Religious Interests Research Articles

Secularism, secularism, godlessness: theological vision of the problem.

The religious crisis experienced by the present mankind is neither the first nor the last in its history. But it looks more sharp, more general, and above all - deeper, because it reaches the very roots of religion, God. This crisis is present in the West, where freedom is predominantly dominated and dominated, and where man can develop as it is profitable, as well as in the East, where for decades the communist regime led a persistent and fierce ideological war, trying to eliminate everything that concerned God. It seemed that the fall of the Marxist-Communist system would lead to a violent manifestation of a religious sensation here, responding to the demands of the human spirit. Unfortunately, such hopes were not fulfilled. The atmosphere of a certain freedom soon changed the first signs of enthusiastic religious interest in religious chaos, and finally, as could be foreseen, left a free space for the crazy pursuit of well-being and all the benefits that the Western civilization was embracing. This was the result of a pathetic, even tragic financial situation, which was the consequence of the management of the communist regime and the inevitable legacy of Marxist despotism, which required the complete rejection of religion and its absence in human life.

“Religion is not a Monolith”: Religious Experience at a Midwestern Liberal Arts College

This ethnographic project explored the extent to which the campus culture at a small liberal arts college was open to student experiences and expressions of the spiritual and the religious. The authors found that despite the college’s reputation for valuing diversity and a commitment to social justice, students shared a narrative of religious intolerance that impacted the degree to which they felt comfortable sharing aspects of their religious selves on campus. The authors argue this context goes against the values of liberal arts education to promote the cultivation of critical thinking and postformal reasoning, along with the development of whole persons. Findings showed that students valued conversations as a form of religious practice on campus. The authors, therefore, propose that colleges and universities develop formal intentional communities focused on deliberative dialogues beginning with students’ first year to sensitize students, faculty, and staff to student religious and spiritual interests and needs, thereby furthering the holistic development of liberal arts education.

The stranger within: Luxembourg’s early school system as a European prototype of nationally legitimized international blends (ca. 1794–1844)

This comparative analysis of Luxembourg’s early school (law) system reveals the extent to which European school systems reflect “national-cultural idiosyncrasies” apart from “structural isomorphism”. It first examines the legal soil into which the Luxembourg school system was implanted. Legislative pendular swings, reflecting shifts in power relations, cultural–linguistic affinities and so on, determined the direction in which the school system would develop. Indeed, these oscillatory motions had unexpected results, which the second section reveals by presenting similarities with laws that provided inspiration for the Luxembourg law. Despite criticism of Belgian policy, the Grand Duchy’s first school law system was very similar to it. The article then focuses on some key components of the Luxembourg system and identifies a pattern of borrowings: in more strictly administrative and pedagogical matters, the French and Dutch school laws served, while the Belgian school law constituted the reference for matters intersecting with religious interests. This synchronic analysis is extended by a diachronic analysis of the historical evidence for the selective borrowing of key components of the law. The final section suggests that incipient national–cultural particularities are perhaps to be found only on the level of “inner activities” of a school system’s organisation, and that they are the products of national historiography rather than historical features observable from a comparative–perspectivist viewpoint.

The Left and Minority Representation: The Labour Party, Muslim Candidates, and Inclusion Tradeoffs

As ethnic diversity rises across Europe, the Left faces a trade-off between incorporating new minorities while retaining support from settled, working-class voters. Focusing on the Labour Party's selection of Muslims and employing a dataset containing over 42,000 local election candidates in England, this article argues that inclusion is less likely where core voters are most concerned about the representation of Muslims' material and religious interests: economically deprived areas with sizable Muslim populations. It shows that in these areas Muslim candidates underperform at the polls and Labour Parties are less likely to choose Muslim candidates here as a result. Selection thus varies based on the economic and cultural threats that Muslim representation poses to the Left's core constituency. These findings contribute to our understanding of the forces that shape ethnic minority political incorporation across contexts.

Democratization and the politicization of religious civil society in Turkey

In this article, we explain how the political opportunity structure characterized by official secularism and state regulation of religion has shaped the politicization of religiously oriented civil society in Turkey. The ban on religious political parties and strict state control over religious institutions create constraints for the expression of religious interests. However, due to changes in laws regulating the civil society sector and rule by a religiously sympathetic political party, religious groups use associations and foundations to express their interests. We observe that, in this strictly controlled opportunity structure, religiously oriented Muslims have framed their religious interests in the political realm parallel to those of the dominant political party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Through a study of non-governmental organizations we document the rhetoric religious groups use to frame their position on several key issues: religious freedom for the majority religious group, methods of resolving issues related to minority populations, and the Ottoman heritage of charitable service.

Do Not Count Them Out Just Yet: Assessing the Impact of Religious Conservatives on Charter School Regulations

ObjectivePast research has omitted religious explanations from analyses of charter school adoption and regulation. The following analyses suggest that religion is more of a factor in state charter school regulations than previously thought.MethodsOrdinal logistic regression is utilized to test the influence of religious conservatives on state charter school regulations.ResultsThe findings support the assertion that religious interests—particularly evangelicals—are influential in state charter school regulation.ConclusionConsistent with Deckman (), it is suggested that religious factors should not be overlooked when analyzing education policy.

Smoking, Muslim religious commitments, and the experience and behaviour of Ramadan in Pakistani men

This study examined the possibility that smoking may interfere with Muslim commitments in general and with the experience and behaviour of Ramadan in particular. During Ramadan, a sample of 29 smoking and 46 non-smoking Pakistani men responded to measures of smoking, Religious Orientation, Religious Interest, Positive and Negative Ramadan Experience, and Ramadan Behaviour. Various indices of smoking predicted a disinterest in religion, less of an Intrinsic Religious Orientation, lower levels of Positive Ramadan Experience, higher Negative Ramadan Experience, and reductions in Ramadan Behaviour. These data offered preliminary support for the suggestion that smoking presents a challenge to Muslim beliefs and practices, especially during Ramadan.

Emotional Competence (Intelligence) and Vocational Choice among Candidates for the Ordained Ministry

This research examined the ways in which vocational interests of United Methodist candidates for ordained ministry are related to Emotional Competence (EC) as measured by Inventory of Religious Activities and Interests (IRAI) ministry interests and 16PF personality scales. Results show two primary clusters of ministry interests that are related to EC. Recommendations include ways that supervisors, mentors, and pastor-staff-parish relations committees can use this information to enable pastors to grow in their EC skills.

Doctrine and Deep Structure in the Contraception Mandate Debate

This short essay is part of an exchange on religious liberty challenges to the so-called “contraception mandate,” which requires many employer-provided health insurance plans to cover contraception as part of preventative care.The general idea of religion-based exemptions to general laws has been controversial for a long time. But rarely has a specific claim for exemption provoked as much vehemence as in the current fight over the contraception mandate. Doctrinally, the legal problem here is hard but conceptually straightforward, and comes down to whether the government has a compelling interest in applying the rule to employers with sincere religious objections. Both sides, though, see larger stakes at play. Opponents of the mandate describe it as an attack on bedrock principles of religious freedom. And some supporters want to avoid even reaching the compelling interest analysis and argue that the mandate often infringes no legitimate religious interests to begin with.Both these extreme views are wrong. But they are also important. And they demand explanation. They suggest some imperfectly articulated undercurrents in the current American conversation about religion and the law. My goal here is therefore twofold – to analyze the legal problem, and to say something about the deep structure of the conflict, which goes beyond a simple legal dispute.

The Olympic Movement and Islamic culture: conflict or compromise for Muslim women?

This discursive article critiques the interface of religious and secular values through analysis of Islamic culture and the Olympic Movement. Recent resurgence in religious interest gives importance to this topic. The authors address the paradox between Olympic ideals for inclusion and sport policies that exclude, in this case, particularly Muslim women. For example, the Olympic Charter commits to universal human rights to participate in sport and be free from discrimination on the grounds of gender and religion; and yet Olympic sport dress code regulations can deny Muslim women's religious requirements of modesty in covering the body. Diverse effects of conflicts between religious and secular values are illustrated through sociological studies into the lives of Muslim sports women and recent events in sport. Different paths to influencing policymakers to become more inclusive of Muslim women in sport are examined. Recommendations propose using the global power and reach of the Olympic Movement in order to move towards negotiated compromise and greater flexibility for more inclusive sport policy and practice.

Is religion a force for good? Reformulating the discourse on religion and international development

Questions about the role of religion in international development highlight the ongoing tension between traditional and late modern societies, and the predicaments of international collaboration and interdependence in a postcolonial global context. They also highlight the need to clarify the ethical and practical contexts of development, given that religion crosses the boundaries between “traditional” and “modern”, “oppressor” and “oppressed”. This article argues that development workers must be knowledgeable about, concerned with and sensitive to the religious interests and values of the local community. Secular development policies must therefore seriously consider the importance of religion in global society. Résumé Le questionnement actuel sur le rôle de la religion dans le développement international témoigne de la tension entre les sociétés traditionnelles et les sociétés modernes avancées et des difficultés de la collaboration internationale et de l'interdépendance dans un contexte postcolonial mondial. Il invite à clarifier le contexte éthique et pratique du développement étant donné que la religion traverse la limite entre le traditionnel et le moderne et entre l'oppresseur et l'opprimé. Les praticiens du développement doivent faire preuve d'une grande sensibilité à l'égard des intérêts et des valeurs des communautés locales. Les politiques laïques de développement doivent également tenir compte de l'importance de la religion dans la société mondiale.

Von Göttern und Gesteinen. Zur Interpretation dreier bemerkenswerter Kultobjekte im Tempel von Tôd

Abstract In the scene 284 II in the crypts of the temple of Tôd, there is a unique depiction of three hippopotamus-like lumps of jasper. Up to now their strange iconography has eluded an explanation. In this paper, it is argued that indeed these were mere lumps of stone of peculiar shape, into which the Egyptians “saw” hippopotamuses. To back this interpretation up, other examples of similar cases of religious interest in odd-shaped stones or the like are presented. Finally, it is discussed why these “hippopotamuses” were believed to be forms of Tjenenet, as the inscriptions clearly state, when otherwise this goddess is not attested to have been associated with this kind of animal.

Can Secular Spirituality be Religiously Inspired? The Hasidic Legacy in the Eyes of Skeptics

A trenchant and rather paradoxical Hasidic saying asserts the following: He who believes the tall tales told by the Hasidim may be a fool, but he who does not believe them is a heretic. It turns out that many secular writers have in fact read and examined Hasidic tales sympathetically, without necessarily regarding them as true. But what exactly is the relationship of such non-believers to Hasidism? Can a secularist genuinely connect with texts that seem to be totally immersed in their religious context and driven by specifically religious interests? Can a reader who repudiates the assumptions of the original author (and even of his intended audience) nevertheless engage in a personally uplifting or even spiritually-inspired reading of such texts? Is there a spiritual dimension capable of traversing the barriers of religious doctrine, and penetrating the inner world of the heretic?

Introduction: "Impacting" Higher Education?

Introduction:"Impacting" Higher Education? Éric Méchoulan (bio) Translated by Roxanne Lapidus "Men living under the domination of catchwords live in a hell of their own making." - Ezra Pound (22) The modern university, inspired by the German model envisioned by Wilhelm von Humboldt, is often considered an "ivory tower," since it seems to position itself outside of political and economic influences. By refusing any external impact on its freedom to organize research and teaching, it has the tendency to cut itself off from the rest of society. But it is this very freedom that nurtures the civic model of social apprenticeship. Outside of immediate political or religious interests, outside of economic investments in the formation solely of elites, is the necessary Bildung: edification by the knowledge of individuals who can live, in a just manner, with others. The university does not just form brilliant researchers, but also devoted citizens. The ivory tower of the university has in fact as its paradoxical task the assured integration of individuals into the cultural model of the nation—a way not only to get beyond immediate politico-economical stakes, but also to get beyond time itself in order to better control it. The university as understood by Humboldt breaks with a certain control of time, loosely linked to the thinking current in German scientific circles at the time. Up until the beginning of the 18th century, Protestant countries preferred to keep the Julian calendar rather than concede to the Gregorian one, as Catholic countries had done since 1582. Hence religious factions were under different orderings of time. Nevertheless, the need for adjustments won out for political and economic reasons1—perhaps also as a way of secularizing the relation to time. In Prussia, Frederick I created the Academy of Sciences, and assigned it the responsibility of coming up with a new calendar. Leibniz himself was given the direction of this task. He labored to create a calendar that would be as complete as possible for both peasants and businessmen, and wanted to make it a "library of the common man"—social consciousness must henceforth be structured like an agenda. Previously, the priests in Rome had determined feast days and ordinary days; henceforth it would be scientists of [End Page 3] the Academy who would play the role of priests of their time.3 There was another trump card: the Academy, with a monopoly on its publications, was assured significant income. It was with this resource that the modern University of Humboldt broke away in order to better distance itself from any form of interest, be it that of the State or the economic productions of the scientists themselves. The university likewise ostensibly withdrew from the influence of religious dogmatism. One must go beyond the temporal calculations controlled by the Academy of Sciences in order to better constitute the place for producing citizens. In other words, this is how to truly constitute a "library of the common man," without partisan interest, in order to better build a common national culture. Thus higher education springs from the public domain, even if private universities exploit the model to produce social elites. Today, in subjecting universities more and more to calculations of their impact on society or on the "general public," it is not certain that we are truly pursuing the education of the public and the construction of a common ground. On the contrary, it seems that this allows the university to be appropriated by those with the means to do so. In a world obsessed with measurement, it seems indispensable to calculate "impact." But with what criteria? I would like to pursue this inquiry into the concept of "impact," which is at the heart of the "measurement" of the university. If we follow this logic of calculation that is imposed upon us, with its ramifications in the area of academic management, we can get a glimpse of the university of the future. First of all, the "measurers" rigorously separate research from teaching, with the claim that this will allow a better redistribution of tasks and greater productivity in both areas. Between these areas, to a greater and greater extent, administrators intervene, the majority of whom...

Israel: state management of religion or religious management of the state?

In Israel, the Jewish religion, which is unique among world religions in the primacy it accords to filiation rather than belief as a criterion of belonging, operates as a formal criterion of citizenship, but in substance different ways of being Jewish are expressed in different political forces which in turn struggle for control of the state's religious orientation. This political struggle leads the state to favour ultra-Orthodox observance and criteria of belonging, even though that is a minority strand in the country itself and even more so outside. Religious interests and ideologies have found substantial niches in the legal system, in education, in the army and in the West Bank settlements, by exploiting the state's corporatist character, leading to a type of multiculturalism in which the once-secular centre has been seriously eroded.

I beni culturali di interesse religioso tra Intesa nazionale e accordi regonali ("vecchi" e "nuovi")

Contributo sottoposto a valutazione SOMMARIO: 1. Il principio di collaborazione tra autorita civili e religiose - 2. Lo sviluppo delle intese sul piano regionale - 3. Gli accordi regionali vigenti – 4. L’attuale quadro normativo: il doppio livello centro-periferia – 5. Il coinvolgimento degli organi periferici del Ministero - 6. Le ulteriori prospettive di un sistema complesso - 7. Conclusioni. The cultural goods of religious interest between national agreement and (old and new) regional agreements Abstract: The Agreement of 1984 deals with the relations between Catholic Church and State regarding cultural heritage in Italy (Article 12). This law gives rise to a complex and articulated system, because essentially based on two-tier “center-periphery”. This dual implementation plan deserves some insights in the light of the reforms that have involved the field of cultural heritage in general and the organization of the Ministry (MiBAC). Also be studied some recent and significant changes in the applications of such laws that appear indicative of the process of collaboration in action. Keywords: Cultural Heritage, Catholic Church, Cooperation, State-Church Relations

The Byzantine Role in the Making of the Corpus of Classical Greek Historiography: A Preliminary Investigation

AbstractThe selective survival of the corpus of ancient Greek historiography was in large part due to Byzantine historical and religious interests, combined with the ancient valorization, on literary grounds, of the three Classical historians. Our corpus generally reflects the Byzantine interest in Roman history, especially regime-changes, and sacred history, especially the Hellenistic context of Jewish history. Selections from ancient historians dealing with those themes were, in some cases, circulating independently already from the tenth century. The Byzantines had little interest in Hellenistic or local histories. This paper concludes by examining two moments (or ‘indices’) of survival and selection, Photios' Bibliotheke and the Constantinian Excerpta. Our corpus was largely in place by the time of the Excerpta, and the loss of some texts read by Photios may have been facilitated by the process of transliteration but was due to the same selective interests.

Need(le)less Worry

Incapacitated patients must be treated in their best interests according to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. As a result of this statute, the General Medical Council has advised that the testing of incapacitated source patients for HIV following occupational needlestick injury is unlawful. In this article, the reasons for the introduction of the Act are outlined and the impact of the legislation on the profession discussed. It is argued that it is in the patient's medical best interests to know if they are HIV positive so that they can be treated appropriately whilst they are incapacitated on ICU and begin timely medical therapy. It is in their social, emotional, cultural and religious best interests to be tested so that they can alleviate the anxiety of the injured healthcare worker, change their behaviour to avoid further spread and contribute to wider society as a ‘good egg’. It is concluded that the GMC has misunderstood the meaning of best interests and that their advice should be revised to allow testing to occur.

Setting the record wrong: a Sanskrit vision of Mughal conquests

In 1589, Padmasāgara wrote the first Sanskrit account of the Mughal rise to power within a short poem titled Jagadgurukāvya (Poem on the Teacher of the World). The work primarily eulogizes the life of a Jain religious leader named Hīravijaya, but Padmasāgara devotes one-third of the text to detailing the military exploits of Humayun and Akbar. Moreover, Padmasāgara departs significantly from known Indo-Persian historiography and imagines a startlingly innovative storyline for the early days of the Mughal Empire. Through this substantial rewriting, he furthermore consistently depicts the coerced establishment of Mughal rule as engendering the flourishing of Indian cultural and religious traditions. In this article, I provide the first detailed account of Padmasāgara's presentation of the battles of Humayun and Akbar to secure their claims over the subcontinent. I then seek to understand the motivations that fuelled this particular narrative by placing Jagadgurukāvya in the context of Gujarati relations with the Mughal court, Jain religious interests and historical sensibilities in early modern India. In his account of the early Mughal Empire, Padmasāgara crafts a political vision in which history is not constituted by a set of unchangeable facts but rather by a range of potential cultural implications that can be best realized through literature. His ambitious narrative about the recent past has important implications for how we understand early modern Sanskrit historiography and its relationship to Mughal power.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, RELIGION, AND BUSINESS ETHICS

Interest in entrepreneurship has heightened in recent years, especially in business schools. Much of this interest is driven by student demand for courses in entrepreneurship, either because of genuine interest in the subject, or because students see entrepreneurship education as a useful hedge given uncertain corporate careers This paper reports a study of the importance of religious faith to entrepreneurs and the relationship of that faith to their ethical judgments. The importance of religious faith to entrepreneurs was similar to the importance of religious faith to other business respondents. Literature offers numerous definitions of ethics.Crane and Matten (2004, p.8) define business ethics as ‘‘the study of business situations, activities, and ecisions where issues of right and wrong are dressed’’. Based on Jones‘s definition of ethical decisions (Jones, 1991, cited in Chau and Siu, 2000) ,Entrepreneurs who identified religious interests as being of high importance, and also entrepreneurs who were highly orthodox in their faith, expressed more sensitive ethical judgments on at least five of sixteen ethical issues than did entrepreneurs who indicated that religious interests were of low or no importance.