Religion Commons^™

Pope Francis, Human Rights, And The Crises Of Our Time, John Sniegocki

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

My paper/presentation will explore the holistic understanding of human rights contained in Catholic social teaching, with a focus on how Pope Francis applies this tradition to some of the major crises of our time. Particular attention will be given to issues of economic inequality, ecological devastation, migration, violence, and the rise of neo-fascist populist movements around the world. Francis’ integrated analysis of the common roots of these problems and his proposed constructive responses will be explored and assessed. Strong emphasis will be placed upon his understanding of the critical role to be played by grassroots movements and widespread popular mobilization.

The Right To Religious Freedom And Its Political Significance: Catholic And Islamic Approaches, Matthew Bagot

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

It is generally agreed that the Catholic Church formally committed itself to modern human rights in 1963 as a result of Pope John XXIII’s encyclical, Pacem in Terris.But it was the more specific historical development regarding the right to religious freedom that took place two years later at the Second Vatican Council, which really prompted global change. As Samuel Huntington wrote, the Church’s commitment to religious liberty on the part of all persons (and to the liberty of non-religious persons) had an extraordinary impact on democracy movements around the world. Indeed, Huntington referred to these movements as a “Catholic …

Pastors And Politics: Considerations For Missional Church Leaders Addressing Political Matters, Matthew Stinson

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

We live in a politically divided time. Long-standing questions about the political role of the church have taken on a renewed interest for American Christians who see this political divide widening and have trouble reconciling their beliefs with the platforms of either major party. How ought Church leaders, seeking to lead missional congregations, speak to our current political context?

This paper lays out a framework for political engagement by missional Church leaders. It first offers a definition of a missional church and a missional church leader. Second, it surveys some of the various approaches to Church and State relations in …

"Returning To My Father" : A Decolonial Reading Of Lk 15:11-32 Towards A Reconstruction Of African Theological Anthropology For Authentic Sacramental Ethics Via Indigenous Divinity Graduate Schools., Besem Etchi

Graduate Student Research Symposium

This paper makes three hermeneutical contributions: (1) By uncovering the Indigenous Norse zero-point subtext structuring today's Catholic liturgy, the paper constructs ancestral primacy as the delinking methodology for indigeniztion; (2) By emphasizing ritual as transformative technology for identity and relationship, in its wielding of neurolinguistic programming, the paper establishes indigenous epistemology as the proper spatial locus for any symbolic exchange that emerges authentic sacramental ethics; (3) By discussing the possibilities that creating indigenous Divinity graduate schools in African countries offers, a path of realizing sociopolitical stability and harmony in African states as a communal body is systematized.

With the ritual …