{"title":"The Potential of Spirituality for the Treatment of Organizational Trauma","authors":"Dušan Kučera","doi":"10.4018/978-1-5225-2021-4.CH013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-2021-4.CH013","url":null,"abstract":"The spiritual approach in dealing with organizational trauma is still relatively uncommon in business management literature. This chapter attempts to show the complexity of the problem through getting over the traditional framework of managerial psychology as defined by modern Western thought. Inspired by the holistic concept of man, the author transcends the usual managerial horizon and introduces a new perspective, which touches on the problem of the meaning of work within the context of the purpose of human life. The description of traumatic experiences in an organization is connected with feelings of guilt, the crisis of the concept of justice, the problem of forgiveness, and finding the inner energy to overcome the trauma and huge disappointment. Organizational trauma may develop into a personal and organizational crisis. This chapter tackles the potential of spirituality (human faith and hope) that gives a new meaning to life and work. Spirituality is connected with some religious systems. It can be instrumental in finding an appropriate treatment.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"60 39","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72445525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Islamic Philanthropy as a “Discursive Tradition”","authors":"Sabith Khan","doi":"10.4018/978-1-4666-9664-8.CH008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-9664-8.CH008","url":null,"abstract":"By examining philanthropy towards Zaytuna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the U.S. and ISNA, and contextualizing it in the discourses of giving among American Muslims, this paper seeks to offer a theoretical framework for contextualizing Islamic philanthropy during ‘crisis'. I argue that philanthropy in this context should be seen as a gradually evolving ‘discursive tradition,' and not an unchanging one. Given the discourse of Islam in America being one framed in the rubric of ‘crisis,' and the attempts by American Muslim organizations to garner philanthropic support using this framework; it is important to understand how certain crisis situations impacted discourses of philanthropy towards this sector. This paper attempts a Foucaldian analysis of how American Muslims negotiate this discursive tension in the realm of giving. I build on the work of various scholars and offer a framework that treats philanthropy towards Islamic schools, cultural and educational institutions as a ‘discursive tradition' to understand how the dynamics of philanthropy are changing in this sector. I propose that a discursive approach could also offer us new insights into how philanthropy is being transformed, under certain institutional constraints and relations of power.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84014061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Great Risk for the Kingdom","authors":"Mark Alan Charles Jennings","doi":"10.4018/978-1-7998-2457-2.ch011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2457-2.ch011","url":null,"abstract":"Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity (“PCC”) has successfully navigated the challenges modernity poses to religion, growing rapidly in the twentieth century. Toward the end of the twentieth century, however, neoliberalism began its ascent to its current hegemonic status. Neoliberalism reconfigures social institutions as marketized practices with a measurable ‘payoff'. PCC adapted to this challenge in the form of a “growth churches,” adopting many of the characteristics of neoliberalism. In adopting a homogenous model and method of ‘best practice' in order to facilitate growth; offering a ‘prosperity' theology that fits well with the development of human capital; and endorsing the universalization of risk through modelling “pastorpreneur” leadership, it is argued in this chapter that growth churches are a paradigmatic example of a late modern religious phenomenon accommodating neoliberalism in a largely uncritical manner. The chapter concludes with some observations that critique this association between neoliberalism and growth churches.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"225 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85978121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Amplification of the Sunni-Shia Divide Through Contemporary Communications Technology","authors":"George A. Stairs","doi":"10.4018/978-1-7998-2457-2.ch027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2457-2.ch027","url":null,"abstract":"The Sunni-Shia divide has once more returned to the global popular lexicon. However, this contemporary form of the allegedly age-old schism within Islam in fact differs significantly from historical cases. It has primarily come to the fore again as various actors have invoked it, and the fear it brings, in order to frame the conflicts they currently wage both overtly and covertly in more favourable terms. The purpose of this chapter is to examine this phenomenon, with particular focus on the Syrian Civil War, and the wider regional struggles for hegemony. It will further look at how modern communication technologies have permitted actors to spread their narratives much more effectively than ever before, and how the international community might arrest the exacerbation of this divide, and slow the sectarian violence currently plaguing the region.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90680884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ISIS Rhetoric for the Creation of the Ummah","authors":"Amaryllis Maria Georges","doi":"10.4018/978-1-5225-0081-0.CH010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0081-0.CH010","url":null,"abstract":"I intend to examine the linguistic strategy used by ISIS as a means through which it creates the concept of the Muslim Ummah, which seeks to emphasize the unity of an international Muslim community based off the power of Islam. I apply a Critical Discourse Analysis for the study of Baghdadi's sermon on 4 July 2014 where he declared the establishment of the Caliphate and himself as the Caliph. Baghdadi's discourse creates a new communal identity from a Muslim populace who may have felt marginalized due to their religion in their countries of residence. It is through this discourse that he structures the Ummah loyal to the Caliphate in two ways: a) by summoning Islam to create a singular global Muslim body and the establishment of a Caliphate; and b) the structuring of an indiscriminate opponent, one that conflicts with the “camp of Islam”. The method of convincing and generating consent – of institutionalizing jihad - goes beyond propaganda; it necessitates the formation of an entirely novel lexicon, a narrative that fosters support while concurrently quashing any singular qualms.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"90 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89061533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Forgiveness in the Face of Hate","authors":"Nadine V Wedderburn, R. E. Carey","doi":"10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.CH016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.CH016","url":null,"abstract":"The June 2015 killing of nine African-Americans by a white male shooter in Charleston, South Carolina re-ignited intense discussions around the relationship of race, justice, and faith in the U.S. Within two days of the massacre, members of the victims' families were shown openly offering forgiveness to the accused killer and praying God's mercy on his soul. This seemingly quick offer of clemency raises penetrating questions concerning the value and purpose of the act of forgiveness, arguably an act of pure grace. This chapter shows that forgiveness, as a complex Christian practice, casts an extraordinary light on structures of identity and the politics of privilege in the U.S. In doing so, forgiveness exposes the myth of a “post-racial America” and reveals the deeply-rooted and longstanding systems of racial oppression and discrimination in American society. Structured around key guiding questions, the chapter provides a way to think through the meaning of forgiveness towards developing an approach to dismantling structures of exclusion that are the hallmark of a racial world view.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87003538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spiritual Factors in the Experience of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias","authors":"Elizabeth MacKinlay, C. Trevitt","doi":"10.4018/978-1-4666-8478-2.ch010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8478-2.ch010","url":null,"abstract":"Alzheimer's disease and other dementias raise important questions of personhood and connection for those affected. Finding meaning in the face of dementia is one of the most challenging aspects of dementia; spiritual reminiscence is a way of connecting with those with dementia when their cognitive decline seems to preclude them from participating in a meaningful life. In this chapter a context for spirituality in later life is given through description of the spiritual tasks and process of ageing. This leads to presentation of work based on a mixed methods study of 113 people in residential aged care with a diagnosis of dementia who participated in either six or 24 weeks of weekly sessions of guided spiritual reminiscence (MacKinlay & Trevitt, 2012). Relationship was found to be almost synonymous with meaning for these people. Other important themes identified were vulnerability and transcendence, wisdom, hope, despair, and response to meaning.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84552143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Jewish-Arab Intercultural Encounters and the Discourse of the Holocaust on Mutual Perceptions","authors":"Ben Mollov, Chaim Lavie","doi":"10.4018/978-1-5225-0078-0.CH010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0078-0.CH010","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter will focus on two main approaches connected to seeking to advance both Jewish-Arab relations in the State of Israel and between Israelis and Palestinians with emphasis on inter-religious and intercultural dimensions for dialogue and peace education. Based on both qualitative and quantitative assessments, these approaches focus: (1) on the impact of intercultural dialogue encounters between Israelis and Palestinians, and Arabs and Jews within Israel in a number of venues for mutual perception change; and (2) the possibilities of joint Jewish-Arab study of the European Jewish Holocaust and a visit to Holocaust memorial sites in Poland as a vehicle for dialogue and constructive relationship building. Based on both theory and case studies it will be contended that such inter-religious/intercultural encounters along with a focus on the discourse of the Holocaust, can if properly framed help to promote more positive Jewish-Arab mutual perceptions and advance efforts for peace education.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"54 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85193797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Literary History as National History","authors":"Parisa Shiran","doi":"10.4018/978-1-7998-2457-2.ch026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2457-2.ch026","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter argues that the roots of Persian culture are in Persian poetry. The high esteem in which classical Persian poetry is held among Iranians is well known. This rich literary tradition provides enormous resources for a distinct Persian identity. However, unlike the commonly held perception that Iranian identity is a pre-Islamic construct with deep roots in the Persian cultural heritage of the Great Persia, this chapter reasserts the status of classical Persian poetry as an Islamic literary tradition, one that has had an enormous influence on Iranian society and culture. The creation of a distinct Persian Islamic identity has historically been a “cohesive force,” and this essential Islamic element must be recognized and acknowledged before any verdict about Persian identity can be reached. The chapter discusses the vast influence of Islamic mysticism on classical Persian poetry and its subsequent shaping of Iranian culture.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"301 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73371302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Religion, Church, and Public Space","authors":"Gheorghe Petraru","doi":"10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.CH006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.CH006","url":null,"abstract":"The present text is divided into three chapters and deals with the intrinsic religious dimension of man as being of communion from an ontological viewpoint and in relation with God, her Creator and Supporter in this mundane existence. This existence is open to eternity as a real personal and communitarian communion in the dynamics of spiritual growth. For Christians, the Church is the path of genuine and redeeming communion with God the Trinity as shown in the foundational biblical metanarrative, typologically interpreted by Christian theology, and spiritually experienced by practicing believers. Sacramentally, this happens through prayer, through the reading of the holy text, and the liturgical and Eucharistic gathering that celebrates the real sacrament of God's presence for us. The relation between the Church with the State in modern and postmodern times testifies to the change in mindset that has occurred by means of the ideological absolutisation of the state and the theoretical marginalization or atomization of religion. On the one hand, this shows the inconsistency of the project and on the other hand, the impossibility to fight with the religious soul of humanity, the religious dimension inherently and intrinsically structured in the ontological relationship between human and divine, in any mundane historical context.","PeriodicalId":41841,"journal":{"name":"Religion and Theology-A Journal of Contemporary Religious Discourse","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74925761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}