negotiations with the Zionists in the mid-1920s. These negotiations and the possibility of cooperation between Agudat Yisrael and the Zionist Organization threatened the position of the religious Zionists within the ZO. The resulting competition between the two Orthodox groups led to the refinement of party platforms and the crystallization of independent political camps.

Religieuze tolerantie op haar retour?

This article analyses the responses to and societal effects of increasing pressure on orthodox religious groups in the public and political debate in the Netherlands. The response to religious criticism by orthodox groups is not necessarily aggressive as research on the way Muslim organizations reacted to the anti-Islam film Fitna (2008) shows. Their calm response can be attributed to the way they framed this film and the support they experienced from the Dutch government. When the pressure on orthodox religious groups will increase, it is likely they will feel threatened. This feeling can contribute to radicalization or segregation. On a societal level restrictions on religion can contribute to for instance the judicial emancipation of women and homosexuals within orthodox religious groups, but at the same time stimulate processes of exclusion and societal polarization. With reference to the relative weak power position of orthodox religious groups in Dutch society, the author suggests an open and (more) relaxed approach to these groups.

P-901 - Can religiosity affect how we cope with loneliness?

Introduction Loneliness is a universal experience, which transcends age, gender, geography, and culture. Religion, and one's degree of religiosity, is known to significantly affect one's approach to life, behaviour, and social involvement. Objectives To understand how religiosity affects the coping methods used to deal with loneliness. Aim Explore whether the coping with loneliness is influenced by one's degree of religious observance. Method A total of two hundred and fifty participants who were composed of 28 secular/traditional, 54 conservative and 168 orthodox, self-identified Jews living in Israel volunteered to partake in the study. They answered a 34 yes/no loneliness questionnaire which tapped the following coping techniques: Reflection & acceptance; Self-development & understanding; Social support network; Distancing & denial; Religion & faith; and Increased activity Results indicated that the three groups significantly differed in their manner of coping with loneliness only on the Religion & Faith subscale, which was intuitively expected. Results An overall MANCOVA did yield significant group differences in the means of coping with loneliness. ANCOVAs were subsequently calculated. Significant differences amongst the three groups were found in the Religion and Faith subscale, with Bonferroni indicating that both the Conservative and Orthodox groups reported significantly greater use of religion and faith as a means of coping than those adopting a secular or traditional approach to religion. Conclusions Religiosity does affect the manner of coping with loneliness. The present was a preliminary study directed at Israeli Jews. Similar studies with people of other religious denominations could further highlight that issue.