Barriers to the disclosure of child sexual abuse within the French Roman Catholic Church.

Previous research indicates that traditional religious authority structures have not necessarily been replaced by the widespread growth of digital media but have been partially transformed and/or expanded to include a new group of religious content creators. These actors do not necessarily have religious expertise or a traditional Islamic education, but they offer their own religious interpretations to their followers as part of their digital practice. Our contribution to this special issue offers an analysis of social media content by German-speaking Muslim content creators, focusing on the question of how religious authority is claimed or manifested in this context. To this end, we first develop a systematisation of potential sources of religious authority based on various existing approaches. Our analysis identifies four models of attributing authority depending on whether a) religious roles and positions are claimed, b) religious and other knowledge is presented, c) certain personal characteristics are demonstrated, and/or d) a relationship or collective identity is established between the content creator and their followers. We examine in detail selected audiovisual material from Muslim content creators on Instagram and discuss their internal differences and where they fall within the categories presented above. This analysis reveals an affinity between, on the one hand, explicit claims to religious authority and an emphasis on clear dichotomies and, on the other hand, creators who present themselves as average Muslims and their offers of a rather non-committal identity.

This introduction outlines the central questions and structure of the special issue and highlights key comparative insights from the collected studies. Against the backdrop of current changes in religious authority structures, the contributions of this special issue focus on the role of religious minority constellations as well as media change and digitalisation shaping the dynamics of religious authority. The research underpinning this volume is informed by a sociological and cultural-studies concept of authority that integrates theoretical questions with empirical perspectives. In addition to an outline of these conceptual considerations and a brief presentation of the individual contributions, this introduction offers some comparative considerations on intersecting conceptual themes and follow-up thoughts on religious authority.

The article explores classical theoretical debates on the routinization of authority. It departs from Max Weber’s sociology of power and his considerations on the routinization of charisma and discusses it in relation to Robert Michels’ concept of oligarchization and notions of institutionalization as a process of reciprocal typification in the Sociology of Knowledge. Based on a comparative discussion of the commonalities and differences of these approaches, I propose a working understanding for the empirical analysis of the routinization of religious authority. In line with the overarching focus of the special issue, I will put particular emphasis on religious minority-majority constellations and mediatization as conditions of routinization.

This study examines how multimodal discourse in Instagram advertisements constructs representations of global veiled women within Indonesia’s contemporary modest fashion industry. Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) multimodal discourse analysis framework, the research analyzes three Instagram video advertisements from the Buttonscarves x Indah Nada Puspita collaboration. The analysis focuses on three semiotic dimensions: linguistic features (song lyrics and written text), visual-verbal interplay (composition, color, setting, and body language), and the representational strategies of the global veiled women. Findings reveal that these advertisements construct Muslim womanhood at the intersection of religious piety, global consumerism, and local cultural identity, operating within what scholars term the “piety economy” where religious expression and commodity consumption are mutually reinforcing. The advertisements employ neo-colonial perspective by situating Indonesian Muslim women within Western cultural settings and musical frameworks, yet simultaneously demonstrate cultural hybridization whereby veiled women assert their right to participate in transnational flows of fashion, romance, and tourism without sacrificing religious authenticity. The study also finds that the three advertisements collectively challenge Western stereotypes while constructing normative standards of middle-class, urban, educated Muslim femininity. This research contributes to understanding how commercially social media participates in negotiating Muslim identity, gender representation, and globalization in contemporary Indonesia.

This study examines women’s language features and micro-narcissistic self-presentation in digitally mediated religious discourse, focusing on question-and-answer (Q&A) interactions in the online “Pengajian Sabilu Taubah” led by Gus Iqdam. Adopting a qualitative descriptive design with a sociopragmatic orientation, the study aims to explore how female participants use language to negotiate emotion, politeness, authority, and self-visibility in a publicly streamed religious forum. The data were drawn from five publicly accessible livestream recordings and were selected through purposive sampling based on the presence of direct interaction with female participants, extended utterances, and adequate audio-visual quality. Three women participants were analyzed as primary data sources, while two additional participants were used for confirmatory analysis. The primary research instrument was detailed discourse transcription, including lexical, prosodic, and paralinguistic features. Data analysis followed a theory-driven qualitative content analysis guided by Lakoff’s framework of women’s language and Pearson’s functional classification, with data validation ensured through triangulation and confirmatory analysis. The findings show that women’s language in the Q&A sessions is characterized by expressive-affective features, mitigation strategies, and response-oriented utterances that function to elicit recognition and maintain politeness toward religious authority. Furthermore, micro-narcissistic self-presentation is realized through subtle and socially acceptable linguistic practices, such as admiration-seeking expressions and self-referential narratives, rather than overt self-promotion. This study contributes to sociopragmatic and gender-based discourse research by highlighting women’s linguistic agency in digital religious interaction and by conceptualizing micro-narcissism as an interactional phenomenon shaped by religious norms and public visibility.

Sacred areas in Bali currently face a serious threat of ecosystem degradation due to the escalating volume of unmanaged ritual waste, where the dominance of non-organic materials has polluted the soil and water sources. This policy article aims to formulate a strategy to save the sacred environment through the integration of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for waste management and strengthening ecotheology education. The policy methodology used in this study is a qualitative-descriptive approach with the William N. Dunn model of policy analysis techniques, which evaluates various alternative solutions based on the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, equity, responsiveness, and technical feasibility. Through in-depth problem identification, it was found that the root of the problem lies in weak technical regulations and the absence of a waste sorting mechanism based on spiritual values ​​​​in religious authorities. The results of the scoring analysis indicate that regulatory intervention through the issuance of a Circular Letter on the Curriculum Guidelines for Ecotheology Extension is the most strategic solution. This policy is expected to be able to recommend standardization of ceremonial materials and the provision of independent sorting infrastructure in each sacred area. The implementation of this policy is expected to transform ritual waste management from a linear to a circular model, while simultaneously restoring the essence of sacred areas as centers of ecological harmony, in accordance with the Tri Hita Karana philosophy. With a mandatory legal framework, religious authorities can assume a green leadership role in sustainably mitigating environmental crises at the grassroots level.

Religious minority communities face distinctive healthcare barriers during public health crises, yet the communicative mechanisms underlying these barriers remain underexplored. Applying Communication Ecology Theory, this study examines barriers to healthcare access in Israel's Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community during the COVID-19 pandemic, conceptualizing healthcare inequality as a function of bounded communication ecologies rather than individual non-compliance, with implications for health equity in culturally and religiously diverse societies. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 30 Haredi community members and analysis of 20 pashkevils (religious street posters) circulated during the pandemic. The Haredi community experienced infection and mortality rates substantially higher than the national average during COVID-19. Both data sources were analyzed thematically, guided by Communication Ecology Theory. Three interconnected barriers emerged: (1) internal versus external-secular communication-reliance on community channels that conveyed partial or misleading health information; (2) rabbinic versus professional authority-prioritization of rabbinic rulings over medical guidance; and (3) religious versus scientific interpretation-viewing the pandemic as divine punishment requiring spiritual rather than medical responses. Healthcare barriers in the Haredi community reflect bounded communication ecologies where information legitimacy depends on alignment with religious authority and theological worldviews. Effective public health engagement requires culturally adapted strategies that operate within existing communication systems, collaborate with rabbinic leadership, and address both informational and structural barriers, thereby advancing health equity in religious minority populations. These findings are relevant for understanding healthcare barriers among religious minorities worldwide.

Islamic astronomy in Malaysia has developed into a well-organised discipline, supported by an ecosystem of universities, governmental institutions, observatories, and community organisations. However, Malaysia’s potential to become a better player in Islamic astronomy on the global stage could be improved. This study examines the contemporary state of Islamic astronomy in Malaysia through literature review, site visits, and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to assess its potential and challenges. The results indicate that Malaysia possesses numerous institutional strengths, notably contributions from universities, the federal government’s coordinating function, and the initiative-taking involvement of state mufti offices with their respective observatories. They have numerous significant achievements, including the nationwide implementation of Subh prayer and the establishment of the national crescent-sighting database and standard operating procedure (SOP). This demonstrates the nation’s capacity to convert research into practical application that usable for general public. Nevertheless, there remains room for improvement, especially in fostering stronger collaboration among academic institutions, maximising the utilisation of research facilities, and expanding international engagement and visibility. Due to this issue, this study proposes a systematic national approach that integrates universities, religious authorities, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), drawing on insights from Türkiye and Indonesia. This article examines how Malaysia could excel in domains such as big data applications, software development, and artificial intelligence. To establish itself as a global authority in this domain, Malaysia must enhance open data practices, rejuvenate local journals, and strengthen international-local research collaborations. This study provides a framework for enhancing Islamic astronomy in Malaysia, both domestically and globally.

Religious leaders often hold revered positions and shape moral norms within their communities. However, obedience to such figures may become problematic when followers fail to question unethical behavior or the misuse of authority. This study investigates how dimensions of right-wing authoritarianism (submission, aggression, and conventionalism) and mechanisms of moral disengagement relate to perilous obedience toward religious authority. Drawing on data from 243 Indonesian participants across majority and minority religious groups, hierarchical regression analyses showed that authoritarian submission and moral disengagement - particularly advantageous comparison - were the strongest predictors of perilous obedience. Although authoritarian aggression initially predicted the outcome, its effect diminished once moral disengagement was entered into the model. Conventionalism, despite its theoretical importance, did not significantly predict obedience in this context. These findings highlight psychological factors associated with followers’ willingness to tolerate or justify the misuse of authority in religious settings.

ABSTRACT Strict religious regulations in Iran and Saudi Arabia restrict artistic expression, particularly for those who challenge the status quo, impacting metal musicians and fans in both countries. Despite this, metal music in these two contexts has often opposed the use of religion as a means of control. Metal is considered harām (forbidden) by religious authorities in Iran, who associate it with criticism of organised religion. Recently, Saudi Arabia has loosened restrictions on metal music, but religious norms persist, and bands may face prosecution for blasphemy. While previous studies have explored metal music in the Middle East, there remains a significant gap in literature regarding how artists and fans discuss religion and governance, particularly in countries with strict religious authoritarian regimes. This study uses thematic analysis of interviews with Iranian and Saudi metal musicians and fans to explore the complex role of religion in their lives, especially in the context of major sociopolitical events. It shows that the legitimacy of religion diminishes in participants’ perceptions when authorities exploit it as a tool of governance, and suggests participants view a ‘good religion’ as one that is personal and based on individual choice, rather than imposed by the state.

Globally, including in the practice of Islamic da'wah. The presence of social media, video platforms, and communication applications allows for the wider, faster, and more interactive dissemination of da'wah messages. However, this transformation also presents challenges such as religious disinformation, blurred scientific authority, and the commodification of da'wah in the digital space. This research uses a qualitative approach using literature study methods and descriptive-analytical analysis of various scientific publications, research reports, and da'wah phenomena developing in digital media. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques to identify patterns of da'wah transformation, opportunities, and challenges emerging in the virtual society. The results show that the transformation of digital da'wah is characterized by changes in media, methods, and actors. Social media such as YouTube, Instagram, and podcasts have become the primary means of disseminating religious messages. Digital da'wah offers significant opportunities to expand audience reach, increase youth participation, and present a more creative and interactive da'wah model. However, challenges arise in the form of fragmented religious authority, the spread of unverified religious understandings, and the potential for religious polarization in the digital space. The transformation of Islamic preaching in the digital era demands the adaptation of more contextual Islamic preaching strategies, digital religious literacy, and strengthening the scholarly authority of Islamic scholars in the virtual space. Integrating classical Islamic preaching values with technological innovation is key to maintaining the quality and sustainability of Islamic preaching in the digital society.

After the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies in 2003, numerous Shiite armed groups emerged within the Iraqi political landscape. most of these groups share a deep historical and sectarian background with the Islamic Republic of Iran, to the extent that they recognize the Iranian Supreme Leader as their religious and political authority (Marja'). The majority of these groups were founded by Iran. it supported them financially and militarily. Iran directed them until they became part of Iran's proxy forces in the Middle East. The rise of the ISIS terrorist organization in 2014 presented a significant opportunity for these militias to assume a larger role in the Iraqi political arena, especially after they were unified under the neme Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and formalized within a legal framework, eventually succeeding in the defeat of ISIS. This study seeks to review the primary Iranian objectives and strategies that Tehran has pursued through its proxies in post-2003 Iraq.

Kang Youwei (1858–1927) reimagined Confucius as the founding religious leader of Confucianism, a conceptual framework underpinning his entire ideological system of Confucian thought. Yet existing scholarship has largely overlooked systematic analysis of this theoretical reconstruction. Influenced by the impact–response paradigm, many studies have also neglected Kang’s core intention to pursue cross-civilizational dialogue and establish a universalist Confucianism through such interpretive innovation. Faced with the late-Qing predicament of the imbalance between a dominant Western world and a weakened China, Kang thoroughly redefined Confucius by shifting his image from a sage who transmitted rather than created ancient wisdom to a religious authority who reformed institutions through classical precedents. This paper argues that Kang’s reinterpretation was neither a simplistic religious adaptation nor a conservative defence of traditional culture. His fundamental aim was to correct Western-centric bias, facilitate equal Sino-Western civilizational dialogue, critique inherent structural dilemmas of modern Western civilization, and propose the Confucian Way as a viable solution to these deep-rooted crises.

This article analyzes Felix Siauw’s digital da‘wah strategy in building public solidarity for Palestinian independence in Indonesia. Moving beyond the assumption that digital da‘wah merely transfers religious lectures into online spaces, the study conceptualizes it as a strategic communication practice that frames geopolitical issues, intensifies affect, and directs cross-platform collective action. The research employed an interpretive qualitative approach with a cross-platform netnography design. The corpus consisted of Palestine-themed public content within Felix Siauw’s digital ecosystem, with primary emphasis on YouTube and Telegram, while Instagram, TikTok, and X served as complementary platforms. Data were collected through systematic manual archiving of uploads, captions, videos, engagement metrics, comments, and campaign trails, and were analyzed using hybrid coding, thematic analysis, and multimodal discourse analysis. The findings show that Palestine is constructed through a differentiated platform ecosystem in which YouTube deepens narrative and interpretive authority, while Telegram functions to amplify, archive, and direct participation. Felix Siauw’s messages sacralize Palestine through references to Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, and Islamic history, thereby presenting a distant geopolitical conflict as an immediate moral and religious obligation for Indonesian Muslims. This framing is further reinforced through affective intensification in the form of suffering, empathy, moral anger, and urgency, which together constitute a moral public grounded in the imagination of the ummah and shared responsibility. The study also identifies multilayered solidarity outcomes, ranging from symbolic expression and discursive reproduction to donations, boycott support, and offline participation. This article concludes that Felix Siauw’s Palestine-oriented da‘wah represents a form of public solidarity mediated by platformed religious authority and capable of moving audiences from expression to action in Indonesia’s digital public sphere in a communicative, structured, cross-platform, and sustained manner during moments of crisis. The study contributes to the understanding of how digital religious communication mobilizes solidarity by linking platform logic, affective framing, and collective action in contemporary Muslim public life.

The article considers irony as a means of silent communication between the narrator and the reader within the plot of the Gospel of John 10:40–12:50. The article focuses on the strategy of using irony, its typological prism, and the multifaceted nature of its nuances in the context of constructing a narrative arc. The use of irony aims to reveal the strategy of the implicit author and serves to comprehend the primary meaning of the text. The functioning of irony in relation to the progressive and gradual development of the plot line of John 10:40–12:50 has been shown. The narrator skillfully combines different types of irony and demonstrates the relationship between them in order to develop an extensive dramatic of Jesus giving life to Lazarus and, at the same time, His death sentence by the religious authorities of Jerusalem. The theoretical and practical results of the study can be used to improve the methodology of the narrative approach to the analysis of biblical texts, systematize the concept of irony as a literary and narrative technique, and understand the historical background of the use of irony in the biblical text from the perspective of religious studies.

Purpose: This research aims to analyze the relationship between technological progress and patterns of religiosity in the digital age, by presenting a sociological approach that goes beyond traditional descriptive accounts toward building a theoretical interpretation that explains transformations in religious knowledge, authority, and practice. Methodology: The research adopts a conceptual analysis based on integrating two main frameworks: Manuel Castells' theory of the network society and Max Weber's concept of the "disenchantment of the world," alongside a critical review of sociological literature and contemporary studies on religion and technology. Findings: The results of the analysis indicate that technological progress does not necessarily lead to a decline in religiosity, but rather contributes to its reconfiguration within new patterns. The study shows that digital technology: • Dismantles the monopoly over religious knowledge and expands its sources • Redistributes religious authority toward decentralized digital actors • Contributes to the transformation of religious practices from collective to flexible individualistic forms Contribution: The research presents a multi-level analytical model (epistemic, authoritative, and practical) that explains the relationship between technology and religiosity as a relationship of reconfiguration, rather than linear decline. It also contributes to developing the theoretical debate in the sociology of religion by transcending the traditional dichotomy between secularization and the persistence of religion. Conclusion: The research concludes that religion in the digital age does not disappear but is rather reconfigured within a new network structure that redefines the relationship between the individual, religious knowledge, and authority, establishing a new pattern that can be described as digital or network religiosity.

Abstract This paper presents the initial insights derived from the Digital Youth Formation Initiative (DYFI) research project, which accompanies Catholic initiatives across Europe and situates their experiences within a broader scholarly discourse. Supported by Porticus, DYFI projects experiment with digital content, hybrid gatherings, and new forms of youth-oriented faith communication. The meta-research maps the learning processes of project leaders and youth ministers with the aim of bringing them into dialogue and debating issues pertaining to the postdigital church. It further draws on collaborations with the International Association of the Study of Yoth Ministry (IASYM) research group on digital youth formation and on material from international encounters, such as the Sarajevo consultation Swipe//Post//Like and the Catholic Synod’s Study Group on The Mission in the Digital Environment . Through iterative qualitative analysis, six initial clusters were refined into four overarching themes: the ambivalent effects of the digital world, the role of theology in digital contexts, the needs and voices of young people, and contested forms of religious authority. These findings illuminate the central tensions and opportunities in digital youth faith formation and underscore their relevance pertaining to practical theology in a postdigital age.

ABSTRACT This article argues for a replacement of the received orthodoxies concerning charisma with a return to (or perhaps a heretical expansion of) the use of the terms heresy and heretical modes of writing. We advance our argument through a reading of The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, translated into English by Jennifer Croft, a novel which has been for us a resource and inspiration for ways that we might better represent and interpret religious authority and agency through attention to proportionality, indeterminacy, and the radical diversity of worlds that shape all historical movements. Although we believe this approach is widely valuable, it takes on particular urgency in a moment when the figure of the charismatic leader looms with outsized importance in the ways in which we narrate religion and politics today.

The article provides a detailed analysis of the issue of ecclesiastical authority and power in the period from the first to third centuries AD. Three main groups of Christian heroes of the epoch are distinguished: bishops, charismatic leaders, and martyrs. These categories of believers were not isolated; sometimes peculiar representatives embodied all three roles. However, since the structure of the Church wasn’t determined and religious traditions was emerging, various representatives of ecclesial community could act as spiritual leaders and heroes. Situations when different groups challenged each other's authority also happened. The nature of early Christian heroism is accurately explored in the article, with the special focus to study of special personal qualities and style of behavior that made some representatives of the early Church communities seen as heroes of faith. Collision between different representatives of spiritual authority – legitimate and charismatic – was quite common. Bishops, as successors of the apostles, had to prove their right to lead local communities and to defend themselves against attacks by zealous defenders of Christian piety. It is shown that different types of religious authorities and heroes of faith emerged frequently came into conflict with one another. It is also noted that all the processes, started at the end of the Apostolic era, ran differently in various regions of the ancient Mediterranean world. As Christianity was spreading beyond the relatively homogeneous cultural environment of Hellenistic Judaism, its ideas about heroism were becoming more and more influenced by diverse local cultural traditions.