Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Arts and Humanities Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

International and Area Studies

Series

Religion

Institution
Publication Year
Publication

Articles 31 - 43 of 43

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Secularity, Religion And The Possibilities For Religious Citizenship, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon Jan 2013

Secularity, Religion And The Possibilities For Religious Citizenship, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Scholarly predictions of the secularization of the world have proven premature. We see a heterogeneous world in which religion remains a significant and vital social and political force. This paper reflects critically upon secularization theory in order to see how scholars can productively respond to the, at least partly, religious condition of the world at the beginning of the twenty first century. We note that conventional multiculturalism theory and policy neglects religion, and argue the need for a reconceptualization of understanding of religion and secularity, particularly in a context of multicultural citizenship — such as in Australia and Indonesia. We …


The Abaya: Fashion, Religion, And Identity In A Globalized World, Elizabeth D. Shimek May 2012

The Abaya: Fashion, Religion, And Identity In A Globalized World, Elizabeth D. Shimek

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The abaya is a traditional robe worn by women in the Arab Gulf states as both a symbol of national identity and as a part of Islamic veiling customs. Over the last twenty years, partly due to exposure to Western couture fashion, the abaya has changed from a plain, voluminous black robe to a unique signifier of personal taste through variations in fabrics, cuts, colors, and detailing. This study explores both the physical and symbolic changes the abaya (and the industry surrounding it) has undergone, as well as how these changes both reflect and provoke the conflicts in identity residents …


Institutions, The Rise Of Commerce And The Persistence Of Laws: Interest Restrictions In Islam And Christianity, Jared Rubin Jan 2011

Institutions, The Rise Of Commerce And The Persistence Of Laws: Interest Restrictions In Islam And Christianity, Jared Rubin

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Why was economic development retarded in the Middle East relative to Western Europe, despite the Middle East being far ahead for centuries? A theoretical model inspired and substantiated by the history of interest restrictions suggests that this outcome emanates in part from the greater degree to which early Islamic political authorities derived legitimacy from religious authorities. This entailed a feedback mechanism in Europe in which the rise of commerce led to the relaxation of interest restrictions while also diminishing the Church's ability to legitimise political authorities. These interactions did not occur in the Islamic world despite equally amenable economic conditions.


Ua1b1/1 Rodes-Helm Lecture Series, Wku Archives Jan 2010

Ua1b1/1 Rodes-Helm Lecture Series, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

These records were created by and about the Rodes-Helm Lecture Series which invited distinguished, and prominent individuals from the spheres of politics, economics, and the arts, to lecture at the university. The records include programs, and recordings of lectures.


Islamic-Catholic Relations: A Local And Global Comparison, Matthew Hoppler, Jennifer Bell, Ruth Donaghey Oct 2009

Islamic-Catholic Relations: A Local And Global Comparison, Matthew Hoppler, Jennifer Bell, Ruth Donaghey

Global Studies Student Scholarship

In our modern world, religion remains one of the most important aspects of an individual’s life, no matter what faith they choose to celebrate. Given the world’s increasing interconnectedness and continuing globalization, members of different faiths are becoming more exposed to communities of one another. In modern times, the disagreements between faiths continue just as they have in the past; however there are more efforts on each side to overcome differences and establish a peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding. Two of the most prominent faiths in today’s world are Catholicism and Islam, which have many differences between them. As Americans, …


Religiosity, Secularism, And Social Health: A Research Note, Thomas S. Mach, Gerson Moreno-Riano, Mark Caleb Smith Jan 2006

Religiosity, Secularism, And Social Health: A Research Note, Thomas S. Mach, Gerson Moreno-Riano, Mark Caleb Smith

History and Government Faculty Publications

This article is a research note addressing various theoretical and methodological issues in the measurement and analysis of religiosity and secularism and their relationship to quantifiable measures of social health in advanced and prosperous democracies. Particular attention is given to cross-national frameworks for studying religiosity and secularism as well as to the conceptualization and statistical analysis of these notions for research design. Various procedural suggestions regarding the use of comparative frameworks are presented to assist in the development and implementation of future studies gauging the impact of worldview commitments upon societal wellbeing.


Religious Schools: For Spirit, (F)Or Nation, Lily Kong Aug 2005

Religious Schools: For Spirit, (F)Or Nation, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper I draw attention to the study of 'unofficially sacred' sites in geographies of religion, which provide significant insights into the construction of religious identity and community, and the intersections of sacred and secular. I show that such sites deserve as much attention as places of worship (the more conventional focus in the geographical study of religion) in our understanding of the place of religion in contemporary urban society. In particular, using the case of Islamic religious schools in Singapore, I examine how Muslim identities and community are negotiated within multicultural and multireligious contexts, and particularly within one …


State Terrorism And Globalization: The Cases Of Ethiopia And Sudan, Asafa Jalata Jan 2005

State Terrorism And Globalization: The Cases Of Ethiopia And Sudan, Asafa Jalata

Sociology Publications and Other Works

This article compares the essence and effects of Ethiopian and Sudanese state terrorism by focusing on the commonalities between the two states. These peripheral African states have used global and regional connections and state terrorism as political tools for creating and maintaining the confluence of identity, religion, and political power. Ethiopia primarily depends on the West, and Sudan on the Middle East, since Christianity and Islam are the dominant religions in these African states respectively. While the Ethiopian state was formed by the alliance of Abyssinian (Amhara-Tigray) colonialism and European imperialism, the Sudanese state was created by British colonialism known …


In Search Of Permanent Homes: Singapore's House Churches And The Politics Of Space, Lily Kong Aug 2002

In Search Of Permanent Homes: Singapore's House Churches And The Politics Of Space, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper focuses on one category of the 'unofficially sacred'-namely, those secular spaces which are used for worship and, in particular, residential spaces which are turned into 'house churches'. Using the case study of a house church in Singapore, the paper examines issues about the politics of religion in urban landscapes in a secular and simultaneously multireligious state. Contrary and in addition to current wisdoms about the politics of religious space, it is argued that various politics are observed: a politics of inclusion; a politics of hybridisation and in-betweenness; a politics of appropriation and nationalisation; and a politics of impermanence …


Afro-Cuban Diasporan Religions: A Comparative Analysis Of The Literature And Selected Annotated Bibliography, Sara M. Sanchez Jan 2000

Afro-Cuban Diasporan Religions: A Comparative Analysis Of The Literature And Selected Annotated Bibliography, Sara M. Sanchez

Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies Occasional Papers

No abstract provided.


The Revealed Word And The Struggle For Authority: Interpretation And Use Of Islamic Terminology Among Algerian Islamists, Leif Stenberg Dec 1996

The Revealed Word And The Struggle For Authority: Interpretation And Use Of Islamic Terminology Among Algerian Islamists, Leif Stenberg

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.


The Commercial Face Of God: Exploring The Nexus Between The Religious And The Material, Lily Kong Jan 1996

The Commercial Face Of God: Exploring The Nexus Between The Religious And The Material, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the nexus between the cultural and the material by examining the ways in which religion and the economy are integrated in the context of economy-driven Singapore. The mutually constitutive relationships between the cultural and the material are explored through a discussion of the role of the state, capital and religious institutions in pulling together the sacred and the secular. Specifically, the analysis focuses on how the state harnesses religion ideologically in its economic development strategies; how capital harnesses the potential of religion in commercial enterprises in practical terms; and how religious institutions themselves behave as financial institutions. …


Negotiating Conceptions Of 'Sacred Space': A Case Study Of Religious Buildings In Singapore, Lily Kong Jan 1993

Negotiating Conceptions Of 'Sacred Space': A Case Study Of Religious Buildings In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, I approach the study of religious place from a re-theorized cultural geographical stance. Using multi-religious Singapore as a case study, I examine the tensions which arise over the meanings and values associated with religious buildings because of the conflict between state hegemony on the one hand and the oppositional meanings and values of religious groups and individuals on the other. I also examine the ways in which individuals negotiate their conceptions of sacred space in order to cope with changes imposed on their religious places by the state. Primarily, my argument is that conflict is avoided because …