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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Seeing Witchcraft, Bernhard Udelhoven Dec 2017

Seeing Witchcraft, Bernhard Udelhoven

Journal of Global Catholicism

When Christians in Zambia struggle with witchcraft, they also struggle with African cultural and religious concepts that deal with life’s ambiguities and that require discernment. It is not by working against the cultural and religious heritage, but by working with it, as far as possible, that the pastor can identify the broken relationships towards which many witchcraft discourses point. However, before we place the concepts of witchcraft into the realm of superstition (as are the trends of mission Christianity) or the demonic (as are the trends of charismatic Christianity), the Church has the duty to look at the concepts, stay …


Interreligious Action As A Force For Peace, Shamsia Ramadhan Aug 2017

Interreligious Action As A Force For Peace, Shamsia Ramadhan

The Journal of Social Encounters

Every religion displays an inclination toward peace through its leaders and thinkers. This can be seen by the number of religious actors who have played a role in resolving conflicts in different parts of the world. Catholic religious leaders have played a leading role in mediating conflicts in Africa, Asia and Latin America. An Iman and a pastor from Nigeria inspire communities to forgive and foster co-existence. There are many other examples. Although there is evidence of religious commitment to peace, the reverse also is true (see Toft et al., 2011). While some believers innovatively use religious resources in promoting …


Toward An Integral Catholic Peacebuilding, Gerard Powers Aug 2017

Toward An Integral Catholic Peacebuilding, Gerard Powers

The Journal of Social Encounters

Among the many under-examined aspects of Catholic approaches to peacebuilding are its ecclesiological and practical dimensions. This article suggests that an Integral Catholic Peacebuilding calls for deepening the Catholic community’s commitment to peacebuilding as a vocation, especially by reinvigorating the lay vocation; cultivating distinctively Catholic approaches to peacebuilding while engaging inclusively, especially through strategic approaches to ecumenical and inter-religious engagement; and promoting greater integration by examining the interconnections among disparate factors and issues, and giving priority to effective collaboration among vertical and horizontal levels, and different sectors of the Catholic community