Religious Images Research Articles

Crafting True Religio in Early Christianity

Most studies of the religio-racial constellation begin with the medieval taxonomy of Christians, ‘Jews’, ‘pagans’ and ‘heretics’. Some scholars examine how this medieval taxonomy functioned as a system of dehumanization in the Middle Ages; others are more interested in how it has been adopted and adapted in modern racist taxonomies; and still others examine how religious images continue to influence the way non-white, non-European, non-Christian, and non-secular bodies are seen and treated today. What is lacking in the literature to date is an in-depth examination of how this fourfold taxonomy came to be. To understand how modern racialized taxonomies incorporated the earlier “religious” categories—a question that is beyond the scope of this article—we also need to better understand the genealogy of these religious categories, their scope, and their implication in processes of unequal power distribution. To that end, we must address the following questions: Where did the distinction between true and false religion come from; how did the figure of the pagan emerge; what about the Jews as anti-Christian? Rather than focusing on contemporary expressions of religio-racialization, or directing our attention to modern or even late medieval expressions of the religio-racial constellation, this article turns to the period of early Christianity when Christian apologists created the key religionized taxonomies that would shape the way Christians imagined, related to, and, in a later stage of history, governed Christianity’s others: the Jews, the heretics, and the pagans.

„Térjetek meg...” : Az akkor és a most idő-anomáliájának feloldása

Jesus’ radicalism is based on the fact that the pious religious image we have of Jesus is fundamentally different from the image Jesus Christ had as a historical person. Radicalism was never strange to the Old Testament prophets and is thus intrinsic to Jesus’ prophetic role. It is also fundamental that prophetic radicalism should manifest itself towards the internal institutions of religion: priests, Levites, Pharisees, etc. The question is how to highlight parallels between the religious conditions of that current age and those of days. Understanding the Greek language’s duality of tempus and actio brings us closer to the message of Jesus two thousand years ago, which is still relevant today.

Interconnection between religiosity and sports communication on social media: an indonesian muslims’ perspective

Religion shapes beliefs, values, and normative social systems in society. Religiosity often becomes a driving factor for Muslims in making preferences for sports. Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim societies in the world, is deemed to have the potential for sports communication with Islamic values. Social media allows athletes to develop a specific image through common religious values with their fans. This study aimed to measure the effect of religiosity and athlete brand image on the intentions of Indonesian Muslim fans to follow the athlete's Instagram account with a religious image. A cross-sectional survey in Indonesia was conducted with 1245 football fans. The collected data was analyzed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling with SmartPLS software. The result indicated that religiosity and athlete branding image could predict Muslim fans’ intention to follow the Instagram accounts of religious football athletes. This finding suggested the importance of strategic management of athlete branding image through social media accounts, such as developing an image by religious approach among Indonesian Muslim fans. Keywords: Religiosity, Indonesian Muslim society, brand image, social media, digital generation.

The Relationship between Faith and Knowledge in the Works of Mykhailo Maksymovych

The paper deals with images of faith and knowledge in the works of Mykhailo Maksymovych, a famous botanist, folklorist, and historian of the 19th century and the first rector of the University of Saint Volodimir in Kyiv. Mykhailo Maksymovych’s way of solving the problem of the relationship between religion and science is analysed in the general context of the intellectual processes in Eastern Europe of the 19th century. The study is based on Mykhailo Maksymovych’s published works, memoirs, letters, and unpublished texts, held in the Institution of Manuscript at the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine (Kyiv). The methodological foundation is the approaches of the Cambridge School of Intellectual History, theorising on cultural memory and quantitative content analysis with MAXQDA-2022. The paper shows that Mykhailo Maksymovych’s attitude to the demarcation problem of knowledge and faith resulted from a combination of his personal religiosity and his fascination with the ideas of Friedrich Schelling. Mykhailo Maksymovych perceived the Bible as a relevant description of the “factual” dimension of human history. He represented the philosophy of the heart, widespread in Ukrainian intellectual life of that period. Maksymovych’s deep personal religiosity, combined with his theoretical ideas about the correlation between faith and knowledge, led him to the idea of Orthodox coherence between Russia and Ukraine. This was an actualisation of the early modern idea, elaborated in the Kyivan Synopsis of the late 17th century. Mykhailo Maksymovych actualised these ideas on the basis of Romanticism. Early modern ideas were close to Maksymovych’s consciousness because he was religious in the traditional Orthodox sense. Religious images of Ukraine in the works of Mykhailo Maksymovych were similar to the ideas of Konstantin Leontiev, a famous Russian conservative philosopher of the second half of the 19th century.

Sergei Parajanov in Search of Identity: Between Self-Burial and Reflection on Death

This article continues the discourse on humanitarian thanatology and the question of mortality in art. The author describes the initial impulses of the manifestation of the motifs of self-mourning and self-burial with reference to the habitus of Parajanov and his work and other intertextual connections. As the empirical material shows, the motifs in question manifested themselves in different years through different channels of communication (memories of friends, letters, scripts, collages, photographs, photographs of performative acts, etc.). These motifs were an important leitmotif of his creative nature. Parajanov’s encounters with death in various formats show that he, as a survivor of prison, was confronted with the problem of death. Through performative acts, he repeatedly replayed his experiences of death through self-mourning and selfburial games. The analysis shows that almost all performative acts manifest the code of carnivality. The problem of a funeral and self-mourning is presented indirectly. The great Parajanov is also mourned through cultural and religious images (Gioconda, Catholicos of all Armenians). Sergei Parajanov also acts as a director, aestheticising the wake and funeral of his relatives and close friends (son-in-law, sister). His detachment from the death of his loved ones and the aestheticisation of the funerals show that in his mind, the code of mourning is replaced by carnivality. The funeral procession is aestheticised, what happens is perceived from a distance, but with an emphasis on beauty.

The Relationship between Political Image and Voting Behavior in First-time Voters: Demographics of Generation Z Voters in the 2024 Election in Indonesia

Purpose: This research aims to determine the relationship between voting behavior and political image as well as the demographic characteristics of the voting behavior tendencies of Generation Z in the 2024 Election in Indonesia. Methods: Data collection uses a questionnaire that has good validity and reliability, the questionnaire contains a measurement scale for voting behavior and political image. The measurement of voting behavior variables uses a scale that includes aspects of knowledge, attitudes and actions. Meanwhile, the measurement of the political image variable uses a scale that includes aspects of competence, benevolence, integrity, fairness and reliability. Respondents are given alternative answers to choose one of the four answers provided starting from the options Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. Scoring for each answer choice for each variable is 1-4. Apart from that, the questionnaire also contains descriptive questions regarding respondents’ voting tendencies. The number of samples that met the criteria for first-time voter respondents was 453 respondents taken using a purposive sampling technique. The data analysis technique uses the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Test (r) which aims to determine the level of closeness of the relationship between variables which is expressed by the correlation coefficient (r). Results: The research results show a significant positive correlation between political image and voting behavior. The findings also show that the categorization of respondents’ political image is medium and the categorization of voting behavior is in the high category. The majority of respondents chose candidates based on their track record, ethnicity and religion, having a nationalist and religious image, and looking cool and trendy. Conclusion: The political image and voting behavior of Generation Z can be concluded to be correlated with each other. This research also shows how the candidate’s political image is desired by first-time voters.

Credo, sentido y organización social en la imaginería cristiana de Tunja, Colombia

In this article, we delve into the role of religious images in the doctrine, worship, and social fabric of Catholic faithful in Tunja, Colombia. As a city steeped in colonial heritage, Christianity has become deeply ingrained in both spiritual and cultural aspects of life. The text explores the intricate relationships between believers and sacred images, reflecting on how the imagery encapsulates, while representing, forms of cohesion and social identification mediated by devotional and organizational experiences. It also presents ethnographic and historical references focusing on the experiences of devotion of members of brotherhoods and devotional groups, particularly their involvement in processions and religious celebrations within the city's historic center. As a result of these public activities with the images, there is a binding association between believers and imagery that extends beyond the religious realm, influencing various aspects of collective life. The article discusses two key processes: the borrowing and extraction of images from religious sites, and the significance attributed to these images by believers outside the ecclesiastical institution, extending their value and meaning to guild and organizational processes that are also part of the faithful’s lives and social values.

Lent and Easter in the Philippines:Catholic Religious Practices in the Discourse of Gender Performativity.

Filipinos consider Holy Week as the holiest of days of Lent and Easter. During this time, the country is shrouded with centuries-old rituals and practices that persist in contemporary times. Using the framework of gender performativity, this study examines three forms of pamamanata (devotion): pagsasanto (taking care of a religious image), penitensya (penance), and salubong (Easter procession). The aim is to identify pamamanata practices that align with the feminine, masculine, gay, and those bordering between masculine and feminine tropes. The study maximized data from the author’s fieldwork and ethnographic materials written by academics. This study found that the three pamamanata traditions are gendered practices and that these are affected by the agencies of the family, community, and religion.

The Non-Jew in Kabbalistic Literature by the Circle of Sefer Ha-Temunah and Its Influence in Eastern Europe

Abstract: Over the centuries, the religious images and discourse that shaped the image of the Other affected the intricate web of relations between Jews and non-­ Jews, generating a range of attitudes toward non-­ Jews in various periods and locations. Interestingly, several eastern European kabbalistic homilies reveal a moderate approach toward non-­ Jews, arguing for an essential spiritual partnership. Their authors adopted esoteric traditions that diverge from the radically polemical, negative attitude of the Zohar and the kabbalists of sixteenth-­ century Safed, according to which the non-­ Jew is the ultimate Other: evil, impure, and even demonic. Despite the important role of the Safed traditions in molding kabbalistic thought, these kabbalists propounded ideas found in works by the circle of Sefer Ha-­ temunah. These texts served as the basis on which some eastern European kabbalists justified a new attitude toward the surrounding non-­ Jews, making them spiritual partners in the messianic process.

Early Netherlandish Paintings as Devotional Objects: State of Research ca. 1990-2020

The aim of this essay is to survey debates about early Netherlandish paintings as devotional objects from roughly the late 1980s to about 2020. During this period, an important shift in the study of this topic occurred: religious images were increasingly considered as devotional objects by virtue of how they were thought to have been used rather than how they appeared. In the last decades, questions about the functions of devotional imagery, about pictorial rhetoric, and about the responses that rhetoric might provoke in viewers, as well as its relationship to contemporaneous spiritual literature, have become core questions for subsequent scholarship dedicated to early Netherlandish painting. The essay concludes with a section devoted to research perspectives.

An Environmentally Friendly Alternative Method of Producing Religious Images for Philippine Holy Week Tableaus

This paper presents a proposed process of making Philippine Holy Week sacred images from clay, plaster, and paper fiber instead of the more precious wood from the country's shrinking forests. This paper theoretically established the durability of the product and environmental soundness of this alternative process compared to the traditional wood carving or the more recent resin casting by thoroughly describing this alternative process by understanding the notion of durability based on the traditionally preferred woods among santeros, by understanding the conservation status of these preferred woods, and by undertaking comparative calculations of the environmental impacts of the productions of the three current alternatives. This paper is significant because it proposes a sustainable way of assuring the continued existence of the Filipino cultural tradition of making and presenting Holy Week images.

‘Stand Against the Wiles of the Devil’: Interpreting QAnon as a Pseudo-Christian Extremist Movement

The religious dimensions of the QAnon movement and links with political violence have been noted by researchers. This paper furthers this scholarship by conducting an analysis of 121 religious images taken from QAnon Telegram channels over 18 months. Through adopting semiotic and hermeneutical theory, it is argued that QAnon religious imagery can be categorised into a series of types, all influenced by Christian theological themes. When interpreted in a Christian context, these images reveal a close relationship with US-based Christian evangelicalism and with Christian liberation theology movements. By presenting contemporary politics as an eschatological battle between the oppressed and oppressors, framed as the QAnon community versus the devil, the QAnon movement encourages political activism closely analogous to Christian liberation theology movements. This contributes to an explanatory framework for the connections between QAnon followers and anti-government protest and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 6 January storming of the US Capitol.

Martyrdom in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

A tradition of martyr photography flourished during Mexico’s religiously motivated Cristero War (1926–29). Graphic photographic prints and postcards depicting executed Catholic activists and priests circulated widely during the conflict as a form of antigovernment propaganda, justifying comparisons of the Cristeros to the earliest persecuted Christians. Taking into account the iconographic and material features of these photographs as well as the medium’s particular ontological qualities, I explore how Cristero martyr images fulfilled comparable functions to early martyr narratives and relics by providing a compelling visual testimony and material trace of the martyr’s sacrifice. In these photographic images, the testimonial value and heightened verisimilitude of the early martyr text finds a parallel in a graphic documentary visual language that emerged with the increased mediatization of violence during the Revolution (1910–17). At the same time, these visual mementos sought to appeal to viewers on an affective level by drawing from long-standing iconographic vocabularies and material modes of devotional experience, most notably the tactile intimacy of the portable relic. Approaching the Cristero conflict from the analytical perspectives of visual culture and material religion, my research sheds new light on how Catholic activists conceptualized and justified violent sacrifice in their struggle for religious freedom while also making novel contributions to the history of Mexican photography. These complex visual artifacts reveal how Cristero propagandists utilized familiar religious images and concepts to provide a meaningful religious framework for their activism while also adapting strategies of martyr memorialization to the age of mechanical reproduction.

Luján Pérez y un calvario atribuido al imaginero: la Virgen, Jesucristo y san Juan, testigos de la estela del autor en la historia del arte en Canarias.

This article approaches again the figure of the imager Luján Pérez, analyzing one of his minor sculptures attributed to him: an ordeal hitherto unknown. It is a small sculptural ensemble that concentrates the skill of the carver in a few centimeters. With the revision of the work of the guiense Luján, we emphasize one of the artists who has had more transcendence in the History of Art in the Canary Island and, as we will demonstrate here, an author of which pieces continue to appear beyond the distant dates in which the gubia joined the wood to perpetuate a superb set of religious images belonging forever to the Canarian heritage.

AYASOFYA: DINI SEMBOLLER VE İMGELER VE ZIYARETÇILER ARASINDA HOŞGÖRÜ ILE İÇ UYUMUN ARTIRILMASINA ETKILERI

The research investigated the influence of religious symbols, image emotions, and beliefs in increasing tolerance and inter-faith harmony among visitors at Hagia Sophia. Earlier research has shown Hagia Sophia as a heritage site promoting tolerance, peace, and harmony, yet a gap was found in terms of the impact of religious signs and images on visitors’ perception of tolerance and interfaith harmony. Therefore, in this research, interfaith harmony was used as an analytical tool to measure religious symbols, images, emotions, and beliefs and their influence on visitors. A sample of 100 local participants (Muslims and Christians) in Hagia Sophia was considered. The research scope was restricted to local visitors to gain better insight and understanding regarding religious symbols and images and their influence on increasing tolerance and interfaith harmony. The findings show that religious symbols increase tolerance and interfaith harmony among visitors. However, an insignificant effect of religious images and visitors’ beliefs was observed in influencing their perceptions of tolerance and harmony. Also, a statistically significant difference in scores of tolerance and interfaith harmony between Muslim and Christian visitors was found, while an insignificant difference in scores was noted regarding the visitors’ age. The research brings novelty, highlighting that religious symbols were significantly related to increasing tolerance and interfaith harmony. This difference in views among visitors can be credited to differences in religious beliefs and emotions among Muslims and Christians. The study has limitations in terms of sample size and its scope restricted to Turkey. It has implications for academics to investigate Hagia Sophia from theological and philosophical perspectives, using surveys from visitors across different nationalities and faiths and interviews of historians and experts to provide in-depth findings. Keywords: Hagia Sophia, Islam, Christianity, mosaics, calligraphy, tolerance, interfaith harmony, religious symbols and images, religious emotion and belief.

The Reception of the Copernican Universe by Representatives of 17th-Century Jewish Philosophy and Their Search for Harmony Between the Scientific and Religious Images of the World (David Gans and Joseph Solomon Delmedigo)

The reception of the heliocentric theory of Nicolaus Copernicus in Jewish thought of the 17th-century period is a good exemplification of the issue concerning the formation of the relationship between natural science and theology, or more broadly: between science and religion. The fundamental question concerning this relationship, which we can ask from today’s perspective of this problem, is: How does it happen that claims of a scientific nature, which are initially considered from a religious point of view to be incompatible with the religious view of the world, are later accepted as possible to agree with this image of reality and are assimilated by a given religion? Based on the reception of the Copernican image of the universe by two representatives of Jewish philosophy in the 17th century—David Gans and Joseph Solomon Delmedigo—it is possible to trace this process and pose the thesis that it takes place according to two strategies. Within the framework of the first one, represented by Gans, in a situation of incompatibility between the scientific and religious images of nature, a scientific theory is sought that explains the observed phenomena and, on the other hand, satisfies the religious claims. Finding such a theory solves the problem of the incompatibility mentioned above of images of the world, gives the theory credibility from the religious point of view and constitutes an argument for its correctness. The second strategy, represented by Delmedigo, consists in refraining from pursuing a direct, immediate, and unequivocal reconciliation of the two images of the world while at the same time recognizing a properly justified scientific theory as correctly describing and explaining the phenomena occurring in nature. Consequently, the apparent incompatibility between the scientific and the religious worldview demands either a reformulation of religious statements in such a way as to remove this incompatibility or the restriction of the meaning of religious statements to the strictly religious and moral sphere, without the ambition to speak about nature. In either case, however, it is already a task for the representatives of the religion concerned who, when confronted with adequately justified scientific claims, to avoid exposing their religion to the accusation that its claims are unreasonable and anachronistic, undertake the task mentioned above of modifying or limiting the scope of their statements. It seems that in the representatives of Jewish thought and Judaism, who are the successors of Gans and Delmedigo, generally speaking, the second strategy has prevailed in this version, in which one abandons the claim of religion to statements about the material world at the price of a significant divergence of the paths of science and religion. Consequently, it treats them as different narratives, describing and explaining two separate spheres of reality.

Peculiarities of the semantic representation of religious images in modern Ukrainian poetry (the period of the full- scale Russian invasion)

The article is devoted to the study of modern poetic texts regarding the interpretations and semantic content of religious images. Studying the implementation of one of the key language concepts based on the poetic speech material allows, on the one hand, to talk about the expressive capabilities of language as the main means of communication, and on the other hand, to investigate the specifics and changes in worldview orientations of representatives the modern generation of Ukrainians. The material for analysis was poetry posted on the pages of social networks during a difficult period for Ukrainians – the full-scale Russian invasion. The choice of language material is explained by the fact that poetry as a form of verbal art is capable of broadcasting the first quick reaction to events. The texts of different authors collectively provide a kind of the society’s emotional state projection, reflect a collective emotion. The ability to publicize poetic texts with the help of social networks and respond to them quickly endows modern poetry with a psychotherapeutic function. According to our observations, in the analyzed poetic texts, the most frequent religious image is God/Creator/Lord/Almighty. We note a number of traditional semantic interpretations of the image – faith, comfort, help, higher justice. The motif of disappointment, hopelessness, despair, which is realized in the image of an indifferent, blithe God, is typical for the poetry of a certain period. We also observe original interpretations, for example, God who sets out to fight for freedom and truth with weapons in his hands, or God who manifests himself in every Ukrainian – soldiers, volunteers, medics, power engeneer, etc. Interpretations of biblical stories are also interesting for analysis, for example, the story of the execution and resurrection of Christ is broadcast to modern Ukraine, which is currently suffering for the sins of humanity, but will surely be resurrected.

Pre-service Teachers' Views on Religious Images in Animated Films

Günlük yaşamın bir parçası olan dinî imgeler de doğrudan ya da dolaylı olarak animasyonlara konu edilmiştir. Öğretmen adaylarının animasyon filmlerinde yer alan dinî imgeler hakkındaki görüşlerini ortaya koymayı amaçlayan bu çalışmada doküman analizi deseni kullanılmıştır. Öğretmen adaylarının IMDb’de (Internet Movie Database/ İnternet Film Veri Tabanı) yüksek puan almış 6 animasyon filmini (Örümcek Adam Örümcek Evreninde, Coco, Oyuncak Hikâyesi 1, Oyuncak Hikâyesi 3, Yukarı Bak, Ters Yüz) izlemesi sağlanmıştır. İzlenen animasyon filmlerinde görülen dinî ögeleri, bunların olası etkilerini ve nasıl olması gerektiğini not etmeleri istenmiştir. Öğretmen adaylarının görüşleri betimsel analize tâbi tutulmuştur. Çalışmada öğretmen adaylarının görüşlerinden hareketle animasyon filmlerinde bulunan dinî ögelerin domuz, ahiret inancı ve ruhlar, haç işaretleri, melek-şeytan, Noel, cennet, kilise, yemin etmek vb. olduğu görülmüştür. Öğretmen adaylarına göre dinî ögeler sunuluş bakımından kültürel çelişkiye, özdeşleşmeye ve özentiye sebep olmakla birlikte bilgi sahibi olmayı, eleştirel bakış açısı kazanmayı sağlamakta ve bilinçaltı mesajlar vermektedir.

The Body of Christ and the Embodied Viewer in Rubens’s Rockox Epitaph

On behalf of the Catholic Church, the Council of Trent (1545–1563) confirmed the usefulness of religious images and multisensory worship practices for engaging the bodies and the minds of congregants, and for moving pious devotees to empathize with Christ. In the center panel of the Rockox Epitaph (c. 1613–1615), a funerary triptych commissioned by the Antwerp mayor Nicolaas Rockox (1560–1640) and his wife Adriana Perez (1568–1619) to hang over their tomb, Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) paints an awe-inspiring, hopeful image of the Risen Lord that alludes to the promise of humankind’s corporeal resurrection at the Last Judgment. In the wings, Rockox and Perez demonstrate affective worship with prayer aids and welcome onlookers to gaze upon Christ’s renewed body. Rubens’s juxtaposition of the eternal, incorruptible body of Jesus alongside five mortal figures—the two patrons and the three apostles, Peter, Paul, and John—prompted living viewers to meditate on their relationship with God, to compare their bodies with those depicted, and to contemplate their own embodiment and mortality. Ultimately, the idealized body of Christ reminds faithful audiences of both the corporeal renewal and the spiritual salvation made possible through Jesus’s death and resurrection.

Imaging emptiness

Abstract Nishitani’s later works, particularly the seminal essay “Kū to soku” and several lectures given at Ōtani University, were devoted to thinking about image and imagination. In this article, I try to reconstruct Nishitani’s theory of imagination in light of these writings. I discuss the role that imagination plays in his philosophical project and how his ideas can contribute to philosophically understanding the phenomenon of imagination itself. The paper starts from Nishitani’s conception of the “elemental imagination”, closely related to Aristotle’s phantasia, from which, according to the Japanese philosopher, artistic and religious images emerge. Since this raises the question of the degree of reality accorded to the imagined and of the cognitive and affective value attributed to artistic and religious images, then the question of the ontology of images in the Greek, Christian and Buddhist traditions, in which the image serves as a means of manifesting the real, is examined. Finally, since Nishitani’s theory of imagination moves between the being and non-being of images, their subjectification and objectification, an attempt is made to situate it with respect to two opposing tendencies in contemporary philosophy, i.e., to recover the ontophanic value of images or to de-ontologize them.