Religious Situation Research Articles

Что думали в Ватикане о религиозном возрождении на оккупированной территории СССР в 1942 г.

The publication introduces documents characterising the Vatican’s perception of religious processes in the occupied territories of the USSR that took place in 1941-1942. The main of them – “Memorandum on the Religious Situation in Russia” - was drawn up in the General Curia of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order) and sent to the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs in May 1942. It presents a sketch of the information available to the Vatican about religious sentiments in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union. On the basis of this information, it is concluded that the anti-religious policy of the Soviet authorities had collapsed and that since the turn of the 1930s and 1940s there had been a religious revival in the USSR, witnessed by Catholic chaplains who had entered its territory at the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. From the point of view of the author of the note, this provides a unique chance for the unfolding of a Catholic mission in Soviet Russia. The author puts forward specific proposals necessary, in his opinion, for the deployment of this mission. In particular, he proposes the creation of a special body to supervise missionary activity, as well as the involvement of lay people in mission.

Papa Francesco e il cattolicesimo in Germania Da ultimo una grande delusione?

The article provides an overview of the reception of Pope Francis in Germany following his election in 2013. The initial euphoric reactions are understandable, as Francis raised high expectations, particularly with Evangelii gaudium, regarding the resolution of the enormous backlog of reforms in the Catholic Church in Germany, whose religious situation differs significantly from that of other countries. However, since the post-synodal letter Querida Amazonía, disappointment with Francis has predominated. In particular, the Vatican’s reactions to the ‘Synodal Path’ have caused irritation.

Analysis of Ramadhan Effect on Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Sector Companies in Indonesia Sharia Stock Index 2020 - 2023

Indonesia is a country with a majority Muslim population and is listed as the first country with the largest Muslim population in the worl. With investment levels also increasing and a Muslim-majority population, this will greatly support researchers in conducting research related to sharia shares. This research investigates the existence of an anomaly effect. Where this effect is supported by religious situations and conditions, namely the month of Ramadan, so it is called the Ramadan effect which has also been widely documented by researchers, with the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Good) company sector indexed by Indonesian sharia shares from 2020 to 2023 as the object of this research. The GARCH method is the model used in this research. Introduced by Bollerslev in 1986. This research was conducted quantitatively using secondary data on daily closing stock prices. The results of this research show that there is no effect of Ramadan on returns or volatility in FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Good) sector shares listed on the Indonesian Sharia Stock Index (ISSI). There are only 3 companies that have a Ramadan effect on stock returns, including PT Martina Berto Tbk., PT Prima Cakrawala Abadi Tbk., and PT Sekar Bumi Tbk., then on volatility there are also 3 companies that have a Ramadhan effect, including PT Pantai Indah Kapuk Dua Tbk. ., PT Sekar Bumi Tbk., and PT Kimia Farma Tbk.. However, it was found in this research that in the month of Ramadan all the returns of the companies studied produced positive values with the majority of volatility being low.

КЫРГЫЗСТАНДАГЫ ДИНИЙ УЮМДАРДЫН САЯСИЙ УКУКТУК АБАЛЫ

The Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic guarantees everyone freedom of conscience and religion, prohibits the establishment of any religion as State or compulsory, ensures the separation of religion and all rituals from the State, prohibits the interference of religious associations and clergy in the activities of State bodies. During the years of independence, restrictions on ritual, social, industrial, economic and other activities of religious associations were lifted in the Kyrgyz Republic, and liberal state policy in the religious sphere stimulated the growth of the number of associations and facilities. People living in Kyrgyzstan have an ideological vacuum, which, due to the lack of an effective mechanism for civil identity, leads to the uncontrolled spread of other identities, including religious ones. Radical and extremist organizations that conduct underground activities and are able to take advantage of this problem have a negative impact on the religious situation. In this article, the author analyzes the ongoing research on the state policy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the religious sphere, including the political and legal situation of religious organizations in Kyrgyzstan, gives appropriate recommendations to state and local governments and public institutions to solve emerging problems and problems in this direction.

Maimun Zubair and Response of Social, Political, and Religious Problems in Indonesia: A Study of Safīnatu Kallā Saya’lamūn fī Tafsīr Maimun Zubair by Lora Ismail Al-Ascholy

Tafsir Al-Qur’an always reflects the reality faced by the interpreter. This paper will analyze Kiai Maimun Zubair’s response to social, political, and religious issues in Indonesia through Safīnatu Kallā Saya’lamūn. This interpretation comes from the study of Tafsir al-Jalālayn presented by Kiai Maimun Zubair in Javanese, then translated into Arabic by his student, Lora Ismail Al-Ascholy. Kiai Maimun Zubair is an active figure in the pesantren environment and has extensive experience in the Indonesian political sphere. Therefore, an in-depth exploration of his interpretation is essential. The research methods used in this study are descriptive, historical, and explanatory, applying Teun A. Van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis. The results of this study show that Kiai Maimun Zubair uses tafsir to understand God’s words in the Qur’an and as a platform to express his views and responses to social, political, and religious phenomena in contemporary Indonesia. He highlighted issues such as agriculture in Indonesia, criticism of democracy in Indonesia, and independence of the Republic. Safīnatu Kallā Saya’lamūn describes the social, political, and religious situation in contemporary Indonesia and significantly contributes to discussing these issues. His attitude reflects the paradigm of thought of pesantren scholars who are firm in their attitudes and beliefs, thus making pesantren play an active role in Indonesia’s development process.

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY, (SELF-)IDENTIFICATION AND STATISTICS

The article examines the problems of religious statistics due to the multifaceted nature of religious identity and flexibility of religious identification and self-identifi cation. This is the cause of frequent diff erences in the estimated data on the number of followers of a particular confession. Population censuses could be a universal and comparable source, but not all countries ask about religious affiliation in the census. And even when there is a question on religion in the census, differences in wording (and differences in the meaning behind the wording) do not always allow for valid comparisons. Therefore, it is more common to find estimates of the number of followers of denominations based on various surveys. Religious identity is very multidimensional, and it often overlaps with other types of identity: ethnic, civil, local. A person can be associated with a certain faith by accepting the dogmatics, or it can be a set of practices and actions that define a way of life or certain milestones of the life cycle or moments/ periods of the religious calendar. Finally, the very feeling of belonging to cultural and historic tradition can bind a person to a particular faith. Therefore, in order to study quantitative indicators of religiosity, it is more convenient to operate with the procedural concepts of identifi cation and self-identifi cation. Religious statistics, or religious demography, was developed in the 1960s, i.e. in the period when the traditional forms of religiosity were being eroded, when religious dynamics in diff erent regions of the world were becoming more and more different, when it seemed that, at least in the West, religion was losing its position. Religious statistics require the adoption of some form of categorization. This article examines whether classifi cation should always be based on denominational principle alone. Religious statistics is a complex and delicate instrument, but nevertheless it draws some contours of religious structure, reveals the peculiarities of the religious situation and allows us to see the trends of its development.

한국의 기독교 선교가 독립운동에 미친 영향

The purpose of this study was to look at the devaluation of Christianity and its alienation from the people and ask, “What is the meaning of Christianity being introduced into Korean society, and what impact has it had?”. In the process of accepting Christianity, the analysis focused on political and social situations, economic and religious situations as acceptance factors. Politically and socially, the pressure for reform and opening by Western powers, the signing of treaties, and the introduction of new systems were analyzed. In terms of the economic situation, the economic impoverishment suffered by the people of countries that failed to adapt to world historical changes and quickly accept the culture of modernization explained. In addition, referring to the suppression of Catholicism in the process of introducing Catholicism and the failure of the Catholic introduction process in the religious situation, various methods were tried and the situations in which the gospel was gradually spread were explained. It was pointed out that Christianity had a great influence on the modernization of Korea during the Enlightenment period, including the spirit of patriotism and love for the people, prohibition of discrimination between people and books, and the abolition of the caste system. In addition, the fundamental reason for the acceptance of Christianity was that it was recognized as a powerful religion that made wealth possible, and thus the gospel expanded from the powerless ruled class to the ruling class. Meanwhile, Christianity had a great influence on the March 1st Independence Movement, and the changes in the consciousness of the Joseon people due to Christian missions were examined through the establishment of independence association branches, differences in active participation, and a confession written by a nobleman. In addition, we looked into the teachings of Christianity, focusing on the subject of the independence movement, the purpose of the movement, and the methods of action in the independence movement as shown in the Declaration of Independence, and the relationship between Christianity and the role of the March 1st Movement and Christian schools. Lastly, it concludes that in the face of the decline of Christianity, which had a great influence during the turbulent times of Korean history, the Korean people need to know and learn about history.

Religious feelings in early and late adulthood

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to compare different phases of adulthood in terms of religious feelings. To achieve this objective, semantic subgroups derived from expressions of religious feelings encompassed positive and negative qualities, situational context, and regulatory strategies. This process was rooted in Walesa’s cognitive-developmental theory of integral religious development. Under positive qualities, the subcategories included reflexivity, multiple feelings, trust, joy, and love. Negative qualities yielded subcategories of anger, reflexivity, lack of negative feelings, transformation, grief, and multiple feelings. The situational context subcategory was defined by intellectual evaluation, religious practices, and engagement in religious situations. Regulatory strategies encompassed subcategories related to secular and religious life issues, as well as orientation towards eternity. The study included 160 Catholics, with 80 in early adulthood and 80 in late adulthood. Analyses revealed significant differences between these groups across all categories. Early adulthood featured diverse, multifaceted religious feelings, while late adulthood exhibited more uniform, coherent religious feelings, including trust, religious engagement, and orientation towards eternity. Moreover, multilayer perceptron analysis effectively predicted developmental stages based on specific subcategories, shedding light on the dynamic nature of religious feelings across the lifespan and contributing valuable insights to the field of psychology of religion.

Комментарий в блогосфере как религиоведческий источник (по материалам православного сегмента Интернета)

Online materials on religious topics are actively commented on by users, resulting in the formation of a textual space of religious Internet comments. As a form of rapid response to the news, comments in the blogosphere are an important source that allows us, taking into account representativeness criteria, to analyse trends in the dynamics of the religious situation in near-real time. The authors of such comments primarily adopt the following roles: a strict adherent of religious rules; a fanatic prone to radicalism (extremism); a modernist advocating a “comfortable church”; a prayerful peacemaker calling for peace and harmony; an exposer of various (real or imaginary) vices of “church life”; a cleric making a pretence to be an expert. The communicative strategies depend on the role assumed; however, sufficient competence or even simple awareness is oftentimes not expected from a commenter. In fact, the genre of commenting does not require competence: in most cases anyone can comment on anything. The analysis of comments allows us to identify the specifics of value-based evaluative activity, including users’ religious preferences and their attempts to form public opinion. This is achieved through the use of special methods of presenting information as well as throgh the specifics and ability of a text to establish the necessary associations and images. Particular attention is paid to the strategy of creating a negative image. From the point of view of content and pragmatics, the following types of comments can be distinguished: informative, evaluative, destructive, apologetic (polemical), and manipulative. This typology of comments can be used when conducting content and intent studies of the religious blogosphere as well as analysing the dynamics of the religious situation and various processes of the religious semiosphere.

Udmurt Religious Practice Today: Between Native Traditions and World Religions

Abstract This article reflects on the complex Udmurt religious situation. The Udmurt, a minority group in Central Russia, have an animistic background and live today in different administrative units of the Russian Federation: they have their own Republic, Udmurtia, in which the majority of the population is composed by ethnic Orthodox Russians, but they live also, from West to East, in the Kirov oblast, in the Mari El Republic, in Tatarstan, in Bashkortostan, and in some smaller groups eastwards. In the core territory they were submitted to forced Evangelisation by the Orthodox Russians after their integration into Muscovy, in the 16th century. Eventually, the imposed conversion succeeded, while in regions where the dominant religion was Islam, and where many fled under pressure, they kept their original religious practice. This article investigates this group’s religious affiliations and real practice today, between Orthodoxy and Islam, observing that where Islam dominates, animism thrives while where Orthodoxy dominates, different forms of syncretistic religious practice keep the former worldview alive.

Religious sects as a threat to social security in the Republic of Armenia

The article presents the contemporary religious situation in Armenia. It explains why the Armenian society perceives members of minority churches and various religious associations as enemies of their country and national unity. It contributes to research on internal security, especially on social and cultural security. The internal security of the Republic of Armenia rests on two central pillars: national culture and related Christian religion, tradition and spiritual inheritance – all of which are equated with the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC). Therefore, AAC is the primary entity fighting cultural threats and opposing secularisation. The text will show what threats to the Republic of Armenia are posed by the quick growth of religious “sects”. One thing that should be clarified at the very beginning is that AAC uses the term “sect” with reference to other churches and religious associations. Particular emphasis will be placed on investigating the relationships between religious “sects” and the world of politics and business. The author will also outline the involvement of religious “sects” in the political events in Armenia and attempt to present their perception by the society and state authorities. The author wants to demonstrate how religious “sects” and AAC – which fights against them using nationalistic slogans – may contribute to social unrest. Although the Armenian Apostolic Church exposes the problem caused by the presence of religious sects and the threat they pose to Armenian culture and nation, the author was unable to find a sufficient number of respondents to conduct a questionnaire survey on the presence of religious sects in the life of the Armenian society. Usually, respondents claim that these are marginal groups that we should not worry about. That is why the activity of religious “sects” was analysed based on the materials provided by the Armenian media (including independent media) and the information service of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

PRECONDITIONS AND REASONS FOR CHRISTIANITY TO BECOME A STATE RELIGION IN GREATER ARMENIA (GREAT HAYQ) IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 3RD CENTURY

The article highlights the domestic and global preconditions for Christianity to become a state religion in Hayq. The underlying reason and the social-political consequences have been specified, as well. As it follows, the religious situation in Greater Armenia did not allow the country to adopt a neutral position in the military and political race between the two super powers of the time, first because of its syncretic nature and later owing to Zoroastrian reforms. Hence, Greater Armenia faced a most decisive choice in favor of a new type of independence that was possible only through a religious neutrality – a step that Tiridates III realized thereby earning the title of the Great.

The religious landscape amidst warfare in Ukraine: assessing the situation

The purpose of the academic paper is to provide a general description of the milestone events in the religious and church life of Ukraine in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, with an emphasis on tendencies after the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Given that the war is ongoing, we focused on issues related to the receipt of the Tomos by the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the religious component of the “Russkiy mir” policy. Sociological indicators from monitoring the religious situation in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion demonstrate the following trends: war, especially a full-scale invasion, has impacted all spheres of life but religion continues to remain a significant factor in socio-humanitarian life; religious diversity is maintained with the predominance of Orthodox communities; regional differences on the religious map of Ukraine persist; after the full-scale invasion, there has been a slight increase in the number of people identifying as religious, and the number of citizens seeking communication with clergy has increased, primarily for psycho-emotional relief and support. The importance of religion and the Church in humanitarian missions, balancing society’s spiritual condition, and helping people in need of material and other support, such as volunteer labor or a refugee shelter, is becoming increasingly clear. The war has significantly forced many believers and spiritual leaders of denominations to reconsider their attitude to the war and civic engagement in the war. These tendencies are especially noticeable in the Protestant environment. In the territories occupied by Russia, believers of different communities and denominations continue to be harassed, religious freedom is violated, and a deliberate policy of incorporating religious space into the mainstream of Russian religious and church policy within the framework of the ideology of the “Russkiy mir” and the Russian Orthodox Church is being pursued.

Religious Cooperation in Plural Ghana: Challenges and Ways for Improvement

There is a global call for religious cooperation and tolerance, and it is a non-negotiable necessity for Ghana, through a collective responsibility. This study thus investigated the perspectives of Ghanaians on the religious situation in Ghana. It looked at whether or not Ghana is a “one religion” State, by exploring the existence of several religions in Ghana. The global advocacy for religious cooperation motivated this study to explore some challenges hindering religious cooperation in Ghana, and ways for improvement. Using a mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative designs, the study sampled 225 individuals ethically from the Faculty of Social Sciences in KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. Primary data was obtained through questionnaires and interviews. The findings revealed that Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion are the three main religions amongst others in Ghana. A majority of 179 respondents indicated that Ghana has plural religions and is not a “one religion” State, hence, a non-negotiable advocacy for religious cooperation. The majority of these advocates are youth within the age brackets of 15-25 years, followed by adults within 36-45 years. Despite challenges hindering religious cooperation in Ghana such as religious, social, cultural and political barriers, the practice of respect, tolerance and value toward one another and interfaith relations, could guarantee some improvement. Therefore, whether Christians, Muslims, Traditionalists or the Other, one has to be and behave religiously inclusive, tolerant, and humble toward the other. Whether in speech or actions, one should give a listening ear to the other. This paper is relevant for peace and interfaith studies. Keywords: Plural Ghana; Religious Cooperation; the Other; Religious Inclusivism; Tolerance

Progresivitas Alumni Ma’had Aly As’adiyah Sengkang dalam Menguatkan Pendidikan Moderasi Islam

Pesantren’s pedagogy is designed to apply and develop educational patterns that can direct and strengthen the values of pesantren, without having to abandon the educational methods that have existed for a long time. Ma'had Aly As'adiyah has an important role in innovating and exploring the knowledge gained through education and dakwah of moderation as the basis for the development of religious teachings in society. Pesantren is not only a formal institution to strengthen the nation and state. But it also became a patron of the integrity of the future generations of the nation. His independence and essential strength have been formatted with spiritual roots that will never waver. So, it is not surprising that the output of a pesantren becomes a reference. That's because it sees the intellectualism of pesantren which has developed quite dynamically, competitively, civilized and advanced. The changes it brings will advance through education and dakwah of moderation as a unifier of the people. Pesantren’s education becomes a pattern in itself, namely education that is directed to spread wasatiyah without abandoning the old methodology. The existence of Ma'had aly as'adiyah Sengkang, for example, has become a media "agent of change" in the midst of a society that is confused about the current religious situation. The spiritualism of pesantren already has strong roots to uplift the people. Its existence in the midst of society became a special happiness for its people, especially in the branches of As'adiyah. This paper will see how the participation and contribution of Ma'had Aly As'adiyah Sengkang alumni in realizing social transformation through education and da'wah wasaty in branches of As'adiyah spread across Indonesia. This type of research is qualitative-descriptive which is supported by the results of interviews, observations and analysis of documents that have been processed and concocted to become a valuable research.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Activities of Religious Associations and Control Over Them

Objective: to identify gaps and formulate proposals on legal regulation of the use of artificial intelligence in the activities of religious associations and control (supervision) over them.Methods: the study is based on sectoral and risk-oriented approaches, formal-logical and comparative general scientific methods, as well as on the method of legal forecasting.Results: the author noted similarity of ethical principles formulated all over the world in the sphere of artificial intelligence development and application, as well as their general shortcomings, namely, the lacking consideration of the specificity in certain spheres of human life (religious sphere), cultural peculiarities, historical development of a country and people. The shortcomings of principles stipulated by the codes of ethics include their recommendatory nature, which creates a basis for abusing them in certain cases. The author proposes that if control and supervisory authorities caused harm while using artificial intelligence, the relevant public authority should be recognized as liable and obliged to compensate for the harm caused.Scientific novelty: the paper summarizes the practice of religious associations using AI, formulates current and prospective directions of the use of artificial intelligence by religious associations, and makes proposals for the AI use in controlling (supervising) religious associations’ activities.Practical significance: the main conclusions and proposals can be used for the improvement of legislation on religious associations’ activities and control (supervision) over them, as well as for developing legal regulation of the AI use in control and supervision activities. The author identified the possibilities for religious associations using AI to popularize religion, inform about their activities, manage property, analyze sacred texts to improve their understanding and interpretation, as well as for conducting scientific research, systematization and accumulation of information, preservation of cultural heritage, and educational activities. The use of artificial intelligence in controlling the religious associations’ activities can reduce the period of religious organizations’ registration and inspections and optimize the work of control bodies, including by monitoring the religious situation.

Slovak Scholars in Bohemia and Moravia and Czech Scholars in Slovakia Before and After the Battle of Biela Hora (1620)

During several years of research, we registered a relatively large number of mostly Protestant scholars originating from the territory of today’s Slovakia or those who are considered significant in the context of Slovak cultural history, who in the period before the Battle of Biela Hora (1620) lived and worked in one of the Czech or Moravian cities. This was a very diverse group of humanists including clergymen, professors from Charles University, teachers, scribes, authors of extensive works in Latin or in the vernacular, patrons, or owners of interesting book collections. The article introduces this group of scholars in general, and examines more closely their confessional orientation, as well as what influenced it or subsequently prompted it to change. On the other hand, we also want to briefly note several Czech scholars who, as a result of the changed religious situation in Bohemia, came to Slovakia after the Battle of Biela Hora.

Spiritual meal, identity and community in Bohemia 1400–1650: historical anthropology and the reformation of religious food and textual practices

ABSTRACT The article explores the early Bohemian reformation (Utraquism) as an alternative Central European project of church reform that has not been as closely connected with the Western European civilizational narrative as the Lutheran reformation. The authors build on cultural anthropological approaches and on the recent ‘material turn’. They draw attention to the close historical associations between holy food and holy texts and look into the reformation of religious food and textual practices. They explore how the chalice functioned as a symbol of inclusivity and collective identity and how this became manifest in material culture. The authors analyse innovations in chalice shape (lips and tubes) and provide evidence of private or family chalices, arguing that such chalices re-introduced elements of social hierarchy in the Utraquist communion. In relation to holy food, the authors also focus on fasting, distinguishing two main lines of discourse: 1) the continuation of the medieval religious discourse of gluttony; and 2) difficulties connected with observing fasting regulations north of the Alps. Finally, they point out that the Bohemian reformation lends itself to a study of changing symbols, as suggested by Peter Burke, and they explore the model-like process through which book(s) largely replaced chalice(s) as the main symbol(s) and source(s) of identity among reformed non-Catholic Christians in the new religious situation in Bohemia after 1620.

Роль афганского вооруженного конфликта 1979–1989 гг. в радикализации ислама в советской Средней Азии

The Afghan War of 1979–1989 with the participation of the USSR became one of the significant factors in strengthening the influence of Islam throughout the world. The political leadership of the Soviet Union was concerned about the potential influence of the situation in Afghanistan on the radicalization of Islam in the Soviet Central Asian republics, with three of them having a land border with Afghanistan. Using American declassified documents, the author examines the plans and their execution by the foreign supporters of Afghan anti-government armed organizations regarding the Soviet Central Asian republics, as well as the religious situation in these republics. The author con-cludes that the situation in Afghanistan in the 1980s, although it had little impact on the position of Islam in Soviet Central Asia, created a basis for Islam’s further radicalization as early as in the post-Soviet period.

Republikán a volnomyšlenkář? Složitý život Leopolda Heyrovského mezi státem, rodinou a společností

The article deals with the characterization of Leopold Heyrovský (1852–1924), professor of Roman law at the Law Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, as a “republican” and “freethinker”, as preserved by the memories of his descendants. Using the memories of his daughter Klára Heyrovská and of his colleague Jan Krčmář, the author focuses on religion, political and social ideas and the paternal role of Leopold Heyrovský. On the basis of partial sources, he is trying to reconstruct the political, religious, and social habitus of the hitherto less researched Prague university professor. It turns out that the characterization of Heyrovský as a republican and freethinker basically corresponds to reality, but with the caveat that Heyrovský was well aware of the risks that such opinions would bring him, and therefore expressed them only very carefully. His religious situation – he remained formally Catholic but did not participate in any religious ceremonies – was complicated not only by his position as a university professor, but also by his marriage to a fervent Catholic wife who raised their children in this faith. Nevertheless, he tried to pass on his free-spirited and patriotic views to his children, to whom he devoted a lot of time as a committed father.