Religious Elites Research Articles

Mobilizing Frontiers

Since the late 17th century, the Mekong Delta has become a vibrant place for Vietnamese, ethnic Khmer, and ethnic Chinese settlements, forming mixed communities in terms of race and culture. As a new frontier, the Delta has continuously undergone state-sponsored “civilizing” processes. The resulting hybridity in folk culture gave birth to various religious sects, especially on the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. From the view of late imperial Confucianism, these groups were judged as “heretical sects” and their leaders “heretical masters”. Despite being classified as “heretical”, these local “masters” and their communities still insisted on the core Confucian values of benevolence, righteousness and patriotism. Chinese secret societies and rebels escaped to the Delta in different times, bringing new ideas to the region, especially the cults of Five Lord Buddhas, Maitreya, and the concept of the birth of the wise king. Under French suppression, these “heretical masters” changed their religious strategies, supported local military leaders and secret societies to “fight the French and restore Đại Nam”. This research aims to investigate and analyse the “heretical” religious movements and ideological transformation of “heretical masters” in the Mekong River Delta in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thereby strengthening the argument that although Vietnam’s local religious elites were marginalized and suppressed by state governance (the Nguyễn dynasty, French colonialists), they always cared about national independence and social prosperity, and therefore transformed their sectarian strategies into a special form of religio-political hybridity. National independence was definitely prioritized, and therefore the concept of “loyalty” in the traditional Confucian view turned into “patriotism” in the new context of French invasion and colonialization. This study uses a mixture of extensive field data collected between 2015‒2017 and 2022‒2024 (the primary data source for this study) with limited original texts from the Nguyễn dynasty and the research findings of selective previous scholars, and applies the theoretical concept of “standardization” and/or “orthopraxy” from the pre-modern Confucian tradition to examine and analyse political-religious practices, ideological transformation, and implicit narratives among local religious masters in rural Southern Vietnam, confirming that the Mekong Delta has fostered an environment of cultural and religious dynamism and pluralism since the late 19th century.

The Study of Pilgrimage in Tibetan Buddhism: Overview and Recommendations for Instructors

ABSTRACTThroughout the history of Tibet, sacred places such as mountains, lakes, caves, and monasteries have been visited by laypeople and religious elites alike in search of purification, blessings, karma, long life, teachings, and spiritual transformation. More recently, scholars have studied the history and evolving present circumstances of pilgrimages across the Tibetan landscape. While the study of pilgrimage in Tibet remains a relatively small subfield, in the past 30 years, this body of scholarship has grown. This article will provide a short overview of this scholarship on pilgrimage in Tibetan Buddhism. It is intended as an introduction to people new to the field of pilgrimage studies in Tibet, so that they can orient themselves in the literature, find resources on topics of interest, or find teaching resources.

The ‘War on Drugs’ and the Politics of Morality

Abstract In the time of Rodrigo Duterte, the leaders of the Philippine Catholic Church were divided on the president’s controversial war on drugs. This article draws on interviews with the religious elite and explores how these divisions took shape. We argue that while they agreed that the killings would not solve the drug problem, they diverged in two respects. The first concerns the violence of the war on drugs. It may have been ‘undesirable,’ but it was ‘unavoidable.’ The second concerns their role as national leaders in speaking truth to power. Some believed it was their duty to be prophetic; others felt it was necessary to be ‘practical.’ Our article frames the discussion in terms of morality politics, the competition for values that deliberately make a distinction between ‘good’ citizens and everybody else. From this vantage point, religious leaders are moral entrepreneurs who define who lives and who does not.

Minister vs. Mufti the struggle over ‘moderate Islam’ in wartime Syria (2011–2021)

ABSTRACT In 2021, President Bashar al-Assad ordered the most significant reform of religious institutions in Syria’s modern history by abolishing the position of Grand Mufti and replacing it with a collegial body. Whereas most observers interpreted this move as a means to further subdue the Sunni religious elites, I argue that in fact, Assad’s decision addressed an old demand of the conservative Sunni ulama. For decades, the latter had asked for a collegial religious authority to be entrusted with the protection of ‘correct’ Islam not only from extremist ideas but also from modernist interpretations like those propagated by the last Grand Mufti himself. Getting rid of such ‘enlightened’ figures was all the more urgent, for the conservatives, that wartime circumstances had provided their rivals with new allies among paramilitary forces and pro-regime minority constituencies. In that context, ‘moderate Islam’ had become the focus of competing definitions by conservatives, who equated it with traditional Sunni doctrines, and modernists, who advocated innovative interpretations of the Scriptures and further secularization of law and education.

Perspectives of Interfaith Figures on Religious Moderation in an "Intolerant City": A Study in Padang

This study aims to examine the perspectives of interfaith leaders in Padang City on religious moderation. This study uses a naturalistic qualitative approach, with data collection techniques of in-depth interviews with Muslim, Catholic, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian religious leaders. This study focuses on four pillars or indicators of religious moderation, namely commitment to nation and state, tolerance, non-violence, and accommodation to local culture. The results found that interfaith leaders in Padang City strongly support the concept of religious moderation because religious moderation is believed to be relevant to the teachings of each religion, such as the common ideals of building the life of the nation and state for mutual progress, living in harmony amid differences, rejecting acts of violence in the name of religion, and maintaining and respecting local culture. This study also found that interfaith leaders as religious elites spread the values of religious moderation to each of their followers. The interfaith leaders also agreed that Padang City is conducive in terms of interfaith relations, even though the city is ranked low in the tolerance index by a number of research institutions

The suffering womanhood in Luke 13:10–17 in the context of the post-COVID-19 pandemic in Africa

The suffering of womanhood and maltreatment are apparent when reading ancient writings. In Luke 13:10–17, it is possible to see how a number of women who suffered illnesses were treated in the hands of religious elites of the ancient world. However, the woman in Luke’s encounter with the Lukan Jesus during her illness redefined how religious leaders should deal with the suffering of womanhood. The woman was healed and treated with dignity by the Lukan Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Using socio-historical interpretation, the Lukan Jesus in the Gospel of Luke demonstrated that religion should be used to alleviate the suffering of women, not to exacerbate it. The lesson derived from the Lukan Jesus’ action and words on the suffering woman in Luke 13:12 is significant for the African religious setting in an endeavour to alleviate women’s suffering in Africa in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic era.Contribution: This article adds to the ongoing discussion in biblical studies about gender equality, specifically in Africa where diseases such as COVID-19 have highlighted the need for change. It argues that African women should resist negative male dominance in society, similar to the woman in Luke, and work towards empowering women in Africa to achieve freedom and equality.

RESILIENSI DAN TRANSFORMASI KOMUNIKASI KEPEMIMPINAN PEREMPUAN PESANTREN: DARI TRADISIONAL KE SEKULER DI ERA POSTMODERNISME

The era of globalization and modernism has colored the movement of
 Islamic boarding school
 women to appear in the public sector, but at the same time they are required to successfully carry
 out their duties as housewives. Conventionally, postmodernist feminist construction is in the dual
 role of Islamic boarding school wo
 men in the family and public sector, namely women who have
 a Islamic boarding school background in the field of religion or people who gain legitimacy as
 teachers or mothers. The Islamic boarding school women's movement is top
 -
 down because the
 production o
 f religious knowledge and truth is determined by the religious elite so that the public
 becomes an object that must submit to the elite. The era of new religious movements changed the
 tendency of Islamic boarding school women's thinking paradigm from the d
 omestic area to shift
 to public spaces such as becoming regional heads after the direct regional head election (pilkada)
 system in Indonesia. This paper aims to analyze the movement of Islamic boarding school women
 in the postmodern era in managing their d
 ual roles as housewives and career women in the public
 domain. From descriptive and content analysis of qualitative research data, it shows that the
 postmodern Islamic boarding school women's movement is able to shift the religious paradigm
 from traditiona
 l conventionalism to modern secularism. The conclusion of this article is about the
 election of Islamic boarding school women as regional heads, showing the collapse of patriarchal
 culture in the current postmodern era. This article provides suggestions th
 at affirmative action is
 needed for women to improve education, so that they are able to take part in the development of
 the nation and state

Политическая власть в Иране: особенности влияния неформальных групп

The article studies the features of informal groups’ influence on power relations shaping in Iran. Based on the theory of interest group, the author analyzes the resources of influence of the five most powerful interest groups – the Shiite clergy, marketeers, religious bureaucracy, children of political and religious elite, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The traditional pivotal place of religion in Iranian society renders an influential position to the clergy. The presence of an ideological base, institutional support, material independence from the state throughout history, and closeness to the people are the factors that allow the clergy, often from outside the official system of government, to exert significant influence on its dynamics. The merchant class (bazaari) has historically been an ally of the clergy, together with whom it has repeatedly opposed political and economic decisions of Iranian authorities. This symbiosis is pragmatic: the clergy receives material resources from marketeers, who by supporting the clergy can count on its influence in promoting favorable agendas for them at the highest level. The author has established that the official state bureaucracy in Iran is under the influence of a parallel religious bureaucracy that appeared after the Islamic Revolution for religious and ideological monitoring in state structures. Due to the long coexistence and the general context of Iran’s political culture, in which family ties play an important role in gaining access to power interests, both lines of the country’s bureaucracy today seem entangled. Social capital is also a key resource for the children of Iran’s religious and political elite (aghazadegan). This actor of Iranian politics evolved as an interest group of high-ranking officials’ children whose parents were legally barred from doing business. As a result, a group of interests has emerged that controls large economic resources in Iran and creates potential challenges for the political and ideological foundations of the current regime. Unlike the previous four interest groups, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a purely state structure, which is becoming an informal actor in Iranian politics due to the growing political ambitions. Legally, the Corps should not engage in politics, but, in fact, the military mobilization potential, large-scale economic activity and wide representation of loyal people in all structures of supreme power in Iran make it one of the key actors in Iranian politics. Based on the conducted study, the author concludes that the political life of Iran is difficult to understand only by studying the activities of official structures. There are other actors who, despite legislative restrictions on their powers or scope of activity, are actively involved in shaping the domestic political agenda in Iran.

Benign bureaucracies? Religious affairs ministries as institutions of political control

ABSTRACT Despite calls for examining how authoritarian regimes employ state structures to prolong their rule and evidence that they regulate religion to shape the behaviour of religious elites, there has been little attention devoted to religious affairs ministries, which are key sites of interaction between religious actors and the state, and are often the primary institution through which regimes manage religion. This study identifies and describes eight core areas these ministries regulate that can be used as instruments for repression and co-optation of regime opponents, and state legitimation: prayer, appointments, education, religious advice and decisions, religious endowments, media, registration, and charity. In this analysis, we seek to bridge the gap between the literatures on religion, the Middle East, and authoritarianism by synthesizing recent research and analysing religious affairs ministries in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region. We argue that by fulfilling these functions, religion ministries are not benign bureaucracies but impactful institutions of political control. In highlighting key questions that remain unanswered, we outline a research agenda for continued advances towards theorizing how authoritarian regimes might make use of state resources to protect their rule.

Exposure to robot preachers undermines religious commitment.

Over the last decade, robots continue to infiltrate the workforce, permeating occupations that once seemed immune to automation. This process seems to be inevitable because robots have ever-expanding capabilities. However, drawing from theories of cultural evolution and social learning, we propose that robots may have limited influence in domains that require high degrees of "credibility"; here we focus on the automation of religious preachers as one such domain. Using a natural experiment in a recently automated Buddhist temple (Study 1) and a fully randomized experiment in a Taoist temple (Study 2), we consistently show that religious adherents perceive robot preachers-and the institutions which employ them-as less credible than human preachers. This lack of credibility explains reductions in religious commitment after people listen to robot (vs. human) preachers deliver sermons. Study 3 conceptually replicates this finding in an online experiment and suggests that religious elites require perceived minds (agency and patiency) to be credible, which is partly why robot preachers inspire less credibility than humans. Our studies support cultural evolutionary theories of religion and suggest that escalating religious automation may induce religious decline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of Islam on the stability and adaptability of the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran

In the realm of Iran's political landscape, we find an extraordinary, indeed unique, system that has endured for over four decades. This intricate political framework is rooted in the Shia Islamic tradition, setting it apart from conventional political models. It is marked by a remarkable duality, where the secular and religious spheres of authority coexist in a delicate equilibrium. Furthermore, it boasts a dual legitimacy, with religious institutions wielding substantial influence over the state's affairs. The primary objective of this discourse lies in the assessment of the system's efficiency and adaptability within the context of Iran's socio-political environment. A profound exploration delves into the direct impact of Islam on the various political institutions and organizations that shape the nation's destiny. Thus, Islam emerges as a pivotal factor in not only maintaining political stability but also in ensuring the resilience of the entire political system. Contemporary Iran showcases a synthesis of republican and religious governing bodies, incorporating Western democratic principles with the Shia understanding of the Muslim community's life. While all republican authorities are elected through democratic processes, they remain subject to oversight by religious institutions. Notably, the past four decades have witnessed a greater consolidation of power in the hands of the Supreme Leader and religious entities at large. Elected leaders of the republican bodies have progressively emerged from the religious elite, blurring the lines between secular and religious domains. Consequently, mass civil protests are now directed not at a specific body, be it secular or religious, but rather at authority as a whole. Central to the stability of this system is the figure of the Supreme Leader. In a truly unique fashion, the Supreme Leader simultaneously embodies divine and democratic legitimacy, standing as an unparalleled entity within the governmental structure. The dynamics of political processes in Iran unveil a nuanced reality: religion, while not directly shaping political events, seamlessly integrates into the political framework, dominating it and ensuring the efficient operation of the state machinery. Temporarily, this arrangement proves capable of upholding stability, adaptability, and dynamism within Iran's political sphere. However, an alarming trend of religious authorities encroaching upon governmental powers gradually erodes the fundamental essence of Iran's dualistic religious-political system. As a result, the benefits of such a system, particularly in terms of fostering political and socio-economic equity, are placed in jeopardy.

Культ святых и паломнические традиции у народов Волго-Уральского региона в досоветское время

The history and culture of the holy sites in the Volga-Ural region remains an underdeveloped topic in ethnological science. The introduction of new written sources into scientific circulation and a secondary analysis of the works of Russian and foreign researchers can help in solving this problem. The article aims to systematise and analyse information about the cult of saints and pilgrimage traditions among the peoples of the Volga-Ural region in the pre-Soviet period. The belonging of holy sites to certain peoples has become the main principle of the distribution of information. Its use showed the need to single out a separate group of data that reveals the syncretism of holy sites among the Volga-Ural peoples. The collected corpus of materials made it possible to identify the main places of worship in the region, pilgrimage traditions, the attitude of national and religious elites towards sacred objects, and the nature of public discussions. The authors believe that when studying the cult of saints, it is important to take into account the essence of "holiness" and the ideas about it among individual peoples, the system of its maintenance – oral and written heritage, ritual and ceremonial culture. The nature of the worship of holy sites in the context of intercultural contacts in the Volga-Ural region is of great importance.

Religious Leaders and Social Transformation at Ogan Ilir Regency Indonesia

Religion encompasses a process of inheriting values by its adherents from generation to generation through a learning process. The process of inheriting religious values was instilled by religious elites who not only transferred religious teachings but also transformed the nature and character of a society. One of the areas experiencing this phenomenon is Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, and its people, who are known to have tough characters and solve problems using physical violence even though the area has had traditional institutions since its ancient days, which although traditional in nature, have modern elements such as democratic traditions in politics. They also set the social order to avoid violent attitudes written in the code of laws in Simbur Cahaya. For this reason, we will discuss how the pattern of religious leaders transforms the characteristics of society, and how the model of social transformation occurs. This article describes and analyzes the above using a sociological and anthropological approach. Data collection was carried out through observation and involvement of the author in religious activities as well as in-depth interviews with ideational ethnographic methods. The data was analyzed using several relevant theories. The findings in this study are as follows: in general, when religion is seen as part of a culture, it will continue to develop and ”change”, bearing in mind that society itself continues to change dynamically. For this reason, strategies are needed so that religious values can be embedded properly and can change the character of society. One of these strategies is through the Cawisan tradition, which is a medium for non-formal education and a place for religious learning for the people of Ogan Ilir and is a public space as well as a mode of strength of the Civil Society – the agency of religious leaders in dealing with various social problems. Religious leaders instill a sense of Besemon (having a sense of shame) to take action against violations of religious teachings and rules.
 Keywords: Religious Figures, Strategy, Transformation

Fertile Seedbed for Planting Habaib’s Religious Political Authority

The Ḥaḍramī people in Indonesia, popularly called ḥabā’ib, are those of Arab descent who have contributed to the history of this nation. Their same origin does not necessarily make this community homogeneous, especially when it comes to Islam and Indonesianness. The vibrant tones that characterize this diversity can even be traced back to the colonial era. One of them is related to the struggle for the influence of h}abā’ib’s religious politics in the public sphere. The recent growth of their authority at the national level has drawn attention and prompted a key inquiry about what infrastructure and superstructure are conducive and supportive for this to occur. A heuristic analysis is conducted to explore the issue. This study reveals that ḥabā’ib’s religious politics have grown in prominence in Indonesia because they have hospitable spaces to grow in accord with the construction of their identity as a social and religious elite group. Meanwhile, this phenomenon is difficult to develop in cultural settings that do not accommodate the expressions of supremacy based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry. The existence of cultural spaces with different inclinations in addressing h}abā’ib’s identity is still constitutionally permitted in Indonesia. Muslims have the wisdom as well as the resilience to manage the struggle for religious and political authority in their respective Islamic cultural environments. The state and government must continue to position themselves as the large tent for the diversity of their people.

Race, risk, and American religious groups' views of Nazi Germany in 1935.

What explains American religious groups' views of Nazi Germany before the U.S. entered the Second World War? Using a comparative-historical approach, we employ a novel set of data on 25 of America's most prominent religious denominations to answer this question. We find that two factors were crucial in explaining religious elite discourse about Hitler in the U.S. in 1935: whether leaders believed inwhite supremacy and whether their denominations were incumbents or challengers in the American religious field. Our findings underscore the growing theoretical consensus that racial resentment is key to support for authoritarianism and call attention to religious groups' complicity in its growth, both active and passive.

Visions of the Islamic State

Proponents of reform in Islamic political thought and practice frequently describe the work of Fazlur Rahman, the twentieth-century modernist scholar of Islam, and his method of Qur’ānic interpretation as a source of intellectual and political rejuvenation for contemporary Muslims. This article describes the ethicist underpinnings and content of Fazlur Rahman’s democratic vision of the Islamic state, as expressed in his major writings of the 1960s, and contrasts that vision with other proposals for establishing an Islamic nomocracy in contemporary Pakistan. The context of state building fundamentally shaped Fazlur Rahman’s constitutional theory, and his arguments expressly repudiate the traditional, independent position of the religious elites or ‘ulamā’ and aim at absorbing them into the state apparatus. This article contributes to the literature by explicating in a systematic way Fazlur Rahman’s constitutional theory, clearly drawing the connection between the ethicist content of his double-movement hermeneutic with the statism of his vision of Islamic democracy. Fazlur Rahman’s theory fails to establish a framework for an Islamic nomocracy, posing a significant challenge for advocates of intellectual and constitutional reform who champion the ethicist approach.

Kontribusi Tokoh Agama Kristen Dalam Menanamkan Nilai Moderasi Beragama Berdasarkan Roma 14:19

This research aims to open the mindset of Christian religious leaders to being directly involved in directing, guiding, and helping people live with mutual respect and love for other religious people. Almost every issue that occurs in society or in cyberspace is always related to religion. Therefore, the author is interested in examining the contribution of religious leaders to religious moderation with a qualitative method, which is studied from relevant sources such as books, articles, and reliable internet sources. The researcher uses a descriptive analysis method to describe the reality that actually occurs in society, especially in the country of Indonesia itself, in connection with religious moderation. The results of this study state that Christian religious leaders are one of the religious elites who are believed to be able to bring Christians to live in harmony and with high tolerance towards other religious communities.

Prospects for Higher Shia Religious Education in Post-Soviet Countries

The opportunity to receive religious education plays an important role in the formation of the religious elite of society. It forms the Muslim clergy, which, in turn, represents this community in front of other members of society. Their statements directly affect the attitude of non-Muslims towards the members of this community, which is very important, especially in the cases where Muslims are a minority, and Shi’ites, in turn, are a minority in all post-Soviet countries except Azerbaijan. The Shia communities of the post-Soviet region are little studied in general. Analysing their specifics, one can see that almost all the clerics of these communities received religious education in Iran and/or Iraq, while the Sunni clerics of the same countries most often studied in their homeland. This problem in the aspect of comparing Sunni and Shia education, as well as the past (starting from the USSR times), the present and the future of Shia higher religious education were studied in this paper.

Question of Development in the Iranian Baloch Society: The Other Side of the Issue

The Baloch are adhering to their traditional and religious beliefs. Religious elites promote these beliefs and hence they have a special place in the hearts of the people. However, due to the influence of modern Persian culture and globalization, modern way of life have somewhat overshadowed some of the Balochi traditional values. Yet, modern values like secular world view have not totally undermined the Balochi religious values. Some aspects of traditionalism, such as fatalism have often challenged the issue of development in the Baloch society. Thus, the present paper which is descriptive analytical deals with the role of Iranian Baloch elites in cultural, economic, and political development of the Baloch society under the Islamic Republic by focusing on three major questions: First, how far the local culture has pushed forward the Baloch society? Second, does the Baloch elites’ contribution in private sector help in privatization or entrepreneurship? And, third, to what extent the political participation of Baloch has lifted their political culture? The paper suggests that local culture has strengthened the religious values but these values have not turned progressive. The Baloch's role in privatization failed to create a privatization culture. And, the political participation of Baloch, relatively, has lifted their political culture.

The Resistance of Palembang’s Local Religious Elites to Dutch East Indies Islamic Politics in the 20th Century

The 19th century was the peak of the mission era and the beginning of the 20th century was the period of independence of the Protestant Church by inviting various missionary organizations from Europe to carry out their missions in the Dutch East Indies. This was a major threat to Muslims, including Palembang Malay Muslims. This article seeks to complement existing research with the aim of knowing the resistance factors of local elites in the Palembang Malay community. This study uses a socio-historical approach by making use of James C. Scoot’s resistance theory. Scoot’s theory of resistance. This study concludes that the resistance of local elites in Palembang Malay society is caused by the central role of local religious elites in preaching and teaching the Muslim community in Palembang to remote areas. The elites a r e in the category of free ulama. Figures such as Abdullah Munsyi and the Samaniyah tarekat teachers who made various efforts to save Muslims from Islamic politics run by the Dutch East Indies. Efforts were made such as the construction of various places that served as centers of Islamic studies such as langgar, mosques, and madrasas.