Secular Phenomenon Research Articles

The Self-representation of Secular Spirituality Movements in Virtual Space: The Case of Lithuania

In the second half of the 20th century, along with the alternative New Age spirituality movement, the practice of self-improvement became widespread, and by the end of the 20st century it had become extremely widespread, permeating the most diverse areas of life in the Western world, practically becoming a mass cultural phenomenon. Accordingly, it can be described as a secular phenomenon with minimal links to traditional spirituality: the concept of spirituality has changed significantly, is often not linked to transcendental ideas and is focused on the self and self-improvement and the search for personal well-being and happiness. Relevant practices in the 21st century are particularly widespread in Lithuania. The Self-representation of Secular Spirituality Movements in Virtual Space The article examines the peculiarities of the self-presentation of spiritual self-improvement practices in Lithuania. The self-presentation of the phenomenon in virtual space is analysed and texts written by some service providers are studied. Aspects of the social communication of spiritual practices in the online space are examined from the perspective of linguistic analysis and marketing, and spirituality practices are distinguished and discussed. In this context, the needs–wants–demands relationship emerges, along with the need for self-actualisation. The online descriptions of the services offered by providers of spiritual practices are constructed according to commercial logic. The results of the linguistic analysis correlate with the findings of previous researchers about the orientation of the offered spiritual practices towards self and secular practices.

Discovering the Child? Individualization Processes of Catholic Religious Education in the Horizon of Secularization since 1900

At the beginning of the 20th century, early processes of secularization – especially in working-class families living in large cities – and inadequate teaching methods led to a crisis of Catholic religious education. Teachers and professors highlighted that it was becoming more and more difficult for reli­gious education to reach students and to ensure that they become devoted members of the Church. In this situation, a catechetical movement was established, which was mainly situated in Munich and Vienna, where teachers, catechists, and academics discussed reforms of the commonly used teaching methods in religious education. Conferences and the foundation of journals followed. It is at least from this point that the process of modernization in the field of religious education in the German-speaking context begins. This modernization gained traction after the Second Vatican Council and was also pro­moted by the phenomenon of secularization and pluralization after the 1960s. Against this background, the essay will address the following questions: What led to the modernization of religious education that began around 1900? What role was played by the new openness of catechists and theologians for edu­cation science and the (religious) pluralization of society? To answer this question, the article will focus on developments between 1900 and the 1920s, during the 1970s, and the more or less topical discus­sion about the concept of ‘theology of children’ since the late 1990s. This study will also ask whether this development can be described as the discovery of the child in theology and religious education. Finally, this paper asks what consequences this development has for a denominational religious education in state schools today and in the future.

ДІАЛОГИ ФЕОФАНА ПРОКОПОВИЧА: ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ІДЕЙНО-ТЕМАТИЧНОГО СПРЯМУВАННЯ

Background. The article explores the specific features of the thematic spectrum in Feophan Prokopovych's dialogues, specifically "The Conversation of Tekton, or Tesla, with a Merchant" and "The Conversation of a Townsman with a Peasant and a Sexton". The actuality of this study lies in the fact that the texts of these dialogues serve as an additional and important source for studying the writer's artistic worldview and the specifics of his poetic work. The poetics of these dialogues represent the realization of classical principles in the works, synthesizing stylistic features of Antiquity, Baroque, and Enlightenment. The thematic spectrum of the works reflects the author's understanding of God, the role of education and knowledge in the life of individuals and society. The objective of the study is to analyze features of the thematic spectrum in F. Prokopovych's dialogues. Tasks involve identifying specific characteristics of author's dialogues and analyzing their realization in terms of thematic, genre, and stylistic aspects. Methods. The writer's dialogues are analyzed using historical-philological, hermeneutic, and comparative research methods. Results. In the dialogue "The Conversation of a Townsman with a Peasant and a Deaco", Feofan Prokopovych presents an artistic interpretation of religious and philosophical issues. The author focuses on the specificity of interpreting the phenomenon of simplicity, expressing his attitude toward it as a particular cultural concept. The work tends toward the sermon genre. An artistic idea of knowledge as a secular phenomenon important for further social progress is presented. The character of the Townsman embodies the idea of education and knowledge as acquisitions that are not innate but achieved through the efforts. Prokopovych advocates the thesis of the necessity of accessible and popularized education among broad segments of society. Conclusions. the thematic spectrum of F. Prokopovych's dialogues is focused on presenting the artistic interpretation of issues related to religion, the church, and education. In these dialogues, a particular societal stance of the writer is interpreted. The dialogue texts remain a prospective material for further scholarly studies. It is necessary to explore the dialogues from the perspective of the author's evolution of worldview and creative work.

Феномен секуляризации: философские и теологические основания

This article analyzes the interpretations of the phenomenon of secularization from the perspective of three discourses. The axiological programs of social philosophers such as Brian Wilson, Dmitry Uzlaner and Lewis Shiner are considered, who see secularization as a process during which religion loses its social significance as a result of the natural movement of history. Secularization has an acutely negative assessment in conservative discourses of Christian theology, which the author shows by analyzing the opinions of the most important representatives of the three Christian denominations. It is revealed that radical scientism as the ideological basis of the religious generates anti-religious and anti-clerical positions, fraught with conflicts. As a result, the article concludes in favor of constructive dialogue as part of all discursive practices to maintain stability both in society and in the inner state of the individual.

Intersectional Discrimination in European Labour Markets in the Voices of TCN Women

Despite migration being a universal and secular phenomenon, recent studies and latest statistics show that unemployment among third-country nationals aged between 15 and 64 years old is generally higher than the rate among the overall population (76% among newcomers). Within this context, the current study aims to find out common patterns concerning the barriers that Third Country National (TCN) Women face in the host labour market and facilitating factors they used to cross them. The current research is supported by a qualitative methodology, based on 74 interviews to women from nine European countries and the analysis of 11 success stories. The interviewees have a very heterogeneous sociodemographic profile, concerning age, country of origin, host country and educational background. Despite some TCN women being employed, most are currently unemployed or in precarious condition. Our study proposes a four-fold categorisation of barriers faced by TCN women: i) cultural and linguistic; ii) diplomas; iii) support system; iv) discrimination. The lack of language skills was mentioned by almost all the women interviewed because free or easily affordable courses are limited.The second category of barriers entails the complexity of recognising academic qualifications and working experience from their home countries. The lack of a supporting system has impact in different dimensions of social and professional inclusion. The last category represents a large number of dimensions, related to an intersectional discrimination based on gender, race and religion. Regarding the facilitating factors that 11 women with integration success stories shared, we would highlight: i) the role and importance of Social and Solidarity migrant organisations as a support for TCN women; ii) the recognition the added-value of TCN women skills, such as being proficient in several foreign languages; iii) the empowerment of success stories reported by the storyteller herself and by other women in a similar situation; iv) the resilience to not give up, despite a considerable amount of obstacles.

Hospitality in the Public Realm: An Arendtian Account of the Role of Action and Forgiveness

In the last two decades, we have seen an increasing display of gestures and language of forgiveness in the public realm. Forgiveness has become a secular phenomenon. What do we mean by forgiveness? What is the role of forgiveness in the public place? Does it have the capacity to enhance the political life and well-being of a community? In The Human Condition, first published in 1958, Hannah Arendt offers an unapparelled reading of political forgiveness, described as a quintessential human faculty for the revitalization of the public and political realm. This paper seeks to investigate the implications of Arendt’s understanding of action and forgiveness for the life of the polis, in particular the promotion of a more hospitable public space. Situated within human capacity to act and to love the other in their uniqueness and despite their trespasses and failures, forgiveness contributes, as this paper seeks to demonstrate, to the enhancement of the political sphere by opening this space to “new beginnings.”

The cultural-spiritual harmfulness of the secularization of communication in the media

Today's society is experiencing an accelerated phenomenon of secularization due to communication through today's media channels. Daily, the global village called Earth transmits billions of news, information, cultural and spiritual values beneficial to the cultural and spiritual condition of contemporary man. We propose to analyze the phenomenon of media secularization on contemporary society, but also the harmful cultural and spiritual effects that society feels because of the secularizing informational flow. We will show the origins of this phenomenon and how it affects society through atheism, occultism, syncretism, hedonism, perfectionism, and media narcissism.

Respons Positif Teologi Kristen Protestan terhadap Sekularisasi Di Dunia Barat Modern

This article discusses how Protestant Christian theology responds to the strengthening of the secularization phenomenon. The positive response with various styles of theological reflection illustrates that the Protestant Christian theology figures above, starting from Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Paul Tillich, are the efforts of theologians to try to bridge the gap or gap in cultural rationality between the cultures of the classical era in where the texts of the scriptures were written with modern Western culture today. These theologians include those who give a positive response in dealing with the phenomenon of secularization in the West. However, their response actually has a style that is more or less different in their way of thinking. Although Karl Barth proposed an advanced mode of reflection, he was still bound by his orthodoxy, so that he was nicknamed "neo-orthodox". Rudolf Bultmann was more liberal with his "Demythologized" ideas. Dietrich Bonhoeffer had already begun to advocate a secular Christian interpretation, and Paul Tillich had further advocated a correlational theological approach to religion and culture. Next, Harvey Cox further tries to construct a more comprehensive reflection of Secularization theology, that the secular world is a world in which Christians are mature people. As a sign, Jesus' death on the cross is a symbol, that he has left his absoluteness, his supernatural being, to become a secular "God".

Divine Providence in Early Modern Economic Thought

Divine Providence in Early Modern Economic Thought

“Standing behind your phrase”: Arendt and Jaspers on the (post-)metaphysics of evil

This article turns to Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem in order to illustrate the difficulties involved in approaching the (formerly) metaphysical concept of evil as a secular phenomenon. It asks how the advocate of plurality, natality and forgiveness could also vouch for the death sentence of Eichmann based on a rhetoric of retribution and revenge. It then shows that Arendt's surprisingly consistent view of evil is based on a quasi-ontological understanding of the human condition that allowed her to negate Eichmann's humanity. Rather than simply unmasking a metaphysical account in disguise, however, the article develops an alternative perspective that emerges from the conversation between Arendt and Jaspers. It argues that Jaspers's interpretation of Kant offers a way to defend the idea of secular evil and judge Eichmann on the basis of his thoughtlessness.

종교의 세속화와 선(禪) 명상의 방향성 모색

Seon 禪, a traditional practice of East Asian Buddhism, has undergone many changes in terms of content and appearance since the modern era. The core of the pattern of change was secularization. This pattern is in line with the phenomenon of secularization in the whole religious culture in modern society. The agenda of secularization was raised in earnest from the mid-20th century in the field of religious studies. The representative example is that meditation and happiness have emerged in Christianity to the extent that soteriology is replaced. Seon was introduced to the West in the form of modern Japanese New Buddhism, and combined with meditation or psychotherapy techniques, it rapidly spread to the public. In the West, Seon showed secularization patterns such as active social participation and democratic organization. This popular feature made happiness be accepted as no less than liberation or nirvana, or as a substitute for it. Korean Buddhists also show the secularization of Seon, as follows: the formation of political ties with secular powers, depends on secular law for much of the management of the temple, rapid and full acceptance of modern meditation, spread of Seon practice among the general public, and ‘happiness' rapidly emerged as the purpose of Seon meditation. In the era of secularization of religion, it became an important issue to recheck and establish the direction of Seon. It is important to positively accept the secularization of religion, but not to lose the value and orientation that Seon originally pursued.

Caesaropapism and Secularism in the Byzantine and Russian Tradition

Introduction. The role of Orthodox confessional heritage and the analysis of social traditions of the Balkan and Russian peoples are considered in the generalizing characteristic of the spiritual creations of the thinkers of Rus and Russia. The multidirectional tendencies of anti-clerical forces on the one hand, and of the Church community on the other, indicate that the topic of secularization of Russian society has not received an actual resolution. The purpose of the article is to examine the understanding of the processes of caesaropapism and secularism in Russian society, as well as the historiosophical and methodological consequences of this understanding. Materials and Methods. An integrative approach combined with historical-methodological and philosophical-historical analysis is considered as a theoretical and methodological research strategy. The solution of research problems was provided by a complex of complementary theoretical (analysis of scientific, historical literature, journalistic research on the problem under study, comparative analysis of texts, comparison, generalization) and empirical (study and generalization of normative and legal documents of the concepts of caesaropapism and secularism) methods. Results. The considered model of understanding secularization and secularism in the realities of Russian history indicates the secondary, borrowed nature of these concepts. According to the authors, the Decrees of the Byzantine emperors, acts of the Council of people’s Commissars “On the separation of Church from state and Church from school” did not meet the expectations of the participants of the local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, who expressed their aspirations in the document “on the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church”. Discussion and Conclusion. The expected effect of the actual understanding of the processes can be a well-built model of state-Church relations, which can only appear if the diverse interests of the actors of modern state-religious policy in Russia are balanced. The proposed provisions and conclusions create prerequisites for further study of the phenomena of secularism and secularization in the design of the state-religious landscape of the near future.

Future Challenges of Secularization to Asian Christianity and Theology

Future Challenges of Secularization to Asian Christianity and Theology

Youth religious identity (based on narrative interviews with schoolchildren of Lutsk)

Abstract. The article examines the specifics of the formation of the religious identity of schoolchildren in Lutsk and identifies the main factors influencing this process.
 The main approaches in defining the concept of religious identity are analyzed. The focus is on ontological, psychological, revealing the individual level of religious identity and sociological approaches, which are represented by confessional and institutional religious identity. Emphasis is placed on the use of a constructivist approach to understanding religious identity through the prism of the process of formation and its transformation.
 Based on this, the structure of religious identity and its features are described, in particular, it is determined that it is formed individually for each individual and is able to change during life. The peculiarities of the formation of religious identity at a young age and the psychological preconditions of this process are highlighted.
 The classification of religious identity, its division on individual and collective level is given and analyzed. The role of each of them in the formation of worldview and life principles of the individual, their influence on decision-making and the choice of a particular way of life is described in detail. The process of formation of religious identity, which consists of three levels of self-determination of the individual, is described.
 Based on the analysis of narrative interviews, the indicators of each of the levels of formation of religious identity of school youth in Lutsk are clarified, the most important factors that determine the process of formation of religious identity at a young age are clarified. These include the influence of the family and the immediate environment, the phenomenon of secularization, the rapid development of science and unimpeded access to the media. The main youth tendencies regarding faith and religion are described, and how they can be replaced.
 The prevalence of atheistic and agnostic views among schoolchildren, the clear popularity of the nominal Orthodox identity and the real inclusion and awareness of Greek Catholics and Protestants have been established and substantiated. The tendencies of transformation of traditional religion in accordance with modern challenges into the form of private faith of non-institutional character are determined.

Estado laico e dinâmicas religiosas no Brasil: tensões e dissonâncias

Este texto busca examinar as tensões e dissonâncias na relação entre religião e espaço público no Brasil contemporâneo. Partindo de uma sociologia e antropologia dos fenômenos da secularização e da laicidade, pretende demonstrar a porosidade do sistema público/político brasileiro com o meio religioso. Recorrendo a uma perspectiva sócio-histórica procura compreender como as fronteiras entre religião e política no Brasil foram precariamente construídas ao longo da constituição do nosso Estado, sem nunca haverem sido institucionalmente bem demarcadas. Vácuo, que gerou concessões por parte do Estado às religiões majoritárias cristãs, assegurando legitimidade pública à seus símbolos religiosos nos espaços estatais, à princípio, neutros e seculares. Entretanto a Constituição de 1988, representou o influxo de uma legislação moderna e laica que legitimou sujeitos de direitos como mulheres, negros, índios, LGBTs, ambientalistas, etc. Diante deste quadro, esta reflexão ambiciona contribuir para a interpretação da complexidade que significa a presença múltipla e contraditória na esfera pública, tanto das religiões majoritárias cristãs, assentadas em uma agenda de valores religiosos conservadores quanto de projetos liberais e libertários acionados por segmentos da sociedade civil e agentes públicos gerando tensões e dissonâncias. Para compreender esta realidade, enquanto mosaico de interações e antagonismos, buscar-se-á trabalhar com a noção de pluri-confessionalidade do sociólogo mexicano Roberto Blancarte; assim como com aquelas de laicidade “de reconhecimento” e de “integração” do cientista político francês Philippe Portier. Com isto, procura-se aproximar teórica e empiricamente de uma compreensão mais ampla e nuançada do nosso sistema público-político na relação com a dimensão religiosa

Pastoral care as the Church’s response to the phenomenon of secularization

The ongoing process of the secularization of European societies has been present for a few decades now. It is a great challenge for the Church who is trying to resist it in a variety of ways. Pastoral care, meant as the organized saving activity of the Church aimed at saving the man, is one such way. However, resisting the process of secularization is not the direct goal of pastoral care. If pastoral care is run in a proper way, it can be a powerful and meaningful tool of the Church in resisting laicization. The article presents various forms of ordinary and extraordinary pastoral care which contribute to the development of religiousness of believers and to spreading the Gospel in the common social life. The author first presents the role of ordinary pastoral care in this process. He then lists proclaiming God’s word, various forms of the cult and the ministry of Christian love as ways of reviving religious life. He also indicates the role of extraordinary pastoral care, especially the branch which aims at the cooperation with new developing working groups and other informal secular associations.

The Free State of Bavaria - between Christianization and secularism

Abstract The article deals with issues related to the phenomena of secularization and secularism in the Free State of Bavaria. The analysis includes changes in attitudes towards religion in recent years, the perception of church institutions and the transformation of religiousness, and the partial disappearance of religiousness and the effects of multiculturalism in the context of the attachment to tradition and the strong cultivation of the Bavarian cultural identity.

The Origins of the Crisis of Christian Democracy: The End of Catholic Italy or the End of Cold War Italy?

ABSTRACTThe article aims to provide a political reading of the phenomenon of secularization, examining, in particular, the relationship between the Christian Democracy (D.C.), the Italian Catholic world, and the process of secularization. It is divided in four different levels of analysis. First of all, it investigates: (1) contemporary discussion, reconstructing the assessments and readings most common in the circles of the D.C. and the varied world of Italian Catholicism. Then, it analyses: (2) the reactions of Christian Democrats and leading figures of the Catholic world, particularly identifying what solutions they proposed to respond to the challenges posed by the process of secularization. It seeks, then, to compare: (3) the perspectives of these leading figures, with some possible hypotheses of the real effects of secularization on the political attitudes of Italians, paying particular attention to its consequences on the identity of the Christian democratic membership and on the electoral choices of citizens. By way of conclusion, the article formulates: (4) some hypotheses to help reconsider a shared interpretation about the existence of a causal relationship between ‘secularization-crisis/end of the DC’, identifying instead in other processes (specifically the role the Cold War played in the sacralization/desacralization of political cultures) the key factors underlying the identity of the D.C., the support it gathered, and the party’s collapse.

КРИЗИС РЕНЕССАНСНОГО ТИПА КУЛЬТУРЫ В РУССКОЙ И ЗАРУБЕЖНОЙ МЫСЛИ: ИДЕЙНЫЕ ИСТОЧНИКИ ТРАКТАТА Н. А. БЕРДЯЕВА «НОВОЕ СРЕДНЕВЕКОВЬЕ»

The paper undertakes an analysis of the “New Middle Ages” concept articulated by N. A. Berdyaev. It is to show that this concept emerged as a result of Berdyaev's reinterpretation of a number of foreign and domestic thought traditions. To clarify the genesis and specifics of Berdyaev's historiosophical conception, the author provides a reconstruction of its prehistory in a broad cultural and historical context: starting from the origin of those ideas among representatives of German romanticism (and, in particular, the teachings of Novalis), Russian religious philosophy (the concept of “free theocracy” by V. S. Solovyov) up until the development of those ideas in the works of Russian 20th century thinkers (P. A. Florensky, S. N. Bulgakov, D. S. Merezhkovsky). In addition to that the paper renders the reconstruction of ideological evolution of Berdyaev himself. This reconstruction identifies the development of the concept of “New Middle Ages”; in particular, Berdyaev's appeal to such problems and questions as: revolution and reformation, idea of “theocratic socialism”, etc. The paper also highlights the biographical context of Berdyaev's concept of “New Middle Ages”. In particular the paper focuses on the analysis of an episode of the criticism of Berdyaev's early idealistic Marxist ideas brought about by A. A. Bogdanov and A.V. Lunacharsky [a direct consequence of which was Bogdanov's article “New Middle Ages. On “problems of idealism” (1903) ]; and also with Berdyaev's practical understanding of the phenomenon of the Reformation, which occurred in connection with the conflict between G. Fedotov and the leadership of the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris in 1939. Special attention is paid to the influence exerted on the development and shaping of this concept in Berdyaev's work by the ideas of Western thinkers — J. de Maistre and O. Spengler. The paper comes to the conclusion about the "inclusion" of Berdyaev's reasoning into the General trends of understanding the phenomenon of secularization in Russian religious thought at the turn of the 20th century.

Enganging Secularization with Expository Preaching

This research trying to see the phenomenon of secularization that is dominating the world. Some people argue that secularization is dangerous for the Christian faith while some say that it is just the opposite that secularization is necessary. What is developing now is that secularization becomes a movement in personal thought. Some experts distinguish between secularization and secularism. Secularism is a kind of ideology that remove everything supernatural defining ones life. Secularism refers to the fact that religion has lost influence on the societal, the institutional and the individual levels. Preaching is a main part of church to educate the congregation about God, what His will and also supernatural being. Expository preaching is the method of teaching scripture. There are many other ways to preach a sermon that are beneficial to a congregation. However, that these other forms of preaching should never replace expository preaching in the life of the church. Solid expository preaching brings scripture to life. It connects the meaning of the passage to the life of the hearer, helping them to apply what they’ve heard to their specific life situations. This is the way to maintain people from leaving God and supernatural being in modern human life.