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Articles 121 - 150 of 235

Full-Text Articles in Catholic Studies

‘A Western Missionary Cooked In An African Pot’: Religion, Gender And History In Zambia – Essays In Honour Of Father Hugo F. Hinfelaar, Chammah J. Kaunda, Marja Hinfelaar Jul 2021

‘A Western Missionary Cooked In An African Pot’: Religion, Gender And History In Zambia – Essays In Honour Of Father Hugo F. Hinfelaar, Chammah J. Kaunda, Marja Hinfelaar

Zambia Social Science Journal

The concept of ‘Cooked in African Pot’ is inspired by Klaus Fiedler, Paul Gundani and Hilary Mijoga (1998) who argued that clay pots represent African cosmic views, traditions, anthropology and epistemology. It is these ingredients that would form and sharpen Father Hugo Hinfelaar’s reinterpretation of Christian faith for Zambia. And it is this inspiring and honourable work and legacy that necessitated these two special issues dedicated to one of the distinguished missionary scholars of religion in Zambia. In what follows, we argue that Hinfelaar dedicated himself to what could be described as a soul search to deconstruct and recapture Christianity …

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From “White Fathers” To “Black Fathers” In Kasama And Mpika Dioceses In Zambia, Anthony B. Tambatamba, Austin M. Cheyeka, Tomaida C. Milingo Jul 2021

From “White Fathers” To “Black Fathers” In Kasama And Mpika Dioceses In Zambia, Anthony B. Tambatamba, Austin M. Cheyeka, Tomaida C. Milingo

Zambia Social Science Journal

Employing the missiological theory of Henry Venn (1796-1873) and Rufus Anderson (1796-1880) on indigenisation of churches, this article explores the lived experiences of black Zambian Catholic clergymen, nuns, catechists and lay people at some of the mission stations that were once in the hands of Missionaries of Africa, popularly known as White Fathers, from 1891to1991 in the Archdiocese of Kasama and Diocese of Mpika. To write about the White Fathers from the point of view of our interviewees accords us an auspicious opportunity to pay tribute to Fr. Hugo Hinfelaar to whom this article and this particular issue of the …

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Female Initiation Rites As Part Of Gendered Bemba Religion And Culture: Transformations In Women’S Empowerment, Thera Rasing Jul 2021

Female Initiation Rites As Part Of Gendered Bemba Religion And Culture: Transformations In Women’S Empowerment, Thera Rasing

Zambia Social Science Journal

Since the 1930s, female initiation rites have been a topic of interest for both anthropologists and certain White Fathers like Fr Corbeil and Fr Hinfelaar. Although the rites have been examined from various viewpoints, e.g. structural-functionalist viewpoints in the first half of the 20th century (Richards, 1940, 1956), and later by symbolic anthropologists (Rasing, 1995, 2001, 2004, and Simonsen, 2000a and 2000b), they are now mainly explained in terms of unequal gender relations and sexuality (Kamlongera, 1987; Kalunde, 1992). During my ongoing research (1992–2016), I was inspired by the interpretation of these rites by Hugo Hinfelaar, who, although not the …

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Religious Mega-Events And Their Assemblages In Devotional Pilgrimages: The Case Of Círio De Nazaré In Belém, Pará State, Brazil, José Rogério Lopes, André Luiz Da Silva May 2021

Religious Mega-Events And Their Assemblages In Devotional Pilgrimages: The Case Of Círio De Nazaré In Belém, Pará State, Brazil, José Rogério Lopes, André Luiz Da Silva

Journal of Global Catholicism

The article presents a typological categorization of contemporary mega-events and their characteristics, in order to interpret the assemblages mobilized by sectors of the Catholic Church in traditional devotional pilgrimages in the northern region of Brazil. It uses ethnographic accounts of the Círio de Nazaré feast, in Belém, Pará state, Brazil, considered the largest Catholic procession in the West, in order to analyze how the promotion of this event is organized through institutional and market logics that overlap with the religious phenomenon, evincing a contemporary trend. These assemblages open a field of possibilities for institutional religious reproduction and generate concentric flows …

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Young Brazilian Catholics Reaffiliating: A Case Study In The City Of Campos, Rj, Brazil, Cecilia L. Mariz, Wânia Amélia Belchior Mesquita, Michelle Piraciaba Araújo May 2021

Young Brazilian Catholics Reaffiliating: A Case Study In The City Of Campos, Rj, Brazil, Cecilia L. Mariz, Wânia Amélia Belchior Mesquita, Michelle Piraciaba Araújo

Journal of Global Catholicism

Through a case study in Campos, a northern city of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, this article analyzes reports from young people who state that they have undergone a process of revival or reactivation of their Catholic faith. They all declared to have participated in the “St Andrew’s School of Evangelization.” They also mentioned having experienced an "encounter with God." Their narratives were similar to conversion accounts reported by practitioners of other religious traditions. The interviewees describe faith as a personal choice, and emphasize the need for religious study and the value of religious knowledge. To what extent these values …

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Contemporary Brazilian Catholicism And Healing Practices: Notes On Environmentalism And Medicalization, Juliano F. Almeida May 2021

Contemporary Brazilian Catholicism And Healing Practices: Notes On Environmentalism And Medicalization, Juliano F. Almeida

Journal of Global Catholicism

Anthropological studies on Brazilian Catholicism traditionally focused on popular variants of this religious practice and their relationship with the official Catholicism. Encouraged by recent anthropological perspectives, which highlight the relevance of devoting researches not only on the margins, but also on the center of social practices, this paper analyzes contemporary practices of Brazilian Catholic friars and priests on health promotion. The analysis of their publications (books that include practices and tips on health and that became best sellers etc.), as well as interviews, allows us to perceive a process of environmentalization on the contemporary Brazilian Catholicism. This process seems to …

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Strong Church, Weak Catholicism: Transformations In Brazilian Catholicism, Carlos Alberto Steil, Rodrigo Toniol May 2021

Strong Church, Weak Catholicism: Transformations In Brazilian Catholicism, Carlos Alberto Steil, Rodrigo Toniol

Journal of Global Catholicism

In this paper we explore data on Catholicism from the 2010 census in Brazil, as well as other data from the Center for Religious Statistics and Social Investigation. Using these statistics, we question those arguments that explain the reduction in the number of Catholics in Brazilian society as a problem in the institution’s adaptation in response to the challenges of evangelization, or as a lack of ministerial vocations to meet the religious demands of the people. Pursuing an alternative argument, we consider the weakening of the relationship between the Catholic institution and traditional popular Catholicism to be a fundamental aspect …

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Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau May 2021

Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

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Placing God: Defining “Post-Christianity” For Contemporary Japanese Christians, Leryan Anthony Burrey May 2021

Placing God: Defining “Post-Christianity” For Contemporary Japanese Christians, Leryan Anthony Burrey

Master's Projects and Capstones

This work suggests that we consider a new, working definition of post-Christianity. This new paradigm is in response to Western Christian thought being too dominant a force that fails to take into enough account other global experiences— like those of Japanese Christians. These reflections are based on scholarly opinions claiming that Christianity is a “global culture,” and ultimately argues for more international inclusivity in Western Christian thought and institutions, especially regarding the Asia-Pacific. Moreover, this paper illuminates how iitoko dori allows Christian thought to peacefully coexist in Japan’s greater society. The research also explores specific Japanese cultural practices that make …

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Political Influences By The Catholic Church And Spanish Government In Colonial Mexico, Dorian Barboza Apr 2021

Political Influences By The Catholic Church And Spanish Government In Colonial Mexico, Dorian Barboza

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

The land of Mexico prior to colonization was composed of various large cities that upon colonization much of the land became New Spain. During this pre independence era of Mexico’s history the Indians were subjected to many changes in their culture through the Catholic Church and the Spanish Government. Religious conversion was accepted by the Indians as means to stop directed violence to the unconverted. The multidialectal cultures embraced Castilian as a common language that facilitated communication with the Spanish colonizers and between villages. The desire to integrate into the new Catholic and Spanish system gave rise to Indian litigation …

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Catholics & Cultures As An Act Of Improvisation: A Response, Thomas M. Landy Mar 2021

Catholics & Cultures As An Act Of Improvisation: A Response, Thomas M. Landy

Journal of Global Catholicism

This essay responds to seven articles published in the same issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism on the use of Catholics & Cultures, a multimedia website, as a pedagogical resource for college classrooms. The site is deliberately presented in a fashion that undermines notions of center and periphery and presents Catholicism from a lay, lived-religion perspective as the multicultural faith that it is, minimizing reference to religious typologies. Particular attention is given to how to navigate tensions around theorizing, categorizing and sorting information for cross-cultural comparison. Given scholars’ current state of knowledge, writing about and teaching about global Catholicism …

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The Value Of Online Resources: Reflections On Teaching An Introduction To Global Christianity, Hillary Kaell Mar 2021

The Value Of Online Resources: Reflections On Teaching An Introduction To Global Christianity, Hillary Kaell

Journal of Global Catholicism

Reflecting on my experience teaching Introduction to Global Christianity, this essay ponders questions at the heart of undergraduate teaching: How can we encourage students to utilize online sources? How can we empower them to seek out answers to their questions? It offers practical examples of how I have used the Catholics & Cultures website in my classroom at a large public university. In particular, I reflect on my experience working with students who are mostly of Catholic heritage, but from many cultural and social contexts.

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Teaching Sexuality On The Catholics & Cultures Website: A Refreshing Turn Toward The Longue Durée, Marc Roscoe Loustau Mar 2021

Teaching Sexuality On The Catholics & Cultures Website: A Refreshing Turn Toward The Longue Durée, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

I present a close reading of the Catholics & Cultures (C&C) website’s treatment of sexuality-related issues and discuss this material in relation to debates about how to teach sexuality in religious studies and theology classrooms. The C&C website occasionally and intermittently uses a typical “contemporary issues” approach that considers sexuality in relation to legal and legislative decisions and government policies. In contrast, country profiles consistently situate sexuality in relation processes like nation building, urbanization, and lay Catholics’ growing authority. My interpretation highlights the site’s decision to emphasize the longue durée, long-term and deep structural processes driving cultural and religious changes. …

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Ritual Among The Scilohtac: Global Catholicism, The Nacirema, And Interfaith Studies, Anita Houck Mar 2021

Ritual Among The Scilohtac: Global Catholicism, The Nacirema, And Interfaith Studies, Anita Houck

Journal of Global Catholicism

More than six decades after its publication, Horace Miner’s 1956 article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” remains a reliable pedagogical tool, remarkably successful in helping students see their own ethnocentric biases. Catholics & Cultures has potential to do similar work. The site lacks some of what makes Miner’s text so effective, in particular its capacity to bring about a sudden shift in perception. The site also shares some of the article’s limitations, particularly in focusing on ritual to the relative exclusion of other aspects of religion. That said, the site can help students gain the religious literacy and develop the …

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Focus On The Busy Intersections Of Culture And Cultural Change, Laura Elder Mar 2021

Focus On The Busy Intersections Of Culture And Cultural Change, Laura Elder

Journal of Global Catholicism

The dynamics of religious resurgence reveal the important ways that religious ritual and performance are meaning making spaces which are not self-contained or cut off from the rest of culture, but rather are a key locus of cultural change. A renewed emphasis on the busy intersections of meaning making – as rituals are connected, disconnected, and reconnected to other domains of social life – would improve the utility of the Catholics & Cultures website for understanding global cultural change. And a renewed emphasis on cultural change would also provide a better means for exploring reflexively by seeking to understand both …

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A Widened Angle Of View: Teaching Theology And Racial Embodiment, Mara Brecht Mar 2021

A Widened Angle Of View: Teaching Theology And Racial Embodiment, Mara Brecht

Journal of Global Catholicism

Today’s undergraduate students are digital natives, shaped by constant access to information and countless experiences of encountering the world through the convenience of a screen. The ostensible comfort students have with difference gives way to a paradox, and one that’s made especially apparent in the theology classroom: Students are comfortable with seeing difference and particularity at a distance, but not adept at locating difference and particularity “at home.” I contend that Catholics & Cultures can help students from the dominant culture—namely, white students who comprise the vast majority of Catholic college students—destabilize their notion of the Catholic tradition as tightly …

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Introducing Catholics & Cultures: Ethnography, Encyclopedia, Cyborg, Mathew N. Schmalz Mar 2021

Introducing Catholics & Cultures: Ethnography, Encyclopedia, Cyborg, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

In introducing the Catholics & Cultures site and the articles in this special issue, this essay initially locates the overall Catholic & Cultures project within the traditions of ethnography and encyclopedia. Drawing extensively on the work of J. Z. Smith, this essay reflects upon the theoretical implications of emphasizing the diversity of Catholicism in and through a web-based platform that facilitates comparative study and pedagogy. This essay then more specifically considers the web-based aspects of Catholics & Cultures by identifying a nascent cyborgian aesthetic in the site and considering how the site might eventually engage post-modern themes and concerns.

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Review Of Cardijn Studies: On The Church In The World Today; Lay Movements As Structures Of Grace, Part One, Bill Droel Feb 2021

Review Of Cardijn Studies: On The Church In The World Today; Lay Movements As Structures Of Grace, Part One, Bill Droel

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

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The Peace Dimension Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Caesar A. Montevecchio Feb 2021

The Peace Dimension Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Caesar A. Montevecchio

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

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Fratelli Tutti: An Interpretation Of Dialogue And Friendship In Society: An Islamic Perspective, Mustafa Genc Feb 2021

Fratelli Tutti: An Interpretation Of Dialogue And Friendship In Society: An Islamic Perspective, Mustafa Genc

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

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Fratelli Tutti And Interreligious Friendship: An Indonesian Christian Reflection, Hans A. Harmakaputra Feb 2021

Fratelli Tutti And Interreligious Friendship: An Indonesian Christian Reflection, Hans A. Harmakaputra

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

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Reproductive Health In The Philippines: Poverty, Religiosity, And Navigating Reproductive Choices, Allison Goncena Aug 2020

Reproductive Health In The Philippines: Poverty, Religiosity, And Navigating Reproductive Choices, Allison Goncena

International Studies (MA) Theses

This dissertation centers the Philippines as a case study in which quantitative and qualitative data from empirical studies, science journal articles, social science texts, and interviews are cross-examined to ascertain two main areas of interest. The first incentive is to identify and analyze the Catholic Church’s resources in perpetuating moral male-dominant rhetoric that have delayed efforts supporting reproductive health intended to aid low-income women concerning their sexual and reproductive health. The second incentive is to detect how low-income women’s thoughts and behaviors in making reproductive decisions are resonant or not of the Church’s moral rectitude over SRH through their demonstrations …

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Radna: The Holy Shrine Of The Multinational Banat Region (Romania), Erika Vass Jul 2020

Radna: The Holy Shrine Of The Multinational Banat Region (Romania), Erika Vass

Journal of Global Catholicism

Radna is the sacral heart of the Banat region in Romania. The shrine has united the Catholics for centuries in veneration of Virgin Mary regardless of their nationality and native language. Roman Catholic Bulgarians, Croatians (called Krashovani), Hungarians, Germans, Roma, Romanians, and Slovakians venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary together, but believers of the Orthodox and Greek Catholic Church also visit the sacred venue. Until the borders changed after the First World War, a great number of pilgrims had visited Radna every year from the region of the Great Hungarian Plain. The pilgrimage may be considered a rite of passage connecting …

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Minor Letnica: (Re)Locating The Tradition Of Shared Worship In North Macedonia, Ksenia Trofimova Jul 2020

Minor Letnica: (Re)Locating The Tradition Of Shared Worship In North Macedonia, Ksenia Trofimova

Journal of Global Catholicism

This paper addresses trajectories of historical and devotional continuity of the annual pilgrimage to a Marian shrine. It analyzes the ways in which traditional worship of the Catholic Church in Letnica (Kosovo)—a major regional sanctuary of the former Yugoslavia—is relocated and replicated in a small chapel of St. Joseph in Skopje (North Macedonia). Both sites have been for a long period of time institutionally connected and shared by followers of different religious traditions (Catholic and Orthodox devotees, and especially by Muslims). Drawing upon fieldwork carried out in Macedonia and Serbia between 2014-2019, I focus on the processes of social construction …

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“Give Me Some Beautiful Holy Images That Are Colorful, Play Music, And Flash!” The Roma Pilgrimage To Csatka, Hungary, István Povedák Jul 2020

“Give Me Some Beautiful Holy Images That Are Colorful, Play Music, And Flash!” The Roma Pilgrimage To Csatka, Hungary, István Povedák

Journal of Global Catholicism

This study introduces the Csatka pilgrimage, which is one of the most significant festive events for Roma in Central and Eastern Europe. Csatka, a small and secluded village, became one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Roma since the mid-20th century. Tens of thousands of Roma, entire families from Hungary and the surrounding countries arrive to the feast on Nativity Day at the beginning of September. For them, however, the rite is not only about religious actions, but also about their powerful role in strengthening Roma ethnic identity. Through the analysis of the rite, we can gain a good …

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Breaching Boundaries: Homogenizing The Dichotomy Between The Sacred And Profane In Csíksomlyó, Zsofia Lovei Jul 2020

Breaching Boundaries: Homogenizing The Dichotomy Between The Sacred And Profane In Csíksomlyó, Zsofia Lovei

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines how a Marian shrine in Csíksomlyó, Transylvania acts as a Foucauldian heterotopia for Magyar speaking individuals, residing in the Carpathian Basin, and beyond in the diaspora most especially during the annual Pentecost pilgrimage. Following introductory remarks on the site and my stance, I turn to methodology, and Hungarian scholarship on the topic. Afterwards, I provide a “thick description” of fieldwork I conducted on-site in May of 2015. I then turn to various theoretical ties, which I support with emic analysis. Lastly, I turn to ideas of heterotopias, and provide a brief formal analysis. My main incentive is …

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Overview And Acknowledgments, Marc Roscoe Loustau Jul 2020

Overview And Acknowledgments, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

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Catholicism In The New Poland: A Religion And Society In Transition, Christopher Garbowski Jul 2020

Catholicism In The New Poland: A Religion And Society In Transition, Christopher Garbowski

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Excerpt: "Polish society is divided along a number of lines; hardly unusual in any contemporary pluralistic society. The new divisions have not been adequately named. Michał Kuź, a Polish political scientist, has coined the self-explanatory terms “localists” and “internationalists” to describe perhaps the most pertinent current divide within European societies.1 These worldview divides are also visible along political party lines. The proportions of the parties of the divide are naturally different in Poland than in countries of the old Europe. It is relatively easy to indicate which of the parties in the political landscape of the country within the localist …

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Roman Catholicism In Ukraine: The Contemporary Situation, Social Acceptance, And Social Service, Tetiana Havryliuk, Maryna Lukashenko Apr 2020

Roman Catholicism In Ukraine: The Contemporary Situation, Social Acceptance, And Social Service, Tetiana Havryliuk, Maryna Lukashenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article investigates the historical peculiarities of the formation and specificity of the current stage of development of Catholicism in Ukraine. It considers the spiritual, socio-cultural, economic, and political prerequisites for the resumption of the activity of the Roman Catholic Church during the revival of Ukraine's independence in the 1990s. A quantitative comparison of dioceses since the end of the last century has been undertaken and their patterns of growth have been identified. The main achievements of the largest Catholic churches in the country since Ukrainian independence have consisted in building its ecclesiastical structures and expanding its community networks and …

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Development Of The Greek Catholic Church In Independent Ukraine: Persons, Historical Heritage, And New Trends, Mykhailo Kobryn, Olena Lyovkina, Hennadii Khrystokin Apr 2020

Development Of The Greek Catholic Church In Independent Ukraine: Persons, Historical Heritage, And New Trends, Mykhailo Kobryn, Olena Lyovkina, Hennadii Khrystokin

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes historical features and tendencies of the development of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (the UGCC) in the period of independence of Ukraine. It considers the prerequisites in which this church has begun its revival in the early 1990s after the official ban on church activity in the Soviet Union. Three stages of the development of the UGCC have been identified which correspond to the times of the various church leaders’ management. The first stage in the development of Greek Catholics corresponds to the time when the community was governed by Ivan-Myroslav Lyubachivsky. The main tasks of that …

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