Organized Religion Research Articles

Christian martyrdom and Yusin censorship's conundrum: the 1977 screening suspension of Toward the High Place (1977–1981)

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the unconventional censorship case of Toward the High Place (1977), a religious film that dramatized the life of Reverend Ju Gi-cheol. Despite passing censorship with ease, even selected as a ‘superior film’ by the state, Toward the High Place's screening was delayed multiple times and ultimately prohibited, only to be shown after the collapse of Park Chung Hee regime. Given the Protestant Church's crucial role in the state's diplomatic relations with the United States, the decision to prohibit the film's screening was highly unusual. Through a close reading of the film's censorship file and other archival documents, I reconstruct the various censorship processes that came to constitute the film's visual grammar. As an instance of unofficial censorship, I argue that Toward the High Place demonstrates how censorship practices, socio-political conditions, and the changing status of organized religion influenced cinematic representation, while also revealing the limits of official censorship procedures.

Narrating Diasporic Religion and Postsecular Identity in Tahar Ben Jelloun’s A Palace in the Old Village

Inspired by Western secular literary tradition, many diasporic writers in the Maghreb in general and in Morocco in particular did not include religious or spiritual themes in their literary works, as compared to the valorized ones of race, class and gender. Much of Maghrebian fiction, primarily written by immigrant writers of Islamic background who adopt secular perspectives that are often critical of Islam, has depicted religion, especially Islam, in negative terms. Tahar Ben Jelloun is one of those writers who are criticized for being self-orientalizing authors who ‘prostitute’ their works to their Western audience. But, Tahar Ben Jelloun is misunderstood by the majority of his readers. In this article, using postsecularism and secular spirituality as analytical tools, I will explore the postsecular identity and diasporic religion in Tahar Ben Jelloun’s A Palace in the Old Village. Reading the novel from a postsecular perspective and more specifically from a secular spiritual perspective, I will show that Tahar Ben Jelloun is neither self-orientalizing Islam nor celebrating French secularism. Instead, he is upholding postsecular values and diasporic consciousness by negotiating instances of extremism and communalism that mark the failures of both organized religion and Eurocentric secularism. Indeed, Ben Jelloun presents Islam as faith, as a spiritual practice; a diasporic religiosity which is not associated with any political doctrine or organization.

Deconverted Hearts in a Deconverted Church

In recent years, many evangelicals have been experiencing increasing discomfort with the conservative Christian subculture. While some leave organized religion entirely, others find a new spiritual home in more progressive evangelical churches. In this article, I analyze two such deconversions to “Churchome,” a megachurch based in Seattle and Los Angeles that particularly caters to disenchanted or deconverted evangelicals and in which I have conducted two years of ethnographic fieldwork. While both of my interviewees echo classic Protestant critiques as reasons for their deconversion, they do not express these in moral or theological but rather in emotional and therapeutic terms. I will show that, as my interviewees re-evaluate previously learned theologies and practices from the perspective of a new emotional and therapeutic style, their deconversions function like therapy. Churchome not only guides this process as a church for the deconverted, but also presents itself as a deconverted church, making “continuous deconversion” its primary identity.

Unveiling Divinity: A Comparative Quest Into The Perception Of God In Islam And Semitic Religions

The quest to understand the perception of God across different religions has been a central theme in human civilization. This comparative study delves into the essence of divinity as perceived in Islam and Semitic religions, exploring the foundational beliefs and philosophical underpinnings that shape the understanding of the Supreme Divine Authority. Drawing from insights gleaned from renowned historian Arnold Toynbee's monumental work on the history of religion, this study underscores the significance of religion in unraveling the mysteries of existence. Despite attempts by non-religious ideologies like Marxism and Freudianism to undermine organized religion, the enduring presence of faith systems underscores the intrinsic role of religion in human existence. Through an examination of key scriptures, including the Glorious Qur'an, this study elucidates the commonalities and divergences in the perception of God, emphasizing the universal call to worship a singular, omnipotent deity. Moreover, it highlights the innate human inclination towards belief in the Creator, positing that acceptance of divinity requires no precondition, while disbelief necessitates conditioned skepticism. Ultimately, this study offers profound insights into the universal quest for understanding the divine, transcending cultural and religious boundaries to illuminate the timeless truths underlying human spirituality.

Activists, Parties, and the Expansion of Trans Rights in Bolivia

Bolivia prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and passed a ground-breaking gender identity law. These laws had little support among voters and passed along with heteronormative measures. Why did activists succeed in proposing and passing legislation that most voters did not support? Why were Bolivia’s advances in LGBTQ+ rights accompanied by heteronormative laws? We argue that parties with deep ties to social movements are more likely to advance legislation that expands LGBTQ+ rights than other parties and that contradictory laws emerge where both organized religion and LGBTQ+ activists are party constituents. We describe how Bolivian trans activists leveraged their access to ruling party legislators, using interviews with activists and officials, and briefly discuss the cases of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia.

STEVE TESICH’S ON THE OPEN ROAD AND NAOMI WALLACE’S THINGS OF DRY HOURS AS DISCOURSES ON ART AND FREEDOM

Through the analysis of Steve Tesich’s and Naomi Wallace’s dramatic masterpieces On the Open Road (1992) and Things of Dry Hours (2007), respectively, the paper strives to examine the dramatists’ insights into the role of art and theatre within the context of the contemporary artistic landscape and the societal ethos. Tesich and Wallace, both acclaimed as engaged and dissenting writers, envision theatre as a hallowed space for social and imaginative metamorphosis. They challenge the prevailing cultural norms and values, serving as beacons of resistance against dehumanizing practices that have taken root in modern society, often perpetuated by capitalist regimes. In this light, the paper underscores the seminal importance of their artistic contributions, which delve into the disintegration of art’s societal significance, the pervasiveness of societal apathy, the absurdity of warfare, and the overarching influence of organized religion. Within the framework of On the Open Road, Steve Tesich poignantly underscores the dwindling influence of art in a dystopian world where it has been commodified. The characters Al and Angel grapple with a post-apocalyptic society fragmented into distinct factions under the dominion of potent entities. Art, once the source of profound inspiration, is relegated to the status of a mere bargaining chip. Tesich contemplates the devaluation of art appreciation, underscoring the dire need to fathom art, rather than merely rationalize it. He cogently argues that this transformative paradigm poses an existential threat to humanity and its moral underpinnings. However, amid the bleak future depicted, the play offers a glimmer of hope - the restoration of human nature through acts of love devoid of ulterior motives. In a parallel vein, Naomi Wallace’s Things of Dry Hours is distinctly situated in the early 1930s Alabama, a locale that encapsulates myriad sociopolitical nuances. The play unfolds as an intricate tapestry of themes encompassing race, class, and political turmoil. The characters, notably Tice Hogan, his daughter Cali, and the enigmatic Corbin Teel, confront the divisive aspects of racial privilege and economic disparities. The dramatic narrative adroitly negotiates the interplay between Christian religiosity and the tenets of Communism. Concurrently, Wallace delves into the ineffable dimensions of spiritual desolation, perceptibly etched into the characters’ existential identities. The characters undergo a transformative journey, awakening dormant desires and rekindling hope for social transformation and a more meaningful existence.

Factors that influence the choice for neonatal resuscitation in periviable deliveries

Background Periviable preterm birth, defined as delivery between 20+0/7 to 25+6/7 weeks, represents less than 1% of all births but contributes to up to 40% of all infant deaths. Scenarios with high risks of morbidity and mortality to the maternal-neonatal dyad may result in periviable preterm delivery. These situations require shared decision making between healthcare teams and families to decide whether maternal and neonatal patients are candidates for obstetric interventions and neonatal resuscitation at delivery, respectively, and to determine the optimal mode of delivery at the cusp of fetal viability. Objective The primary objective is to describe the influence of patient demographics (i.e. maternal race) and societal factors (i.e. maternal religion) on the decision between neonatal resuscitation and comfort care in periviable deliveries. Our secondary goals are: 1. to quantify the use of obstetric interventions (antenatal steroids for fetal lung maturity, magnesium sulfate for fetal neuroprotection, tocolytics and GBS prophylaxis) at the threshold of viability and 2. to establish whether planned neonatal resuscitation versus comfort care influenced the choice of cesarean versus vaginal delivery. Methods This project is a retrospective cohort study; electronic medical records were queried for data at Ascension St. Vincent Women's Hospital of mothers and neonates delivered at 22 0/7 to 24 6/7 from January 1, 2016 to July 31, 2020. Study patients were separated to compare outcomes between those that received neonatal resuscitation and those for whom comfort care was provided at 22, 23, and 24 weeks gestational age. Results were further stratified by obstetric interventions, mode of delivery, and maternal race and maternal religion with statistical analysis utilizing Fisher's Exact Test. Results Of the 111 patient charts originally identified, 73 patients met inclusion criteria. For those patients that opted for obstetric interventions, the most likely intervention was antenatal steroids (86%), followed by magnesium for fetal neuroprotection (63%) and tocolytics (63%), with the least likely intervention being Group Beta Streptococcus antibiotic prophylaxis (43%). The overall cesarean delivery rate was 53%. Cesarean delivery was selected with increasing gestational age: 9.1%, 52%, and 67% at 22, 23, and 24 weeks respectively. While there was no significant difference in those that opted for comfort care versus neonatal resuscitation at 22 weeks, the majority of patients at 23 and 24 weeks overwhelmingly opted for resuscitation; 5 infants (45%) were resuscitated at 22 weeks, 24 infants (96%) at 23 weeks, and 36 infants (97%) at 24 weeks. Planned neonatal resuscitation increased by gestational age. Patients opting for comfort care were more likely to deliver vaginally (87%) versus those that opted for resuscitation (41%), (Fisher's Exact Test, p=0.02), with the most common diagnoses documented for cesarean delivery being malpresentation followed by fetal distress. As for the influence of maternal race, African American patients opted for resuscitation 100% of the time, regardless of gestational age, in comparison to Caucasian (87%) and "other" (62%) counterparts. As for maternal religion, there was no significant difference between patients that self-identified as Christian, Roman Catholic, Unaffiliated or Other and their decision for neonatal resuscitation at 22 weeks. However, at 23 and 24 weeks, the only patients to opt in favor of comfort care were patients that were Unaffiliated with an organized religion. Overall, our infant survival rates were 7.6%, 44%, 63%, at 22, 23, and 24 weeks respectively, with an overall survival rate of 41%. Conclusion While the decision to resuscitate periviable preterm infants is multifactorial, demographic and societal factors influence the decision for planned resuscitation for this vulnerable patient population. Planned neonatal resuscitation rates were higher among patients identified as African American than other demographics included in this study. Patients not affiliated with an organized religion are less likely to opt for resuscitation at later gestational ages. Regardless ofplans for resuscitation, the majority of patients received obstetric interventions including antenatal steroids and cesarean delivery. These findings may be used by clinicians for shared decision making during future antenatal counseling sessions.

Corporate Spiritual Responsibility (CSpR): Kontruksi Model CSR berdasarkan Surat Al-Mudassir dan Kitab Tarbiyah Wa Tahdzib

Purpose: This study aims to construct the model of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) based on Surah Al Mudassir and Kitab Tarbiyah Wa Tahdzib in Islamic boarding schools.
 
 Method: This research uses a postmodernist-interpretivist paradigm where the research tries to integrate the meaning of each data obtained through interviews and construct a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) model based on Surah Al Mudassir and the Kitab of Tarbiyah Wa Tahdzib. 
 
 Results: Empirically in Islamic boarding schools, it was found that 1) The application of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards profits is interpreted as sustenance that arises from a sense of sufficiency and gratitude, 2) The application of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards people is interpreted as charity service. 3) The implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the planet is interpreted as mutual concern and responsibility. 
 
 Implications: this study provides implications for accounting science, especially the concept of CSR in a broader context
 
 Novelty: This study focuses on the construction of a CSR model that integrates organizational culture, religion and spirituality into a CSR model based on Surah Al Mudassir and Kitab Tarbiyah Wa Tahdzib

The Persistence of Indigenous Traditional Religion in the Catholic White Father’s Mission of Bukumbi-Mwanza 1883- 2010

The paper intended to examine the persistence of indigenous traditional religion in Catholic White Father’s Mission of Bukumbi. On the process of evangelizing Bukumbi society, White Fathers’ missionaries realized that the society had their own organized religion as believed in Lyuba as the creator. Various methods were used to consolidate Christianity in this society. This study used historical Materialism theory which was developed by Karl Marx on 1818-1883 to trace changes in society of Bukumbi based on religion. The study used historical research design while qualitative research approach was applied. The main argument of this study is based on traditional religion, consolidation of Christianity and persistence of tradition religion at Bukumbi. Documentary review and Interview were used. Moreover, data concludes that, Bukumbi society continued and continuing practicing Sukuma traditional religion through various practices. The study suggests other study to be carried on Projects established by Catholic White Fathers’ missions at Bukumbi.

Marrying the radical, the conventional, and the mystical: Mathematics, gender and religion in the lives of William Kingdon and Lucy Lane Clifford

The avowed atheist, evolutionary naturalist and mathematician William Kingdon Clifford is often remembered for his essay, “The Ethics of Belief,” in which he opposed organized religion in any form. As a mathematician, Clifford was an early advocate of non-Euclidean geometry in England. Combining William Rowan Hamilton’s work on quaternions with Hermann Grassmann’s theory of linear extension, he invented an original system of geometric algebra. Breaking with conservative traditionalism in his philosophical and mathematical work, Clifford’s marriage to the children’s writer, novelist, and dramatist Lucy Lane was a relatively conventional, if brief, Victorian marriage. After his untimely death from consumption in 1879, Lucy outlived her husband by fifty years. Raising their two daughters and supporting herself after his passing, Lucy refashioned Clifford’s posthumous reputation to temper his philosophical radicalism. Her collaboration with Clifford’s publisher and editor reveal Lucy’s concern that Clifford not be remembered as someone ruled by passion in his mathematical work. Her efforts to expunge writings suggestive of William’s weakness, excitability, or inconstancy from the public record demonstrates her desire to craft an image of her husband in alignment with gendered expectations of masculinity. This paper argues that Lucy fashioning of William’s memory conformed, rather than departed from, normative parameters of gender as defined by Victorian society.

Factors associated with continued Jogini practice in Telangana, South India

The Jogini, or Devadasi, system sees young girls “married” to a deity after which she is seen as the property of the village and required to perform religious duties and often sexual favours, typically without payment or freedom of choice. There is a paucity of published research on the factors which make women vulnerable to this exploitation and the factors which increase the likelihood that they are able to extricate themselves from it. This is a population study of 657 women who had previously been dedicated as Joginis living in 10 villages in Mahabubnagar district of Telangana, South India. The primary outcome of interest was whether the women were practicing as a Jogini at the time of the survey. Data was analyzed using a mixed effect logistic regression test to determine possible determinants of practicing status. Four factors were found to be significantly associated with continued Jogini practice: 1) being a person with a disability, 2) reason for dedication given as family tradition of other Joginis in the family, 3) poverty in the family of origin, and 4) living in a village with more than ten percent of the population belonging to a scheduled tribe. One factor significantly negatively associated with continued practice was having one or more male children. Analysis of the demographic data for these women confirmed the previously known fact that the exploitation in the form of the Jogini system disproportionately affects those who are already vulnerable in society — those from scheduled castes (SC) and tribes (ST), other backward castes (OBC), the disabled, the uneducated, and the poor. Between them, SCs, STs, and OBCs make up the non-forward castes, i.e., those who are socially disadvantaged. The scheduled castes, formally known as untouchables, are the lowest of the Indian castes. Scheduled tribes are tribal people, not part of any organized religion. Other backward castes are those between the forward castes and the scheduled castes in terms of social order.

Authority over Death: Two Tales Related to the Lord of Mount Tai in Konjaku Monogatarishū

Tales of Times Now Past (Konjaku Monogatarishū 今昔物語集) is a Japanese setsuwa (anecdotes) collection dating from the early twelfth century. Originally contained in 31 volumes, it includes more than one thousand systematically arranged tales from India, China, and Japan. Despite the fact that Daoism was rejected by the Japanese imperial court as an organized religion, Daoist philosophies and practical systems found their ways into Japan, having a significant and profound influence over Japanese esoteric cosmology and folk beliefs. This article takes the Lord of Mount Tai (CN: Taishan Fujun; JP: Taizan Fukun 泰山府君) as the focus and examines two pertinent stories in Tales of Times Now Past. By placing the texts in a broader historical, religious, and comparative Japan–China perspective, I examine the reshaping of Daoist elements and traditional Chinese philosophical principles in these two stories and thus demonstrate how the Daoist fragments transmitted to Japan were transformed into an integral part of the orthodox structure by the time of the late Heian period in the pursuit of a more organized form of government.

Wpływ zorganizowanej religii na status społeczny kobiet w powieści Alice Walker "W świetle uśmiechu mojego ojca"

Alice Walker’s novel By the Light of my Father’s Smile (1998), as her prose in general, addresses issues of religious, ecology, feminism and sexuality. The article discusses the novel’s depiction of the impact of organized religion on the social status of women with reference to both the novel’s cultural settings and Alice Walker’s personal experience. By deliberately breaking taboos about speaking openly of the sexual experience of women of color, the author intends to make her readers aware of the harm organized religion often causes to women all over the world. In her opinion, patriarchy unethically uses gender norms, as a way to benefit men over women. Walker thus commits herself to encouraging men who have been misguided by patriarchy to change their behaviour and righting their wrongs. She also strives to give oppressed women more confidence and courage to defend their freedom and independence.

Caste, Resistance, and Religion: A Critical Study of ‘Making of Matuaism’

Matuaism developed into a full-grown organized religion in the beginning of twentieth century, and a popular religion in contemporary time. Its genesis and development has sparked many questions and concerns for the simple reason that, a large section of Namasudra people got organized under a leadership of two anti-caste leaders of Bengal, namely Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur, and invented a new religion for the so-called untouchables of Bengal. The present article is an attempt to historicize the nascent journey of Matuaism from second half of nineteenth century till present time, and to critically evaluate its religious doctrine that primarily dismantles Brahminical hegemony as enunciated and canonized in the Rig Veda and other religious texts. Drawing within the framework of anti-caste movements, the present article evaluates Matuaism as a resistant religion to Brahminical hegemony on the one hand, and justifies its theology as a praxis solely devoted to public welfare and utilitarianism on the other. The so-called untouchables of Bengal who did not have any social identity and respect, invented their own religion and secured their social and cultural identity through authentic representation of their religious culture.

Reflection on the Role of a Hospital Chaplain as a Resource for Ethical Concerns.

As I take a legal approach to religion and spirituality, I reflection on how a chaplain can be beneficial as a resource to ethical concerns that medical teams and patients/caregivers face. This rather new approach can help medical professionals to understand the scope of a chaplain's work and to distinguish the work of a chaplain from that of clergy in organized religion.

Becoming Buddhists: The emergence of a prestigious temple.

How does a novel organizational prototype come about and succeed to the point where it becomes recognized as an icon? To address this question, this article examines the organizational emergence of a prestigious temple. Drawing on interviews and content analysis of 6320 blog entries between 2006 and 2018, we identify how an organized way of practicing Buddhism emerged in China and trace its founding monks to students from two elite universities. We argue that organizational emergence-in this case the rise of a prestigious temple and what it stands for-was manifested by identity claims of "who we are" to audiences. Declaring "who we are not" prior to establishing this temple, the founding monks subsequently claimed their organizational identity in three distinct stages: who we are in this temple, who we are as a temple, and who we are as Buddhism. As these identity claims were recognized by the audiences, a novel Buddhist organization emerged. This article contributes to an organizational perspective of religious study and provides a focused case with sufficient temporary variations to explore how identity claims facilitate organizational emergence. It has important implications for understanding incremental yet fundamental institutional changes, as it provides a template of organized religion that nurtures social skills for self-organizing. More broadly, these insights contribute toward developing a vibrant civil society.

The Changing Sacredness and Taboo in Life Cycle Ritual : A Comparative Analysis among Migrated Tribes of Periurban Area

Tribals are unique in their culture due to continued closeness to nature, forests, flora and fauna. They have different traditions, cultures, lifestyles, beliefs, food, languages, rituals etc. They are unique in their worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages, funerals etc. Krushnanagar is a small village is located in Chandaka tehsil of Khordha district in Odisha, India, having a population of 468 people, out of that 90% are tribal people and rest 10% are scheduled cast people. Bhubaneswar is nearest city to krushnanagar for all major economic activities, which is approximately 20 km away. The people in the villagers have migrated from Mayurbhanj district to Krishnagar of Chandaka Tahsil around 30-50 years ago, in search of better livelihood. I have taken two majority tribes in krushnanagar i.e Bhumij and santal for the study and observed that there has been socio cultural changes in tribal societies in terms of culture, religion, and economic aspects. They perform rituals very similar to Hinduism and very similar to the culture followed in nearby cities Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. This article, with an aim to describe the changing sacredness and taboo among the tribals of Krushnanagar village due to the impact of modernisation and close proximity to culturally rich city of Odisha. Primary data collected through census analysis and discussion with village headman and other villagers vis a vis literature available in this context have been made as base. It is observed that the sanctity of most of the rituals are not being practiced anymore or some new rituals are being adapted. Now taboo is a different concept in all society. There has been a continuous acculturation process in the practices of life cycle rituals. Newly conceptualized stages have emerged, such as “bridal shower”, “baby shower”, “bachelorette party”, “empty nest”, etc. These celebrations are derived from evolving stages of life and signify progression and change. They can be culminated and categorized under traditional classifications of the life cycle rituals and represent the dynamic growth of society and culture in today’s modern and technologically advanced world..

Nothingarians: The Fear of the Unchurched in Early National America

The term nothingarian suggests an under-studied presence in the history of the early republic: the religiously unaffiliated. Scholars routinely mention the term nothingarian, but few have examined its origins, uses, or significance in American history. Although it seems to have originated much earlier, as a term for members of the little-known Gortonist sect in Rhode Island, "nothingarian" would come to connote the irreligious, ambivalent, or unaffiliated person, one whom pollsters of religion today might call a "none," or a person of no organized religion. The fear of nothingarians was especially acute in the early republic because of the widespread disestablishment of official denominations, rapid spread of settlement on the frontier, and deep uncertainties about American national cohesion after independence. Many observers in early national America feared that disestablishment and religious choice would lead not to massive numbers of conversions, but to masses of indifferent, skeptical, or unaffiliated people. The term nothingarian is important because it was widely used (if poorly defined), and because it reflected widespread fears about preserving religious affiliation and building a new American nation in the absence of state churches or a national establishment.

The Creation of Tradition and the Alteration of Social Structure by the Mystic Baul Fakir Lalon Shah

This paper investigates how the Bengali poet Fakir Lalon Shah established a separate tradition of his songs and ideas. This research is also relevant to how Lalon's heritage of songs and philosophy has appeared to have formed, innovated, and altered over time. The songs of Lalon, their continued performance, how the songs get performed, and the attitudes of Lalon's devotees and the singers of his songs have all contributed to the development of a specific type of tradition. "a set of practices, normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition," (Hobsbawm 1983) is how Hobsbawm describes tradition. Fakir Lalon Shah was a notable philosopher, poet, and musician born in Bengal and flourished during the 19th century in what is now Bangladesh. He was known as Fakir Lalon Shah. The Baul tradition, a syncretic form of devotional music that integrates aspects of Sufi Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous folk beliefs, was started by him. He is known as the originator of the Baul tradition. Lalon Shah founded the Baul tradition and broke radically with his era's prevalent cultural and religious standards when he established it. He was not a follower of traditional organized religions because he considered them limiting and dogmatic. Instead, he emphasized individual spirituality and the quest for the truth inside.

The Crucible

The Crucible