Religion

Priestly Power and Probity on the Battlefield: Examining the Politico-Religious Origins of the Just War Doctrine

by David Drissel

From the African traditional perspective, draw your own conclusions on how religion and morality relate. Use the following discussion to enrich your answer.: Kudadjie, J. N. "Does Religion Determine Morality in African Societies? A Viewpoint" in Religion in a Pluralistic Society, edited by J. S. Pobee, 60-70. Leiden: Brill, 1976.

by Matthew Charlesworth SJ

Unpublished. Written for BTh 1st Year T13A – Fundamental Moral Theology I, Hekima College, 21 October 2011. (700 words)

This essay seeks to understand the relationship between religion and morality from the African traditional... more This essay seeks to understand the relationship between religion and morality from the African traditional perspective. I shall define some terms and then offer my conclusion on the nature of the relationship between religion and morality from an African traditional perspective.

Pan-Islamic Networks of the Apocalypse: Mobilizing Diasporic Muslim Youth on Facebook

by David Drissel

Urban Schism, Social Strains: Exploring the Collective Identities of Youth in Contemporary Belfast

by David Drissel

Lo sagrado secularizado como sustento diario: los sambeniteros en las calles zulianas

by Vanessa A Casanova R

Co-authored with Nelly García-Gavidia

Esta investigación versa sobre la representación que los creyentes de San Benito de Palermo tienen del tipo de... more Esta investigación versa sobre la representación que los creyentes de San Benito de Palermo tienen del tipo de práctica de algunos sujetos que transitan por las calles pidiendo limosna con una imagen del Santo en sus brazos. Las interrogantes que han guiado la investigación son: ¿qué tipo de práctica es ésa, donde pareciera no existir límites entre lo religioso y lo secular? ¿Qué representación tienen estos individuos acerca de la religión? ¿Hacen alguna distinción entre lo religioso y lo secular, en el contexto de las prácticas que les sirven de sustento económico? Los objetivos son: explicar la relación entre lo religioso y lo secular en este tipo de prácticas y creencias. El método utilizado es la etnografía, y el análisis interpretativo de las significaciones. Se concluye es identificado con lo sagrado: para algunos, la intercesión del Santo legitima su búsqueda de dinero, para otros, la oportunidad de estar frente al Santo, tocarlo o bailarlo merece un pago para quien lo lleva a cuestas.

(English version): The devotees of San Benito de Palermo go through the streets carrying an image of the Saint and asking for alms. The questions that concern this paper include: a discussion of this tradition which is both secular and sacred in character; the religious persuasion of those involved; and the distinction between religious rites and the means of sustenance. The objectives of this research include an explanation of the relation between the religious and the secular in this particular persuasion. The methods applied are those of ethnology; analysis is based upon implied meaning. The conclusion is that for some people the intervention of the Saint is welcome and justifies the devotees’ personal need for money. The presence invoked by the idol, the touching of the figure, or dancing before it, is a periodical ritual and the service of the devotees offers a good opportunity to make a participatory donation.

Ecología, belleza y el camino hacia la gracia de la interrelación

by José Manuel Rodríguez

Rodríguez, J.M. 2011. Ecología, belleza y el camino hacia la gracia de la interrelación. Prensa Libre, jueves 17 de febrero, p. 16 Opinión.

ON NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT AND LEARNING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE BY CAROL P. CHRIST

by Feminism and Religion

Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project

Many women’s dreams have not been realized. How do we come to terms with this thealogically?

Although I am... more Many women’s dreams have not been realized. How do we come to terms with this thealogically?

Although I am as neurotic as the next person, I am also really wonderful—intelligent, emotionally available, beautiful (if I do say so myself), sweet, caring, and bold. I love to dance, swim, and think about the meaning of life. I passionately wanted to find someone with whom to share my life. I did everything I could to make that happen—including years of therapy and even giving up my job and moving half way around the world when I felt I had exhausted the possibilities at home.

”Mircea Eliade e Julius Evola. Un rapporto difficile” (Nuova Storia Contemporanea, Firenze, XVI, no. 2, marzo-aprile 2012)

by Liviu Bordas

Extending current boundaries between the private, domestic and public display of mourning, love and visual culture in Mexico City

by Marcel Reyes-Cortez

2012: Social History, (May, Routledge), pp. 117-141.

Can Man Live Without God?

by Galven Lee

Written for the module, Issues in and around Justice, during my first semester of university at the National University of Singapore.

Water Festivals of Thailand: the Indian Connection

by Ruchi Agarwal

published in "Silpakorn University International Journal" 2010

Indians and Thais share a common religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage. One facet of this sharing involves... more Indians and Thais share a common religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage. One facet of this sharing involves festivals celebrated in Thailand. The most important Thai festivals are Loy Krathong and Songkran, Both festivals linked to the Indian festivals. Thais celebrate Loy Krathong on the full moon in November and pay respect to the river by floating the banana leaf cups and asking for forgiveness from the River Goddess Ganges. River Ganges has no connection with Thailand but still is respected by Thais on this day. It is related to the Indian festival of Kartik Purnima which gets its name from the month of Kartik (November-December). On this day people will bathe in sacred rivers as the beliefs are that Gods descend of earth and reside in the holy rivers that flow naturally for healthy growth and spiritual grace.

The Thai New Year, Songkhran, falls on the 13th-14th of April every year. The word ‘Songkran’ derives from the Sanskrit word "Sankranti,” a festival celebrated in other parts of Asia. It portrays the typical ways of life of the people which are involved in the agricultural aspects in India as well as Thailand. Both the festivals are celebrated in India and Thailand with different names but with the same purpose somehow and are related to water. My paper deals with the cultural religious connection of such festivals of Thailand with India.

Keywords: Thailand, India, Myanmar, Songkran, Sankranti, Phalgun, Thagyamin, Thingyan, Brahma, Krishna

Thai and Indian Cultural Linkage: The Religious Festivities

by Ruchi Agarwal

Published in Silpakorn University Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts. 2011

There is a long history of cultural linkage between India and the Southeast Asian region. The Indian influence can be... more There is a long history of cultural linkage between India and the Southeast Asian region. The Indian influence can be found in cultural and religious practices, arts, scriptures, and language. One of the common cultural heritages shared is the celebration of the major religious festivals. The festivals have originated in India and are widely celebrated in the Southeast Asian countries. In this paper, I am interested in examining the Indian cultural influence with an emphasis on four major annual festivals celebrated in Thailand. The major Thai festivals include Songkran, Loy Krathong, Thai-Chinese Vegetarian festival, and the Long boat race. These festivals share a common cultural heritage with Holi, Karthik Purnima & Deepavali, Navratre, and Onam. My research revisits the Thai-Indian Cultural linkage through these religious festivals that are celebrated at the same time of the year but under different names. 

It’s not easy being a full-time female missionary for the Mormon Church by Rachel Hunt

by Feminism and Religion

Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project

Before I was born, but after I was conceived, my father had a dream. In this dream, he knew that I would be a great... more Before I was born, but after I was conceived, my father had a dream. In this dream, he knew that I would be a great missionary. And because of this knowledge, (and because he a. didn’t see me in the dream and was b. Mormon*) he thought I would be a boy.

To my mom’s credit, she reminded my dad, “Girls can be great missionaries too,” and to my dad’s credit, he was not disappointed when I did indeed turn out to be a girl. He also never let go of his impression that I would be a great missionary. Perhaps because of this story, perhaps because of hearing his (and my brothers’) mission stories, I grew up sincerely wanting to serve a mission.

It wasn’t until high school that someone first told me that I shouldn’t go on a mission because I was a girl. The words were spoken by my female leader, with the explanation that men were to go on missions and women were to get married. My best friend and I were upset, because we were adamant that we were going, but we brushed it aside, letting it add flame to our desire.

Dios en la ética de Aristóteles - God in Aristotle’s Ethics

by David Torrijos-Castrillejo

Pensamiento: Revista de investigación e Información filosófica, ISSN 0031-4749, Vol. 68, Nº 255, 2012 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Razón y existencia en el acesso a la Divinidad) , págs. 5-23.

In the last few years, a new paradigm of the knowledge of the divinity in Aristotle has emerged, affording the... more In the last few years, a new paradigm of the knowledge of the divinity in Aristotle has emerged, affording the possibility of understanding him as efficient cause. In that case, if God is efficient cause and gives rise to teleology, this must have some existential significance for man. We can ask ourselves therefore whether the knowledge of metaphysics can offer some orientation also for ethics. Yet if this were true, the need would arise to deepen the question of how much the gods love men and what would the nature of their relationship be to natural justice. Given that man is born and lives thanks to the divinity, the conclusion is that two consequences follow: a response of religious thanksgiving is needed but also, that since the will of the divinity desires the good for man, the human search for happiness is the same as the fulfillment of the divine law. All this is explained, to a certain extent, in the context of the friendship between man and the divine.

The Sovereignty of the Soul by Elizabeth Mott

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

As a teenager, I had very little self-confidence, and I was—and still am—an idealist. My mother, who suffered from... more As a teenager, I had very little self-confidence, and I was—and still am—an idealist. My mother, who suffered from diabetes and heart disease, never worked outside the home. She raised four children—one with disabilities—and found a great deal of happiness doing that when we were young. She died at the age of 49, when I was 21. By that point in my life, I had serious questions about my worth as a female member of society. How much of this was due to my family, how much was due to my religion, and how much was due to my middle-class American background? That is hard to answer. But I would probably say that my 21-year-old angst had more to do with witnessing my mother’s health challenges than anything else.

A CLASH OF CULTURES IN OUR GENES by Carol P. Christ

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

I carry the exact replica of MDNA handed down from mother to daughter since the depths of the last Ice Age 17,000... more I carry the exact replica of MDNA handed down from mother to daughter since the depths of the last Ice Age 17,000 years ago.  My father carries  the YDNA of the Indo-Europeans handed down from father to son since the time when his male ancestors invaded Europe about 5000 years ago. 

My female ancestors moved with the seasons as they gathered fruits and nuts, roots and greens to feed their families. Some of them may have blown red ochre around their hands to leave their marks in ritual cave-wombs.

'Lessons in Seeing: Art, Religion and Class in the East End of London, 1881–1898', Journal of Victorian Culture (2011) 16:3, 385-403.

by Lucinda Matthews-Jones

In 1881 the Reverend Samuel Barnett, Anglican incumbent of St Jude's Church, Whitechapel, established the Whitechapel... more In 1881 the Reverend Samuel Barnett, Anglican incumbent of St Jude's Church, Whitechapel, established the Whitechapel Fine Art Exhibitions with his wife Henrietta. These quickly became an important part of the parochial programme ofSt Jude's. The Barnetts followed the art theories of John Ruskin and Matthew Arnold and argued that exhibiting famous and beautiful paintings would revive the spirituality of poor East Enders. In order to test this theory, they introduced the practice of ‘Voting for Your Favourite Picture’. The result, however, did not bear out straightforwardly the Barnetts' belief that paintings are ‘Windows into the other World’. The gap between the intended outcome and the actual reception of the Whitechapel Exhibitions reveals that, although they may not have adopted the Barnetts' religious aestheticism, working-class visitors were keen to engage with art on their own terms.

The ‘Dudley Mosque Project’: a Case of Islamophobia and Local Politics

by Tahir Abbas

co-authored with Frank Reeves and Dulce Pedroso

The Feast Day of St. Brigid by Carol P. Christ

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project.

May we remember Brigid on her day in the fullness of her connection to bountiful and life-giving earth by setting a... more May we remember Brigid on her day in the fullness of her connection to bountiful and life-giving earth by setting a bowl of milk on an altar or special place in the garden on her holy day.  Who knows, a snake just might come to drink from it.

The Christian Feast Day of St. Brigid of Kildare, one of the two patron saints of Ireland, is held on February 1, the pre-Christian holiday known as Imbloc.  It is well known that St. Brigid has the same name as a pre-Christian Goddess of Ireland, variously known as Brighid (pronounced “Breed”), Brigid, Brigit, Bride, or Bridie.  The name Brigid is from the Celtic “Brig” meaning “High One” or “Exalted One.”  Brigid like other Irish Goddesses was originally associated with a Mountain Mother, protectress of the people who lived within sight of her and of the flocks nurtured on her slopes.

Imbloc marked the day that cows and ewes give birth and begin to produce milk.  It was also said to be the day when hibernating snakes (like groundhogs) first come out of their holes.

Body, Nature, Ancestors by Carol P. Christ

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project.

Some years ago, womanist theologian Karen Baker–Fletcher asked about ancestors following a lecture I gave on the body... more Some years ago, womanist theologian Karen Baker–Fletcher asked about ancestors following a lecture I gave on the body and nature.  I have since come to realize that ancestors are a missing link between the two:  we cannot speak adequately of embodiment and interdependence in the web of life without recognizing the ancestors whose lives made ours possible.  Our mothers quite literally gave us our bodies.  All of our ancestors gave us their genes.  Care and callousness with origins going back longer than conscious memory was imprinted on the psyches of our parents and grandparents and transmitted to us.  All of our ancestors give us connections to place.  While many black people in America can recite oral histories that begin with slavery in the United States, I come from a family where stories of origin for the most part were not valued or told.