Sociology of Religion Commons^™

Review Of Monastic Ecological Wisdom: A Living Tradition, Katherine Howard

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Cosmic Partnership: Hildegard Of Bingen’S Vision Of An Integral Ecology, Almut Furchert

The Journal of Social Encounters

Though Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), Benedictine Abbess and polymath, canonized and proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 2012, has been named a patron of ecology, only fragments of her ecological philosophy exist. This article attempts to introduce Hildegard’s polyphonic work by outlining her theology of viriditas as the green thread that connects her cosmological, anthropological, and ethical theory and to show how it constructs the relationship between humanity and creation as a cosmic partnership. Hildegard's striking visual style is not only inspired by her appreciation of the natural world, but deeply grounded in her theology. This theology entails an ethical …

The Riddle Of Religious Language, Luke Hillman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following project analyzes religious life through the lens of religious language. Motivated by ideas of Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinians, religious language is shown to be nonsensical, and yet significant. Wittgenstein connects how we understand language with how we understand life, and this connection extends to religious life. This project offers an answer to how religious language is unique by comparing religious language to riddles and the process of answering riddles. In addition, religious language becomes understandable with imagination, a relationship with the transcendent, and an understanding of the kinds of language present in religious discourse. These ideas are solidified with …

Harmony Or Discord? The Intersection Of Religious Beliefs And International Mindedness, Ranjan Kumar Lima

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

A fundamental concept of the International Baccalaureate (IB) educational philosophy is international mindedness. International mindedness refers to being, thinking, and acting with openness to the world and an understanding of the interconnectedness of oneself with others. Despite extensive research on religious beliefs and international mindedness separately, there remains a dearth of studies exploring their intersection, especially among the International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers in their early professional years. This study examines how the religious beliefs of early adult and early-career International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers influence their perceptions and manifestations of international mindedness. This study utilizes phenomenological research strategies. It involves eight …

Inciting Peace From The Inside Out, Stephen G. Adubato, Ebere Bosco Amakwe, Katherine Hinic, Sarita Maldjian, Forrest Pritchett, Jon Radwan, Nicholas Sooy, Chad Thralls

Conferences

Violence and war can be incited, and so can peace. This volume shares select addresses and responses from Seton Hall University’s 2/7/23 conference “Inciting Peace From The Inside Out.” A multi-disciplinary range of scholars each addresses how reconciliation processes grow from spiritual dynamics. Multiple religious traditions teach contemplative praxes that prioritize and nurture personal reflection oriented toward peace. Social conflicts divide, so engaging them with a partisan orientation only serves to escalate harmful rifts. In contrast, bringing personal awareness and sensitivity, spiritual balance, and holistic integral perspective to conflict can transcend divisions and work toward unity. This volume is supported …

Review Of Saul Alinsky And The Dilemmas Of Race: Community Organizing In The Postwar City // Review Of God And Community Organizing: A Covenantal Approach, William Droel

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of No Guilty Bystander: The Extraordinary Life Of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Tom Cordaro

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of For God And My Country: Catholic Leadership In Modern Uganda, John Ashworth

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Playing God: American Catholic Bishops And The Far Right, Daniel R. Dileo

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of My Soul’S Journey To Redefine Leadership, Patricia Mische

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Ecomartyrdom In The Americas: Living And Dying For Our Common Home, Caesar A. Montevecchio

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

In Memory Of Bishop Paride Taban, Sara Ketelaar, Fr. Peter Mbaro, John Ashworth, Fr. Joseph G. Healey, Rosanne Fischer, William O’Keefe

The Journal of Social Encounters

The Journal of Social Encounters mourns the loss, and celebrates the life, of the much-loved Bishop Paride Taban. We thank our authors below for sharing their reflections on him. In his memory, we also re-print an essay about him by Alberto Eisman Torres, A Beacon of Hope in a Troubled Context: Sketches of the Life of Mons. Paride Taban, Shepherd and Bridge-builder, an essay in our special collection on Peace Bishops. I was blessed to know Bisop Taban, and would see him in Nairobi and in Minnesota. One of his associates was a student of mine at the Catholic …

Review Essay: An Apostolate Of Friendship: Recent Publications On The Letters And Conferences Of Thomas Merton, Paul Pynkoski

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Mitri Raheb On Christian Zionism, Loren D. Lybarger

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Receiving Pope Francis’S Condemnation Of Nuclear Weapons, William J. Collinge

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Peace Bishop: Bishop Nicolas Djoma Lola -- Bishop Of Tshumbé, Stephen R. Hilbert

The Journal of Social Encounters

Fr. Nicolas Djomo Lola was appointed a bishop in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1997 and immediately was thrust into a brutal war between Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire that lasted through 2003. That conflict exacerbated deadly ethnic conflicts in the eastern provinces of the Congo that continue to this day. Bishop Djomo, driven by his belief that Jesus Christ calls all people to build peace, and protect people from violence responded to this war and chaos in remarkable ways. He led a delegation of the Central Africa Bishops to advocate with the Presidents of Burundi, Rwanda and …

Pacem In Terris: Historical Context & The Call For Global Governance, Joseph J. Fahey

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay examines the historical context that led to Pope John XXIII’s proposal for a global “public authority” in his April 11, 1963, encyclical letter, Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth). The catalyst for this letter was the Cuban Missile Crisis that occurred between October 22 and October 29, 1962. Pope John offered to mediate that crisis, and President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev agreed and eventually came to an agreement not only to end the crisis but also to negotiate a limited nuclear test ban treaty. In the last year of his life, a time for him …

Eco-Virtue Ethics And Anthropological Commitments Of Laudato Si’ And Laudate Deum: Towards A Renewed Integral Ecology, Ugochukwu Stophynus Anyanwu

The Journal of Social Encounters

The Fourth Chapter of Laudato Si’ (LS) of Pope Francis deals with the theme of ‘Integral Ecology’ from a religious tradition. This chapter can be interpreted as the fulcrum of the encyclical because of the density of its anthropological and ethical considerations. The theme of this chapter has informed a more emphatic presentation in the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum (LD) on the climatic challenges confronting humanity. Both documents, with incomparable courage and novelty, offer enriching ethical discourses for advancing social, cultural, and human ecology in consonance with social justice, common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. They contain the magisterial appeal that …

Islam And The Environment, Jon Armajani

The Journal of Social Encounters

This is a transcript of a presentation at the Thirty-Fourth Annual Peace Studies Conference at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University on September 18, 2023. The presentation provides (1) some background information about Islam; (2) related ideas about Christianity; (3) a discussion of some verses in the Quran, which relate to the environment, and some Islamic interpretations of them; (4) an analysis of Ibrahim Abdul-Matin’s ideas on Islam and the environment; and (5) a tribute to Father Rene McGraw, OSB.

Benedictine Life And Care For The Environment, John Klassen O.S.B.

The Journal of Social Encounters

In this presentation I want to show in simple terms how monastic life provides spiritual practices for our community to live the Gospel in a way that is responsive and respectful to the environment. Consequently, I organize my presentation around four words or phrases from the Rule of Benedict (RB). The first one is the community of goods. The second is stability. Thethird is frugality, and the fourth is a contemplative stance. These four words or phrases provide the frame for this presentation and are central to spirituality of the Rule of Saint Benedict.

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Richard Wood, Mathew N. Schmalz, Richard Wood

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Different Forms Of Power In Worship Spaces, Patrick Russell

Obsculta

This project examines the importance of power in a worship space. In particular, looking at the historical structures of St. Paul's Cathedral in London and St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, this paper strives to lay out the presence of power inherent in places of worship. While other aspects could be used: power as a political structure, power of shared identity, power of scale, and power as a means of limits are given here for consideration.

Benedicta Riepp: An Analysis Of Structural Elements In Her Life, Mary L. Parks

Obsculta

Mother Benedicta Riepp struggled at a great personal cost for autonomy on behalf of North American Benedictine women. Her efforts ultimately led to the reshaping of the Benedictine tradition for women in the United States. This paper analyzes some of the most significant structural elements in Mother Benedicta’s life.

Feminized Servanthood, Gendered Scapegoating, And The Disappearance Of Gen-X/Millennial Protestant Clergy Women, Lynn Horan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In today’s mainline Protestant churches, young women clergy navigate a precarious leadership space. While women’s ordination is well-established in American Protestantism (Burnett, 2017), Gen-X/Millennial clergy women find themselves at the crosshairs of conflicting gender narratives and unsustainable expectations of what it means to be both a woman and an ordained pastoral leader. Through the use of feminist constructivist grounded theory methodology, this study explored the lived experiences of Gen-X/Millennial clergy women who have left active ministry or a specific pastoral position due to concerns over their own interpersonal boundaries and psychological safety. Through dimensional analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 …

Interviews In Global Catholicism: Dr. Petra Kuivala, Petra Kuivala

Journal of Global Catholicism

Interview with Dr. Petra Kuivala, University of Eastern Finland

The Fall And Rise Of Bengali Muslim Conciousness: Conceptualising The Identity Of The Bangla Universal, Habib Khan

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of modern-nation states saw the end of the empirical era of exploitation and exercise of inherent racist tendencies towards the 'other'. However, the effect of that colonial system is still ever-present in the creation and governance of these newly independent states. While every new state aims to be 'modern', they adopt the international legal framework of the West as their own - a system they had initially wanted to escape. The concept of Muslim universality in the form of the ummah should have freed Pakistan from the shackles of its former colonial masters. Instead, this phenomenon was replaced …

Theological Implications Of The Symbols And Signs In The Sacrament Of Matrimony Of The Syro-Malabar Church, Nelson Mathew O. Carm.

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article discusses the significance of the signs and symbols used in the sacrament of the marriage of the Syro-Malabar Church and the adaptations from different cultures, particularly the Hindu culture of India. It concentrates on the specific elements found in the marriage celebration of the St. Thomas Christians. The rituals that are unique to the Sacrament of Matrimony of the Syro-Malabar Church, mainly expressed through symbols and signs, remain a significant contribution to the liturgy, spirituality, and theology of the Sacrament of Matrimony, and to the theology of inculturation. In the Syro-Malabar liturgy, marriage rituals, and signs and symbols …

Rethinking The Panata To The Nazareno Of Quiapo, Wilson Espiritu Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

Filipino Catholicism’s hallmark is its festive and colorful celebrations of popular piety, which exhibit the Catholic faith’s embeddedness in people’s lives and culture. One of the most renowned Filipino devotions is rendered to Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno of Quiapo, Manila. The devotion of making a pledge to the Nazareno, known as panata, is commonly understood as a sacred promise that must be kept in return for a request that is granted. In this paper, I propose a theological reading of panata performance that unites devotion to the Nazareno and commitment to the wellbeing of others. This interpretation aims to …

Overview & Acknowledgments, Marc R. Loustau Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

An introduction to the current issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism.

New Commandments, Jacob Sussman

Masters Theses

I reach into the earth, pull out mud-encrusted objects, and recombine them to define new meanings. With every object transposed, the past breaks down; new potentials form. “New Commandments” recombines historical symbolism through an intuitive building, destroying, and merging to reimagine or re-establish meaning.

The work critiques rites of passage, masculinity, and stereotypes by deconstructing how histories, ideologies, and preconceptions form.

As a queer person raised in-between Judaism and Christianity, social preconceptions and religious expectations festered my formation. Our choice is taken away at this moment of conception. To take back autonomy, I reimagine historical, and religious symbolism and transmute …