Religious Impulse Research Articles

Questions for Buddhist and Christian Cooperation in Korea

Historically, different religious groups lived together in relative religious peace in Korea. The introduction of Christianity has been a mixed experience: some cooperation, increased confronta- tions. During the past fifteen years, at least twenty Buddhist temples have been vandalized or destroyed, creating an atmosphere of Bud- dhism under siege. No one has been positively identified, arrested, or definitely associated with any of these crimes. But all religious groups, including Christian groups, need to join hands in denouncing this persecution. The Korean peninsula is known throughout the world for the stark bifurca- tion between the communist North and the capitalist South. North Korea (DPRK) is one of the most closed societies in the world, where the public is prohibited access to international communication. Reports tell us that the North is a starving totalitarian state where the people have no freedom or civil rights and where the thoughts of the Great Leader Kim II Sung and his heir Kim Jong II dominate all aspects of life like a ultranationalist cult.1 The major institutionalized religions of the North-Buddhism, Christianity, and Chondogyo-have been subject to purges and are strictly subordinated to the state and its all pervasive ideology of Juche (self-reliance). Authentic interreligious dialogue and cooperation is a nonissue except for praise of the Great Leader. Survival of the original religious impulses and authentic traditions of the North is what really is at stake after nearly fifty years of political repression.2 What is happening in the South? South Korea (ROK), in contrast, is renowned as an economic superstar, an Asian industrial dragon, who rose from the devastation of the Korean War to host the very successful 1988 Olympics and join the club of devel- oped nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop- ment in record time. South Korea, too, has had its authoritarian leaders we know well (such as Rhee, Park, Chun, and Roh), but none have been as idolized as the father and son duo in the North. Quite the contrary, retired dictators in the South have been denounced as scoundrels and put behind

Fire in the mind: science, faith, and the search for order

Concentrating on the Centre for the Study of Complex Systems in Los Alamos and the religious beliefs of surrounding communities, Journalist George Johnson explores the new science of complexity, which suggests the existence of a strong impulse towards order in nature, drawing parallels with the varied religious groups in the area and the source of the religious impulse in a need to deny chance and blind fate.

In search of faith, part 3: Religious and secular impulses among Hungary's ex‐Marxist intellectuals

In search of faith, part 3: Religious and secular impulses among Hungary's ex‐Marxist intellectuals

Promptings of Desire: Creativity and the Religious Impulse in the Works of D.H. Lawrence. By Paul Poplawski (Greenwood Press, 1993)

Promptings of Desire: Creativity and the Religious Impulse in the Works of D.H. Lawrence. By Paul Poplawski (Greenwood Press, 1993)

The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia, From Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century (review)

Book Reviews 145 The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia, From Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century, by Steven Kaplan. New York: New York University Press, 1992. 231 pp. $45.00. The author ofthis history of events prior to about 1892 is chairperson of the Department of African History and Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University ofJerusalem. This research is largely based on written sources in the Ge'ez language, the ancient Semitic which linguists call "Ethiopic" and which survives in the liturgy of both the Beta Israel and Christian rituals in what used to be known as Abyssinia. One immediate problem, which Kaplan admits, is that we have no reliable sources on Jews in Ethiopia from the fourth to the thirteenth centuries. He dismisses both the Solomon-Sheba and Danite origin theories as mythic or legendary and disclaims concern with the halachic status of the Falashas. Much of Chapter 1, "Obscure Beginnings," is based on Edward Ullendorff's Ethiopia and the Bible (Oxford University Press, 1968) and The Ethiopians (1973), plus updating. Kaplan prepares the basis of his own views in Chapter 3, subtitled "The Invention of a 'tradition," which he believes happened in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries: "The Beta Israel appear to have chosen works [of religious literature] whose Christian versions already displayed a clear biblicalJewish tone" (p. 73). In consequence of military defeats, especially in the early seventeenth century (Chapter 4), the Falasha had to survive by serving royal patrons with marketable skills such as mason work and ironsmithing, and the latter craft changed their status to a despised and feared semi-caste (Chapters 5 and 6). The great famine of 1888-1892 weakened their resistance to the overtures of foreign Protestant missionaries. Kaplan's basic argument is that the Falashas are the product of events that took place in Ethiopia between the fourteenth and the sixteenth centuries. He had concluded this in his earlier, French-language book Les Falachas (Abbaye de Maredsous, Belgium: Edition Brepols, 1990). But while one can certainly agree with him that "the history of the Beta Israel can only be understood in the context of Ethiopian history in general" (p. 7), a more comprehensive analysis should also point out their involvement with the specifically Jewish elements of their tradition, as I attempted in my book The Story of the Falashas (New York, 1982). Nevertheless, one is impressed by Kaplan's perseverance in wading through scattered, often episodic, sources and fitting them into a frame of reference, in order to reconstruct at least a tentative history. Thus it 146 SHOFAR Winter 1994 Vol. 12, No.2 contributes to the literature of the subject for the general reader, even if one does not agree with his basic conclusion. Perhaps future archeology, especially at Aksum, will be able to reduce some of the gaps of the historical record. Simon D. Messing Professor Emeritus ofAnthropology Southern Connecticut State University Jewish Symbols in Art, by Abraham Kanof. Woodmere, NY: Gefen Publishing House, 1990. 112 pp. 115 plates. $24.95. Based on his past published work, one would expect of Abraham Kanof a solid, interesting book, and in hisJewish Symbols in Art, one gets precisely that. Intended for a broad, general audience, rather than a narrow, scholarly one, Kanofs work is well-written and accessible. Kanofs interest in this work is two-fold: to explore some of the wealth of symbols which are part ofJewish art; and to consider sources for these symbols outside (and prior to) Judaism as well as their place outside (and contemporary with) Judaism. His admirable goal is to emphasize the universality of human needs that is connoted by the commonality of religious impulses suggested by "the multicultural use of symbols to express them." The volume ofinformation and the range of illustration are useful and interesting, as is the glossary which follows the text. So, too, the organization of material offers a nice rhythm and logic. It moves from a discussion of pre-Jewish ideas that figure early into Jewish symbolism-such as that of the sun and its symbolism or of Dionysus and his attributes-to those which develop as Judaism unfolds in post-destruction dispersion-such as Messianic and Temple...

Promptings of desire: creativity and the religious impulse in the works of D.H. Lawrence

Preface Introduction The Concept of Creativity: A Preliminary View The Creative Unconscious: Self, Society and Freedom The Art of Creativity Creative Evolution: The Early Formation of Lawrence's Religious Thought Nature, Art and Belief in the Early Novels The Metaphysics of Creativity and The Rainbow The Rainbow II: Rhythms of the Unknown God Lawrence Against Himself: Elitism and the Mystification of Sex Consolidation: 1915-1930 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Religious Motives for Columbus's First Voyage

Summary To support the thesis that a religious impulse helped push Christopher Columbus across (he Atlantic to the shores of the New World, this essay first examines Columbus's Book of Prophecies (ca. 1502) to disclose the apocalyptic nature of the Admiral's Christianity. An analysis of the postils, or marginal notes, in Colum-bus's copy of Historie rerum ubique gestarum, probably made in the early 1480s, establishes that key elements in Columbus's eschatological framework were present in the earliest sources available. In addition, repeated declarations of the evangelical purpose of the Enterprise in Columbus's two records of the voyage, the Carta de Colon of 1493 and the Log, some of which refer to Columbus's presentations to the Catholic Monarchs, reaffirm (he missionary character of the first voyage.

RELIGIO-EGOCENTRICITY IN REACTIVE SCHIZOPHRENIA

Contending that a religious impulse exists in the unconscious, this paper emphasizes the role of the ego in shaping that impulse in Reactive Schizophrenia. After describing religiosity in the adolescent neurotic and schizoidal personalities, the core of the paper shows how the "fractured ego" in Reactive Schizophrenia can range far and wide in building religious systems which, though bizarre, are often impressive in their complexity. The paper concludes with a comparison between religiosity in the religious thinker and in the Reactive Schizophrenic.

Tocqueville's Elusive ModerationThe Strange Liberalism of Alexis de Tocqueville. By Roger Boesche Montesquieu's Comparative Politics and the Spirit of American Constitutionalism. By Anne M. Cohler Alexis de Tocqueville: Threats to Freedom in a Democracy. By Michael Hereth Tocqueville: A Biography. By Andre Jardin , Lydia Davis , and Robert Hemenway Alexis de Tocqueville and the New Science of Politics. By

Previous article No AccessReview EssaysTocqueville's Elusive Moderation The Strange Liberalism of Alexis de Tocqueville. By Roger Boesche Montesquieu's Comparative Politics and the Spirit of American Constitutionalism. By Anne M. Cohler Alexis de Tocqueville: Threats to Freedom in a Democracy. By Michael Hereth Tocqueville: A Biography. By Andre Jardin , Lydia Davis , and Robert Hemenway Alexis de Tocqueville and the New Science of Politics. By John Koritansky Tocqueville and the Two Democracies. By Jean-Claude Lamberti and Arthur Goldhammer Tocqueville et la nature de la democratie. By Pierre Manent Selected Letters on Politics and Society. By Alexis de Tocqueville , Roger Boesche , and James Toupin Peter Augustine LawlerPeter Augustine Lawler Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Polity Volume 22, Number 1Autumn 1989 The Journal of the Northeastern Political Science Association Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/3234853 Views: 8Total views on this site Citations: 3Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1989 Northeastern Political Science AssociationPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Matthew Berry The Alt Right and the Religious Impulse: A Tocquevillian Analysis, American Political Thought 8, no.11 (Jan 2019): 1–24.https://doi.org/10.1086/701524 Dan Engster Democracy in the Balance: The Role of Statist, Liberal, and Republican Institutions in Tocqueville's Theory of Liberty, Polity 30, no.33 (Nov 2016): 489–511.https://doi.org/10.2307/3235211 Stephen Schneck New Readings of Tocqueville's America: Lessons for Democracy, Polity 25, no.22 (Nov 2016): 283–298.https://doi.org/10.2307/3235112

Religion In Children's Literature: Introduction

Religion In Children's Literature:Introduction Frank P. Riga The claim that all important questions are religious questions seems, on the surface, exaggerated. Yet the Call for Papers on religion in children's literature has met with a considerable response, both in quantity and in variety of approach. Among the authors dealt with, moreover, even an occasional non-believer surfaced. Perhaps such a response should not be surprising given the general interest in religious questions manifest in American society. Much evidence implies, however, that Americans are materialistic and secular, and recent pop-psychologies argue for the primacy of the autonomous self. If there are answers to the questions that give life meaning, such psychologies say they are found within homocentric parameters. Despite this, and despite the rumored death of God, the interest in religion and, no doubt what is more important, the search for religious faith continue. And like all important societal concerns, these find their way into children's literature. As the following papers demonstrate, the subject of religion in children's books involves us, not only in specific questions and themes, but in the social and critical perspectives of which children's books are a part. The recent televangelist scandals provide an almost staged background for the first essay in the Special Section. In "The 'Born Again' Phenomenon in Children's Books," Karen I. Adams discusses the preoccupation with religious fundamentalism within the context of the "new realism" in young adult books. While the new realism of the 1970s and 80s has allowed for the presentation of such formerly taboo subjects as sex and drugs, it has likewise allowed for a more realistic portrayal of religious matters, including "failures, flaws, and hucksters." Books like M.E. Kerr's Little Little and Cynthia Rylant's A Fine White Dust reflect contemporary evangelism in which, among other things, religion has become "big business" garnering "big bucks." Despite this hoopla and hypocrisy, the resurgence of interest in religion touches on a recurring concern of young people, who try to come to terms with their religious impulses in a secular, sometimes anti-religious, environment. That Katherine Paterson was the daughter of missionaries and a former missionary herself, however, attests to the fact that young people's religious concerns can grow as naturally out of life as any other human need. Rylant, too, reassures us, I think, when she questions the God of terror and hell fire: "after all, would you want people loving you if the only reason they did so was because of fear?" That religious considerations in children's books are not simply a personal matter is disclosed in Joan DelFattore's concise review of the Mozert case in Tennessee. This paper demonstrates how religious concerns and children's literature come together, but the question is not how such preoccupations find their way into children's books, but rather, having found their way into the literature, how certain segments of society react to them. Here, under the stress of a First Amendment challenge, believers' rights come into conflict with public education. The pluralism involved indicates, of course, the lack of cultural unanimity that, on the one hand, leads to conflict and, on the other, seems necessary for the various forms of individual freedom so highly prized in our times. Specifically, DelFattore gives a lucid and comprehensive analysis of the issues involved, not only in this celebrated litigation, but in virtually all fundamentalist challenges to modern children's books. Regardless of how we react to those challenges—and the specter of censorship, by either religious or secular interests, seems always ready to materialize—they force us, by their insistent focus, to question how books influence readers. As the third essay in the Special Section reminds us, the religious implications of children's books have long been a serious social concern. Here, Alan Rauch studies the relationship of science and religion in early nineteenth-century science textbooks. As Rauch argues, an examination of these textbooks reveals a growing tension between science and religion that was neither apparent nor threatening. Since "science must explain the world through physical laws and religion by supernatural causes," the covert split between the two was latent in...

Job: Second Thoughts in the Land of UZ

“The Book of Job is, ultimately, not about what it means that humans suffer. It is about what it means to be human at all when God is seen truly to be God. … This great text stands over against the prevalent religious impulse to fabricate a wishful picture of the world, to imagine the sort of God who would rule benignly over such a world, and then to bow down in worship before this projection of our own sense of moral order.”

Fallen Women, Federated Charities, and Maternity Homes, 1913-1973

Historians of social policy have emphasized its twentieth-century modernization: the substitution of a secular for a religious outlook, of trained professionals for "friendly visitors," of organized, efficient delivery of services for well-intentioned but unsystematic philanthropy. However, an examination of the changing relationship between a federated charity organization that self-consciously embodied these modern trends and member maternity homes that resisted them raises questions about this analysis. Although conclusions from a case study should be tentative, these suggest that generalizations, first, about the ability of federated charities to shape social policy and, second, about the decline of the religious impulse in social services should be made with equal caution.

The Progressive Era and its Discontents

A casual glance at these two ambitious interpretations of American cultural history in the early twentieth century might suggest that they deal with quite different times and places. According to Robert Crunden this was a period in which progressivism dominated the cultural life of the nation, while on T. Jackson Lears's reading the prevailing mood among the custodians of culture was one of recoil from an overcivilized existence towards what he terms antimodernism. A second look would reveal that the authors are indeed examining the same time and place but new confusions might arise from the observation that certain figures Jane Addams, for example appear in both accounts as, respectively, a progressive and an antimodernist. There is more at issue here than the meaning of these labels ; our historians are wearing different coloured spectacles. It would be convenient if we could simply call one right and the other wrong and have done with it but as we all know history seldom provides solutions to dilemmas such as this. We must make do with establishing which historian is wearing the better pair of spectacles. The authors' titles and subtitles tell a good deal. Both studies are broadly concerned with the fate of the religious impulse under the influence of secularizing and modernizing tendencies, but there the similarity all but ends. Crunden's subtitle evokes an earlier historiographical tradition in which bearded patricians weighed up profits and losses in the account called civilization. Lears's subtitle, on the other hand, is redolent of contemporary preoccupations with socio-cultural

Extremism as a Religious Norm

Contrary to prevailing paradigms of modernization and secularization, I contend that extremism is the norm, and that it is not extremism but moderation that requires explanation. Relying on impressions from contemporary Judaism, extremism is defined here as the desire to expand the scope, detail and strictness of law; social isolation; and the rejection of the surrounding culture. Religious extremism is an impulse or an orientation which, when objectified in persons and institutions, is invariably moderated. Religious moderation can be accounted for by the mixed motivations of adherents, either individuals or groups, who temper their religious impulses in order to achieve non-religious goals at the individual or communal level. Religious moderation may be a strategy to persuade or convert others, or to protect the community itself against a hostile environment. In all instances, moderation is associated with prestige and strong communal commitments. The decline of the community permits the breakthrough of extremist tendencies. This is facilitated by the decline of the secular culture with which the moderates were associated. This theory is applied to two types of Jewish extremism in Israel, one anti-nationalist and the other ultra-nationalist in orientation.

The Philippines. A Singular and a Plural Place.

The rules of the road the very beautiful pearl of the Orient Sea a singular and a plural folk the search for a usable past the religious impulse - global and local traditions Manila and the Bundok the Marcos era the age of Aquino.

Social Service: Godly and Godless

Secular social service is a recently arisen profession; until late in the nineteenth-century world most social welfare was connected with a religious impulse or auspice. Some religious social services responded cooperatively to the challenge presented by this new profession. Between social work and the more resistant religions, however, there was an almost Darwinian struggle. Now professional social work and religious service agencies tend to work apart from each other out of lack of interest or, in some cases, even out of hostility. The separation between the functions of these two branches of social work is, however, artificial. "Secularization" would perhaps better be described as a migration of religiosity away from organized institutions to individuals themselves. A review of key figures in modern social work history reveals the religious base of social work. These traditions are still a part of social work and deserve to be kept alive.

The Sciences in America, Circa 1880

For many years American science in the late 19th century was regarded as an intellectual backwater. This view derived from the assumption that the health of American science at the time was equivalent to the condition of pure science, especially pure physics. However, a closer look reveals that there was considerable vitality in American scientific research, especially in the earth and life sciences. This vitality is explainable in part by the natural scientific resources of the American continent but also in part by the energy given science from religious impulses, social reformism, and practicality. Furthermore, contrary to recent assumptions, the federal government was a significant patron of American science. The portrait of American science circa 1880 advanced in this article suggests that the nation's scientific enterprise was characterized by pluralism of institutional support and motive and that such pluralism has historically been the normal mode.

The sciences in America, circa 1880.

For many years American science in the late 19th century was regarded as an intellectual backwater. This view derived from the assumption that the health of American science at the time was equivalent to the condition of pure science, especially pure physics. However, a closer look reveals that there was considerable vitality in American scientific research, especially in the earth and life sciences. This vitality is explainable in part by the natural scientific resources of the American continent but also in part by the energy given science from religious impulses, social reformism, and practicality. Furthermore, contrary to recent assumptions, the federal government was a significant patron of American science. The portrait of American science circa 1880 advanced in this article suggests that the nation's scientific enterprise was characterized by pluralism of institutional support and motive and that such pluralism has historically been the normal mode.

Peter Shaffer's Recurrent Character Type

Peter Shaffer's Recurrent Character Type JOAN F. DEAN PETER SHAFFER'S The Royal Hunt oj the Sun (1964) and Equus (1973) were both produced by the National Theatre Company; they enjoyed even greater critical and commercial acclaim than his earlier successes. The Battle oj Shrivings, however, received almost unanimous scorn from the London critics when it was produced at the Lyric Theatre in February 1970. While The Royal Hunt oj the Sun and Equus were hailed for their spectacular dramaturgy, The Battle oj Shrivings was seen as a retreat to the comfortable ease of the well-made plot and the domestic setting which worked effectively in Five Finger Exercise (1958) and Black Comedy (1967). ShatTer has since returned to the play, rewriting it as Shrivings (1974). In its present form, Shrivings demonstrates more significant affinities with The Royal Hunt oj the Sun and Equus than with his earlier works. These three plays, his most recent full-length dramas, form an impressive triad in which Shaffer recurrently employs certain themes, techniques of characterization, and motifs. They are best considered complementary pieces, shedding and reflecting light upon one another. All three portray a middle-aged man in a crisis of faith: Pizarro and Martin Ruiz in The Royal Hunt oj the Sun, Martin Dysart in Equus, and Mark Askelon in Shrivings all experience profound dissatisfaction with their cultures and their very existences. For each of them, contact with a primitive and vital culture exacerbates this crisis of faith and fuels their need for belief. Though Shaffer's dramatic techniques vary widely among these plays, his most important themes and character types appear with considerable regu297 298 JOAN F. DEAN larity. The failure of modern society to provide a constructive vehicle for man's religious impulses and need for ritualistic worship, the decrepitude of Western religion, and the resultant fragmentation of personality form an important thematic nexus among Shaffer's recent works. Shaffer's frequent use of geographical associations provides a key to characterization. Even in as early a playas Five Finger Exercise, he uses nationality as a springboard to character definition. Louise Harrington , falsely claiming descent from the French aristocracy, insists that her heritage has imparted to her an appreciation of beauty and art. Her resolutely British husband, Stanley, maker of what their son describes as "shoddy and vulgar'" furniture, is too concerned with making money, too prosaic in every way to share Louise's affected aestheticism. Walter, the German tutor who refuses to teach any language save French, fervently denies the existence of his ex-Nazi family. To insult Walter deeply is to accuse him, as Clive does, of actmg very German. However misguided or inappropriate these national stereotypes may be, they are the principal means through which these characters find their identities and, consequently, a significant index to their interactions. In a similar vein is Shaffer's recurrent characterization through association with a specific culture. In The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Atahuallpa is representative of the ancient Incan society, whereas DeNizza embodies and enunciates the spirit of sixteenth-century Spain. Pizarro and Martin Ruiz stand midway between them: both are spellbound by their native country's vacuity and equally entranced by the vitality of Incan society. In Equus, Martin Dysart escapes the emptiness of his twentieth-century clinical life by dreaming he is a high priest in ancient Greece, making pilgrimages to the Peloponnesus and spending his leisure moments paging through art books on Hellenistic civilization. Mark Askelon, the "Sage of Corfu,'" arrives at Shrivings bearing an emblematic gift, an ancient Greek libation cup, "from the sixth century Before Cant" (p. 133). Askelon, Dysart, Martin Ruiz, and Pizarro are in this way all linked: each is intimately associated with an ancient culture. Corfu, the Peloponnesus, Cajamarca are the refuges these characters take from Western Europe. That each of these four characters is closely associated with the heart of a primitive culture is no accident, for each recognizes that these ci'.'ilizations can fulfill spiritual needs in a way that Western culture and its Christianity cannot. Underlying Shaffer's use of place as an index to character is an unrelenting disparagement of the traditions of Western European civilization in...

Peter Shaffer's Recurrent Character Type

PETER SHAFFER'S The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964) and Equus (1973) were both produced by the National Theatre Company; they enjoyed even greater critical and commercial acclaim than his earlier successes. The Battle of Shrivings, however, received almost unanimous scorn from the London critics when it was produced at the Lyric Theatre in February 1970. While The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Equus were hailed for their spectacular dramaturgy, The Battle of Shrivings was seen as a retreat to the comfortable ease of the well-made plot and the domestic setting which worked effectively in Five Finger Exercise (1958) and Black Comedy (1967). Shaffer has since returned to the play, rewriting it as Shrivings (1974). In its present form, Shrivings demonstrates more significant affinities with The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Equus than with his earlier works. These three plays, his most recent full-length dramas, form an impressive triad in which Shaffer recurrently employs certain themes, techniques of characterization, and motifs. They are best considered complementary pieces, shedding and reflecting light upon one another. All three portray a middle-aged man in a crisis of faith: Pizarro and Martin Ruiz in The Royal Hunt oj the Sun, Martin Dysart in Equus, and Mark Askelon in Shrivings all experience profound dissatisfaction with their cultures and their very existences. For each of them, contact with a primitive and vital culture exacerbates this crisis of faith and fuels their need for belief. Though Shaffer's dramatic techniques vary widely among these plays, his most important themes and character types appear with considerable regularity. The failure of modern society to provide a constructive vehicle for man's religious impulses and need for ritualistic worship, the decrepitude of Western religion, and the resultant fragmentation of personality form an important thematic nexus among Shaffer's recent works.