World Religions Research Articles

Dimming the radiance to mingle with dust: Ximing temple as a confluence of historical elements

ABSTRACT As a major temple associated with the imperial regime, Ximing Temple played multiple roles that ordinary Buddhist temples did not, but, at the same time, it resembled other temples in being an important node of the Buddhist movement to convert laypeople. Ximing Temple turned out to be more than a place of religious practice; it is a great open platform, an enormous platform on which the scholarly and the monastic, the Buddhist and the non-Buddhist, the bureaucrats and commoners, the sacred and the secular could all take what they wanted. Ximing Temple is the epitome of the once broad-minded and cosmopolitan Tang Empire, and the last vestige of a once cosmopolitan religious tradition. Since the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the An Lushan Rebellion 安史之亂 (755-763) initially shattered the adolescent dream of Buddhism with its infinite possibilities, and the Huichang Suppression of Buddhism 會昌法難 (841-845) was the inevitable result of the abandonment of cosmopolitanism in the Tang Dynasty, which was slowly moving towards self-enclosure. After that, the commercial characteristics of a world religion slowly faded from Chinese Buddhism.

Religion and science in the modern world: a look at the problem from the side of religious denominations.

The subject of the study is the attitude of representatives of the main religious denominations of modern Russia to science. The purpose of the study is to determine the presence and degree of conflict between religious organizations and the scientific community, as well as to study the possibilities of their interaction. The research method is an expert survey, which was conducted in the form of an in-depth interview. The interviewed experts, who have ordained, as well as secular and religious education, represented the main religious organizations registered in Russian Federation: the Russian Orthodox Church, Evangelical Christians, the Roman Catholic Church, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in Moscow, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, etc. The novelty of the research consists in clarifying the attitude of representatives of religious denominations to the relationship between religion and science, designated as positions of conflict, independence, dialogue and synthesis. The definition of these positions shows how ready religious organizations are to cooperate with science, which forms of it are acceptable to them, as well as which factors contribute to this and which ones hinder it. The analysis of the results showed that the most common positions in assessing the relationship between religion and science are the positions of independence and dialogue. From the point of view of most experts, these independent spheres of knowledge and human activity can complement each other, including in the field of worldview ideas. The positions of conflict and synthesis are less popular, but about a quarter of respondents are supporters of both conflict confrontation and, conversely, the unity of science and religion. At the same time, there was no pronounced ideological conflict, since the majority of respondents is not only familiar with, but also agrees with a number of scientific ideas about the world.

FAMILY LIFE AS THE FOUNDATION OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

The main aim of this research manuscript is to explore the importance of family life in Islam in general and in Pakistan in particular and how significant the legitimate relationship between man and woman is. One of the basic advantages of family life is that it makes every individual aware of his/her responsibilities in this life. The responsibility of every individual, whether Muslim or Non-Muslim, is to take necessary steps for the betterment of society. He/she is supposed to ensure peace, security, goodness, human dignity, equality and tolerance. Another responsibility is to contribute to society positively, by implementing good human values which are common to all religions of the present world. Today’s world needs these good moral values more than ever to make it a place suitable for living of all humans and that is why this article focuses on these values in an explorative way. The family life in Islam is a beauty and purity at the same time, emphasizing upon the believers and others to adopt it for the success of here and hereafter.

Edmund Hardy and the Science of Religion

Edmund Hardy (1852–1904) was a Catholic priest, Indologist, and religious scholar who lived and worked during the period of the Kulturkampf struggle between the German Chancellor Bismarck and the Catholic church as well as early German colonialism. The lecture he gave under the title “Einleitung in die vergleichende Religionswissenschaft” (“Introduction to Comparative Religion”) at the German University of Freiburg in 1890 and his appointment as professor for “Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft und altindische Literatur” (“Comparative Religion and Ancient Indian Literature”") in 1894 at the Swiss University of Fribourg were key steps in establishing the discipline of Religionswissenschaft (Science of Religion) in the German-speaking world. The essay he wrote in 1898 entitles “Was ist Religionswissenschaft?” (“What is the Science of Religion?”) was perhaps his key statement of the nature of this discipline, which he defines as a strictly empirical Geisteswissenschaft and Kulturwissenschaft (Arts and Humanities). This essay was the first article to appear in the new journal Archiv für Religionswissenschaft, edited by the secondary school teacher Thomas Achelis (1850–1909). Hardy’s approach was methodologically based on historicism and on the early understanding of psychology according to Wilhelm Dilthey and Wilhelm Wundt. However, as similarly befell Joachim Wach’s empirical approach, Hardy’s methodological work was barely noticed during the long reign of the phenomenology of religion. This observation raises fundamental questions of how the history of our discipline has been constructed and, in particular, of what are considered “classics” in the study of religion.

Orthodox View on the Philosophy of Ecologism

The paper deals with the understanding of a group of modern philosophical and ideological concepts and beliefs that arose around the idea of the Planet as a kind of independent superorganism, capable of reasonable self-regulation in order to maintain life in all its diversity, as a single religious phenomenon, which the author proposes to call planetarism. The author places environmentalism, animal rights activism, and movements in defense of the rights of sexual and other minorities under a single defi nition of planetarism, characterized by him as a new green religion. All the components of the new religion are being developed under the slogan of saving the Planet that is a single source and a common home for all forms and manifestations of life. From this point of view, everything that is around is born by the Planet, and everything that is born by it has the right to exist. The author off ers a basis for comparative analysis of religious teachings, defi ning it as a universal structure of religions. Comparing planetarism with the structure and character of modern theistic and nontheistic world religions that have had the greatest impact on the development of European countries, the author proves that planetarism corresponds to the concept of religion and speaks about its peacefulness. At the same time, the development and aggressive dissemination of its values and ethical attitudes lead to a prominent reaction from adherents of traditional religions, provoking civil and international confl icts. The author concludes that it is necessary to recognize the religious nature of planetarism, primarily to protect the traditional values of Christianity and to form a dialogue between the church and society.

LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL VALUES OF PR COMMUNICATION AT THE CANCEL CULTURE TIME

The article discusses linguistic and cultural values at the time of “cancel culture” within PR communications framework. The relevance of the research is determined by the need to trace the logical development of Political Correctness, the socio-cultural policy of Postmodernism, aimed at the transformation of the language and likewise the mode of thinking and lifestyle. Cancel culture is a policy of intimidation of all those who disagree with the abolition of traditional and the introduction of new universal values of the collective West, aimed at people’s dehumanization. The objective of this work is to identify the features of PR communication technologies aimed at shaping new ideas in society. The novelty of the research is determined by an attempt to characterize new values formation features of the Anglo-Saxon mentality that affect the whole world. The research methodology is based on the academic achievements in studying language, culture and spiritual and moral values, analysed from the philosophical and linguistic views. The research methods consist in the analysis and synthesis of the material on the chosen topic and its philological analysis. The study reveals that the social and cultural processes taking place in the Western world are aimed at completely replacing traditional values rooted in world religions, which may pose a threat to the rest of the world. The search for new values that are currently observed in modern society is directly related to the shift of paradigms.

“Lost in Translation”: How Colonialism Shaped Modern Sikh Identity

This article traces the interactions and influence of colonialism on Sikh identity. The specific focus will be between 1870-1920, when Sikh identity was reforming under the Singh Sabha movements. Arguing the “World Religion” understanding of “Sikhism” is a de-political, private, and colonial construct. Focusing on decolonisation of thought and advocating the understanding of Sikhi as a religious-political (Miri/Piri), decolonial, lived identity. This is done through tracing colonial scholarship, Sikh scholarship, and theories and understandings in Religious Studies. Tracing how colonialism affects Sikh identity through primary research focusing on the effects of texts, translations, ideas, language, and understandings from the colonial era and the issues that has for the Sikh diaspora. Arguing the translations of Sikh scriptures by Ernest Trumpp (1877) was catastrophic for understanding Sikh identity. It argues the needed reaction to the defamatory comments made by Ernest Trumpp has led to the modern formation of “Sikhism” in line with the Protestant model of religion. This idea of “Sikhism” is detrimental to Sikh identity as it separates the boundaries between religion and the secular. This article advocates use of a vernacular approach to the study of religion to advocate for decolonisation of Religious Studies through qualitative methods of research, investigating the effects of colonial language and texts of Sikh scriptures has on the Sikh diaspora. Calling for a process of decolonisation through presenting the affects the colonial period has on Sikh religion.

Analysis of slavic neo-pagan beliefs through the borrowing of religious and mythological images of indian culture

Introduction. Slavic neo-paganism has been of particular interest to Russian researchers in recent decades. It is still unknown whether there are many representatives of neo-pagan movements in Russia, and the boundaries of this phenomenon are very blurred. As a result, in the scientific community, an ambiguous direction is gaining popularity as folk history, the authors of which advocate the concept of «alternative history». There is an extensive number of «scientific» works and communities based on falsifications and distortion of historical data. One of such trends, in quasi-history, is the early re-creation of Slavic culture, which is increasingly viewed through the prism of Slavic neo-pagan concepts, thereby having a significant impact on Russians' perceptions of traditional Slavic culture. Some Slavic neo-pagan traditions, in addition to the traditional foundations of early Slavic culture, use religious and mythological constructs of other world and national religions. Special importance is attached to the Indian myth-forming component, which unwittingly becomes not only a kind of historical support for the development of pseudo-historical ideas of neo-paganism, but also is the richest source for the development of «Slavic» mythology. Based on this, the analysis of Slavic neo-pagan beliefs through the borrowing of religious and mythological images of Indian culture becomes relevant.Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the work was the general scientific principles of historicism, consistency, unity and scientific objectivity. Historical and logical methods of scientific research in the study of cultural and religious traditions of Slavic neo-paganism have determined the objectivity and scientific character in the study of this phenomenon.Results. Currently, the problem of modern Slavic neo-paganism lies in the fact that the reconstruction of the true appearance of the bygone culture and mythology of Ancient Russia is an extremely difficult task and requires an objective and comprehensive study of this issue. However, representatives of modern Slavic paganism claim that it is the Slavs who are the original Aryan people, with an ancient and developed culture of many thousands of years. The key sources, among neo-pagan supporters, of the origin of the Slavs and the description of their cultural and religious life are the texts of the «Slavic-Aryan Vedas» and the «Veles Book». «Veles's Book», according to representatives of Slavic neo-paganism, is the scripture of the ancient Aryans and contains particles of Slavic-Aryan wisdom preserved by the Novgorod Magi of the IX century. The «Veles Book» repeatedly contains images and plots borrowed from Eastern religious traditions, in particular from Hinduism. The content of the «Slavic-Aryan Vedas» is quite diverse. They include the Old Norse «Saga of the Inglings» interpreted by A. Khinevich, a recording of Perun's conversation with people in which he tells about the commandments, about past and future events on Earth, about the origin of the Russian people. Other pseudo–historical ideas of the origin of Slavic culture and the borrowing of mythological images of other ethnic groups by it are noted in the collection of epic songs by the Serbian historian Stefan Ilyich Verkovich – «Veda Slovena» (translated into Russian «Veda Slavs»). Attention to the collection «The Veda of the Slavs» was attracted by the enthusiastic historian A.I. Asov, having made several translations from the 1st and 2nd volumes of the book «The Veda of the Slavs». In addition, the trend of folk history is observed in attempts to prove the paramount importance of the «Slavic-Aryan» civilization over other peoples through the semantic similarity of the hydronomic objects. According to ideologists and representatives of Slavic neo-paganism, we can also observe the «Vedic» origins in Ancient Russia in the names of rivers and lakes on the territory of modern Russia.Discussion and Conclusions. The analysis of Slavic neo-pagan traditions revealed a weak reasonableness of the judgments of ideologists and representatives of Slavic neo-paganism about antiquity and the influence of the «Slavic-Aryan» civilization on Ancient India. Proceeding from this, it is also incorrect to assume that Indian deities are prototypes of Slavic gods or included in the Slavic mythology of Ancient Russia, since the described images and attributes of Hindu gods, in the context of traditional historical chronology, appeared much later than the Slavic neo-pagan tradition ascribes to him. At the same time, we cannot exclude the fact that the «Slavic-Aryan Vedas» and the «Veles Book» became not only the basis of a distorted perception of Slavic culture for followers of neo- Pagan traditions, but also brought the «Slavic-Aryan myth», as part of folk history, into the scientific and academic world.

The Pursuit of Pain: Reclaiming Belief from the Secular in Kirstin Valdez Quade’s “The Five Wounds”

Abstract: This essay extends recent scholarship on the secular as an epistemological and ontological foundation for understanding representations of religion in modern literature. It argues that, in “The Five Wounds,” Kirstin Valdez Quade imagines characters whose willingness to suffer pain embodies a form of belief that does not com-port with the norms of religion in a secular world but rather reclaims a more robust mode of belief as an ongoing pursuit of trust and virtue. The story thus represents an emerging current in U.S. literature that seeks to embody faith in ways irreducible to a secular social order altogether.

The Moderating Role of Sexual Orientation in the Association Between Religiosity and Sexual Behaviors Among College Students.

Past research has shown that religiosity can impact sexual behaviors of college-aged youth in both positive and negative directions. As many world religions promote doctrines that include negative views toward sexual minorities, the current study aimed to examine the potentially differential ways religiosity is related to sexual behaviors across various sexual orientations. College/university students across Oregon (N = 1553) completed an online cross-sectional survey in which they provided information about their sexual orientation, levels of religiosity, religious affiliation, and endorsed recent sexual behavior outcomes. Using logistic models in PROCESS, sexual orientation was examined as a moderator of the relations between religiosity (assessed via the Centrality of Religiosity Scale; Huber & Huber) and religious affiliation and the occurrence (yes vs. no) of three sexual behaviors in the past 6months: birth control use during sex, sexual activity under the influence of substances, and testing positive for an STI. Covariates were age and natal sex. Religiosity was related to reduced birth control use in heterosexual and gay/lesbian individuals. Religiosity was not associated with sexual behaviors in bi/pansexual college students. Findings show that religiosity was a salient construct for understanding sexual behaviors in heterosexual and gay/lesbian college students, but not in bi/pansexual college students. Given that religiosity has differential effects for various sexual behaviors that can heighten risk of negative sexual health outcomes, recommendations are made for increased and tailored sexual health education to religiously identified college students.

Orientalism’s Hinduism, Orientalism’s Islam, and the Twilight of the Subcontinental Imagination

Using the figure of the ethnic Pathan/Pashtun as a trope in South Asian culture, this essay provides a genealogical account of the modern emergence of Hindu–Muslim “religious” conflicts played along the lines of nation-thinking in the Indian subcontinent. This modern phenomenon begins in the late 18th century, with the orientalist transcriptions of a vast conglomerate of diverse Indic faiths into a Brahminical–Sanskritic Hinduism and a similar telescoping of complex Islamic intellectual traditions into what we can call a “Mohammedanism” overdetermined by Islamic law. As such, both these transcriptions had to fulfill certain Christological expectations of western anthropology in order to emerge as “religions” and “world religions”, that is, when, as Talal Asad has shown, “religion” was constructed as an anthropological category within the parameters of European secular introspection and the modern expansion of empire. Both Hinduism and Islam therefore had to have a book, a prophetic figure, a doctrinal core, and a singular compendium of laws. Upper caste Sanskritic traditions therefore dominated Hinduism, and a legal supremacist position dominated the modern reckoning of Islam at the expense of philosophy, metaphysics, poesis, and varieties of artistic self-making. Together, the two phenomena also created the historical illusion (now industrialized) that Brahminism always defined Hindu societies and the Sharia was always a total fact of Islam.

Just World Belief and Religiosity in Adolescents

A just world belief is a belief that individuals develop that everyone finds what they deserve and that every person will receive a reward for every act they do, good or bad, that is, that the world is fair. The just world belief theory, which is like the consistency theories, was developed by Melvin Lerner in 1980. The theory of the just world belief emerged because of the realization of the tendency of people to legitimize injustice in the events they witness. Therefore, studies of the belief in a just world in the first two decades have generally focused on the tendency to justify injustice and humiliate the victim. Until the age of seven or eight, children believe in immanent justice and think that actions they deem wrong will be punished automatically. With adolescence, the immanent belief in justice turns into a belief in a just world. From this point on, the belief in a just world has two aspects: the personal belief in a just world and the general belief in a just world. Belief in the just world religion, environment, age, etc. has a relationship with the elements. In addition, adolescence is the period when a person's ideas about both justice and religion develop during the stages of life and are sensitive to these issues. There are few studies on just world beliefs in Turkey, and among these, there is no study on its direct relationship with religiosity. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the relationship between belief in a just world and religiosity during adolescence. In the study, the relationship between belief in a just world and religiosity was carried out with the participation of 428 high school students studying in five different high schools in the 2020-2021 academic year living in Gaziantep. In this context, adolescents' belief in a just world and its sub-dimensions, personal belief in a just world and general belief in a just world, were examined by using the questionnaire technique and the relational screening model. The data were analyzed using SPSS 19.0 statistical software. As a result of the research, significant relationships were found between the dimensions of religiosity and just world belief according to the results of correlation and regression analyses. When the relationship between the sub-dimensions of just world belief and religiosity was analyzed, it was found that personal just world belief and general just world belief had a weakly significant relationship with religiosity. Accordingly, with the increase in religiosity, an increase in the belief in a just world has been determined. When we look at the effect of the sub-dimensions of religiosity on the belief in a just world, it has been determined that the sub-dimensions of influence and worship have a positive effect on the belief in a just world, while the sub-dimensions of faith and emotion have no significant effect on the belief in a just world. As a result, when there is an increase in the dimensions of influence and worship, it has been seen that there is an increase in the belief in a just world. The most effective of these two is the effect size. * This study is derived from a master's thesis entitled "Just World Belief and Religiosity in Adolescents", completed by Muhammed Şahbaz in 2022 under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Behlül Tokur (Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Institute of Social Sciences, Master's Thesis, 2022).

Konsep Persaudaraan dalam Pandangan Islam dan Budha

This research aims to find out what is meant by brotherhood and find out the agreements and differences in the concept of brotherhood in the views of Islam and Buddhism. This research method uses library research. Library research is a type of research conducted by reading books or magazines and other data sources to collect data from various literature, both libraries and other places. This researcher uses the Sociology of Religion approach. The sociology of religion approach is an approach that discusses one of the social phenomena, namely religion as a social manifestation. The results of this research show that brotherhood in Islam shows a way that can be taken to build communication on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also gives new enthusiasm to simultaneously carry out teachings in accordance with the instructions of the Qur'an and the examples of the Prophets and Messengers - His. Brotherhood in Buddhism is part of the happiness of life. Loving-kindness or brotherhood is the wish for the happiness of all beings without exception, which is often said to be a pure intention to wish the welfare and happiness of other beings. Brotherhood is the most important part of human life. Fraternity gives rise to positive enthusiasm and motivation, even though in reality not always in the name of brotherhood human life will run in an orderly, good and harmonious way. As major world religions, Islam and Buddhism have their own unique teachings, believed by their adherents on the basis of faith. Universal Islamic teachings and tolerant Buddhist teachings are standard forms that cannot be compared.

Book Forum

On 12 October 2022, a seminar was held in the University of Edinburgh to review, discuss and critique James L. Cox’s book, A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions: Theory and Practice (2022, Bloomsbury). This article contains revised papers from that event as prepared by the speakers, including Cox’s introduction and response to the presentations. The papers explore various themes, comprising a consideration of Religious Studies as a discipline, Indigenous Religions and the World Religions Paradigm, issues surrounding the formulation of research questions, the role of a researcher in relation to those being researched, the notion of the ‘sacred’ in the study of Indigenous Religions, and questions about who can be classified as a phenomenologist of religion. Cox responds to each of these issues by emphasizing local agency among Indigenous groups as the key concept undergirding what he calls ‘relational research’. The participants’ papers, which have been revised for publication in this article, are presented in the order they were delivered at the seminar.

Views on Humanity in World Religions and the Significance of Vicarious Atonement

Views on Humanity in World Religions and the Significance of Vicarious Atonement

A Historical Study of World Religious Monuments and Celebrities Memorable Places in Religious Perspective

The most tangible expression of religious ecology is through the veneration of nature. Diversity of procedure & approaches were designated as holy in different religions, and they are held in deep respect in honor of their assumed holiness. Many examples can be seen through the glimpse into the human civilization & history. The sacred journey is a religious act suggested for the specific spiritual cause, and it stand for a corridor to scrupulous holy sites. This research study will explore the status of Pilgrimage and the holiness of sacred places in their particular religious doctrine and practice using qualitative method. The research study will elaborate that some sacred journeys are difficult and require great obligation to complete. The purpose of research is to examine the sacred places are a bond to their followers because they have heartily association with them. The devotees have to offer sacrifice and sometime keeps fasting and travel bare-footed. It is also persuaded by the world religions to visit these sacred monuments. People visit and purified spiritually.

ON THE CRISIS OF CULTURE AND MAN IN THE «FAR-FETCHED» TRADITIONALISM OF R.GUENON

The problem of the crisis situation of Western European culture at the beginning of the 19th century became the central problem in the ideological heritage of R. Guenon. In his reflections, the French thinker turns to the consideration of the role and significance of traditions in the life of a person and society. R.Guenon fills the term “tradition” with his semantic load, making this term a key element in his philosophy. The reflexive space of Guénon’s philosophy is the sphere of the philosophy of religion and it is difficult to attribute it to the sphere of religious philosophy. This difficulty lies in the departure of the French thinker from the traditions of the Christian worldview to the ideological foundations of Eastern mysticism, agnosticism and theosophical views. Perhaps it is these preferences of Guénon that lead the researchers of his work to the idea that he is, in a certain sense, the “forerunner” of the postmodern era in Europe. Tradition and the crisis of traditions for the philosopher are considered as the main subject of study. The scale of historical and philosophical analysis is taken by the thinker without embarrassment as wide as possible. Ultimately, the very crisis of culture for Guenon can and must serve as a transition to a new stage in the development of culture. In this new stage, a syncretic creative renewal of world religions on the basis of the Eastern mysteries will take place. The cyclic concept of the author’s history does not retain its traditional connection with the Christian understanding of the future, the loss of the Christian eschatological understanding of man. the Renaissance is declared a break point with the traditional understanding of being. For a philosopher, tradition is not reduced to folk custom. And already at this stage, we are witnessing Guénon’s attempt to give the established philosophical terms their own sound, fitting them to his concept and esoteric context.

Application of 3P Theory in Analysis of Gender Conflict-Intergender and Intragender Conflict

The research paper deals with Intergender and Intragender conflict. These terms newly coined in this paper, a great contribution to modern Sociology. All forms of gender conflicts divided into two; First is conflict between two or more Identical genders, known as Intragender conflict and second is conflict between two opposite genders known as Intergender conflict. These conflicts analyzed with P-Factors (P1, P2, P3) of 3P Theory. The research paper also resolves various forms of conflict between the members of a family i.e intimate partners, siblings, parent and children etc. The rising issues of LGBTQ relations are analyzed in the context of 3P Theory. Different Gender conflict surveys conducted and data analyzed in scientific way. The theory is not only applicable to resolve gender based conflicts but also interpersonal and inter-communal/intergroup conflicts. The theory helps in framing policy to curb various types of conflict and discriminations in society. The theory also helps in curbing various forms of discrimination, such as colour, sex, caste, creed, religion and race prevalent in world.

Unteaching Religious Studies

In this 1994 article Kenneth Kramer (1941-2019) writes about his approach of “unteaching” to teach introductory religious studies courses, which involves more student engagement and peer to peer learning. Kramer posits that, “by approaching World Religions through sacred texts, and sacred texts through stories, the unteaching dynamic is given a structured content.” Our editorial team found this piece worth considering alongside recent calls for “ungrading” and reflexive reading in the religious studies classroom. This article was originally published in The Council on the Study of Religion Bulletin 15.4.

The Poet Discovers Sources (of the Self ). Adam Zagajewski and Charles Taylor

The article shows Adam Zagajewski’s relationship with Charles Taylor’s thought. The author argues that the poet’s dialogue with the philosopher is not limited to quotations and direct references but is also revealed at a deeper level. Based on Zagajewski’s essays and interviews, the author concludes that the poet studied Sources of the Self and The Ethics of Authenticity, and probably also drew on later works dealing with the condition of religion in a disenchanted world (“A Catholic Modernity?” and A Secular Age). Zagajewski borrowed from Taylor’s historical argument about the genealogy of modern identity. He also alluded to the philosopher’s diagnoses of the Enlightenment-Romantic lineage of modern Europeans and his conviction that the struggle for more demanding forms of spiritual life is preserved. The most direct traces of the conversation with Taylor can be found in the essays from The Defense of Ardor. The author suggests that Zagajewski also alludes to Taylor’s diagnoses in poems (e.g., “Tierra del Fuego”, “Senza flash”, and “The Kingfisher”), in which the motifs of spiritual lobotomy and the epiphanic power of poetry appear.