Journal for the Study of Religion最新文献

{"title":"Reflection in practice as source of values: The cross-cultural creation of a health-care ethic in post-apartheid South Africa","authors":"Augustine Shutte","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A10","url":null,"abstract":"As a starting-point, in his well-known definition of a ‘practice’, Alasdair MacIntyre argues that the ‘reflection’ involved in ‘practice’, is best understood as a dialogue between different partners, whether individuals or groups. Such reflection, aimed as it is at the achievement of excellence in the practice concerned, can (if pursued with rigour and commitment), uncover values embedded in the practice which, however limited the practice (rugby, gardening), have a wider, even universal, scope. When the partners in dialogue have general recognition of one another (religions, countries, professional bodies, political parties), these values can provide materials for a Global Ethic (Parliament of the World’s Religions), that is constructed from the bottom up (the Oregon Plan), rather than by some public authority (the United Nations). This article provides grounds for this view by examining the practice of health-care in post-apartheid South Africa, and the co-reflection of scientific health-care professionals and traditional healers, that are part of constructing a new model for health-care that better serves the needs of all South Africans. This dialogue may uncover values whose scope is wider than that of health-care and which could provide a really humane foundation for a society containing different cultures. Keywords: practice, Alisdair MacIntyre, reflection, values, culture/s, ethic, health-care professionals, traditional healers","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489175","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":"Ironies of Christian Presence in Southern Africa","authors":"S. Masondo","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N2A10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N2A10","url":null,"abstract":"Christianity was meant to be one of the most potent weapons in the armory of European Imperialism. John Philip characterized mission stations as the cheapest and the best military posts any wise government can employ to defend its frontiers against the predatory incursions of savage tribes (Villa-Vicencio 1988:44). Christianity was meant to colonize the conscience and consciousness of the colonized in ways that would make them lose their indigenousness. It was meant to ‘make’ or ‘create’ the colonized in the image of the colonizer. The irony of this situation is that, among other things, it created conditions for the desire among the colonized to be free; it contributed to the emergence of African Nationalism through notions like ‘brotherhood’ and ‘oneness in Christ’. It became a serious problem for the Christianized and educated natives to find themselves excluded from the Christian family on the basis of their ethnicity. David Chidester’s work on the history of religion in Southern Africa provides a very useful background for exploring the ironies of Christian presence in Southern Africa. Lamin Sanneh’s observation about the role played by indigenous religions to enable both Islam and Christianity to take root is invoked in this context. Christianity became part of the complex that laid the foundations for African nationalism and the pan-Africanist ideology. It provided a platform in mission stations and mission schools for the forging of a unified African identity. Education, given to Africans to become ‘civilized’ and alienated from their African compatriots, instead, helped in creating a consciousness for liberation among the oppressed Africans.Keywords: missionaries, Christianity, African Traditional Religion","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489208","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":"Sexual Surveillance and Student Sexual Agency: Catholic Moral Teaching and HIV Prevention in a Higher Education Context","authors":"Albert Billy Bangirana, Sarojini Nadar, S. Reddy","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A5","url":null,"abstract":"Studies on HIV infection and prevalence at South African University Campuses reveal high levels of HIV infection and prevalence among students. Statistics reveal higher infection rates for female students. It is postulated that these statistics may be attributed to sustained high risk behaviour[s] at university campuses. However, these largely quantitative studies lack a qualitative analysis of the factors associated with high-risk behaviour. Within studies on HIV, there is a significant body of literature that makes linkages to religion, gender and sexuality. What appears to be missing is a focus on Higher education, in particular on how university students might experience HIV prevention models. In discussions on HIV prevention, religion is often seen as providing a moral compass for sexual behaviour. Using surveillance theory and Foucault’s theory of power or forces in relation to sexuality, this article critiques the notion of a moral compass by interrogating the foundational teachings of the Catholic Church’s HIV prevention model. The article suggests that Albert Bandura’s ‘self-reactive selfhood reasoning’ provides a more adequate moral reasoning framework for students’ sexual agency than the Church’s framework which is hegemonic and hierarchical.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67488770","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":"Equally able, differently looking: discrimination and physical violence against persons with albinism in Ghana","authors":"F. Benyah","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N1A7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N1A7","url":null,"abstract":"Albinism, an inherited condition from birth as a result of the lack of melanin pigment which usually changes the colour of the skin, hair and eyes, is usually greeted with resentment in most African communities. In Ghana, some communities and families consider it a misfortune to give birth to Albinos and hence, attempts are made to either kill them at birth or banish them from the community. They are constantly abused and ridiculed by the public with derogatory names and social tags that serve as a form of stigmatization. Evidently, it is clear that the discrimination against albinos in Ghana are underlain by religious and cultural beliefs. This article takes into perspective how religious beliefs and cultural values contribute to the plight of albinos in Ghana and further, discusses how the inculturation of human rights can help mitigate the violence that is perpetrated against persons with albinism.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67488914","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 Ambivalence of Freedom of Religion, and Unearthing the Unlearnt Lessons of Religious Freedom from the Jonestown Incident: A Decoloniality Approach","authors":"B. Dube, M. Nkoane, D. Hlalele","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A14","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A14","url":null,"abstract":"The article interrogates and problematises the concept of freedom of religion in South Africa by drawing on unlearnt lessons from the Jonestown incident. The South African constitution provides for the right to freedom of religion; unfortunately, the implementation of this right has evoked various unforeseen trajectories, such as abuse, commercialisation of religion and violation of human rights. The article argues that freedom of religion is being misinterpreted and misunderstood; as a result, religion, as it is practiced, has caused it to become a social pathology. To problematise religious freedom, we earth this article in decoloniality, of which one agenda is to challenge all forms of coloniality as manifested through religious discourses. The main argument of the article is that freedom of religion in South Africa needs to be redefined, reconceptualised and reconstructed, not only through the lens of theological orientation, but also sociologically, constitutionally and with respect to human rights.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489012","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":"Reconstructing the Distorted Image of Women as Reproductive Labour on the Copperbelt Mines in Zambia (1920-1954)","authors":"L. Siwila","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A3","url":null,"abstract":"The article addresses the conceptualising of the presence of women in the Copperbelt mine compound in Zambia during the period 1920 -1954. Like many other mining companies across Southern Africa, The British South African Company which owned the mining rights on the Copperbelt imposed certain restrictions on women who came to the Copperbelt province. Initially mine owners did not favour the idea of allowing women to live in the mine compound for the fact that women were seen as a distraction to production in the mines. The outcome of this decision was that as time went by, most of the men left their jobs to return to the villages to be with their spouses. Those who were single took advantage of the neighbouring villages during weekends and stayed on with their girlfriends and sometimes only returned back for work later in the week. This affected production in the mines and made the mine bosses to propose rules on how to incorporate women in the mine compounds. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how patriarchy played an important role in excluding women from participating in the economic development that took place on the Copperbelt during that period. The article further highlights ways in which the colonial government displayed some ambiguities in the exclusion and inclusion of women in the economic development of the Copperbelt mines. It will also show how labour markets exploited women’s rights to participate in the economic development in the Copperbelt and how, when access was granted, women’s productive and reproductive labour was used as part of an economic drive strategy. It also further argues that when it comes to women’s bodies, throughout history, religion has played an important role in defiling women’s bodies. It is this negative perception that was also perceived in the mining company in the Copperbelt during the period under study. While women were seen as a threat to economic development, their presence in the Copperbelt also played a significant role in the economic Lilian Cheelo Siwila 76 development of the Copperbelt mining companies. Therefore, women’s contribution during the foundation of modern African life in Zambia needs to be acknowledged in our intellectualising of the development of the Copperbelt mines.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489069","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":"An analysis of the epistemic link between the Catholic religion and violence in Uganda's history","authors":"Kizito Kiyimba","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N1A2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N1A2","url":null,"abstract":"Uganda’s recent history of violence has had an interesting characteristic: it has arguably been mainly within the Christian and more specifically Catholic religious space. I examine four cases of religious-related violence in order to cipher the epistemic roots of such violence. The four cases are: the Uganda Martyrs; Ms Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirit Movement; Mr Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army; and Ms Ceredonia Mwerinde and the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. I examine the literature critically in order to test the plausibility of various positions on the possible link between the Catholic religion and violence in Uganda. My analysis looks at the links both from the point of view of the perpetrators of violence and the adherent/victims of the violence. In the end, I find that the epistemic links are more justificatory/explanatory than they are causal.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67488796","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":"Invisibilising the victimised: churches in Manicaland and women's experiences of political violence in national healing and reconciliation in Zimbabwe","authors":"M. Manyonganise","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N1A5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N1A5","url":null,"abstract":"Zimbabwe’s political history from 2000 to the present epoch has been characterized by violence. This violence reached its peak in 2008 when ZANU PF was defeated at the polls by the opposition party, MDC-T. The violence resulted in hundreds of people losing their lives while many more were maimed, displaced and/or sexually abused. In this context of political violence, various church groups emerged as the church in Zimbabwe broke its culture of silence and sought to condemn the deployment of divisive politics and the use of political violence as a means to political gain. One such group that emerged in 2000 is a forum of churches in the province of Manicaland called Churches in Manicaland (CiM). From the onset, CiM sought to bring healing to victims of political violence as well as reconciliation of communities in Manicaland through a number of activities. The 2008 political violence resulted in the signing of the Global Political Agreement in which the issue of national healing and reconciliation became officialised and critical national institutions (the church included) were implored to play their roles meaningfully. However, scholars on national healing and reconciliation have noted how gender is often not part of reconstruction processes in post-conflict nations. What this paper seeks to do is to evaluate CiM’s approach to gender in its participation in the national healing and reconciliation process in Zimbabwe, both at an unofficial level from 2000 and at the official level from 2008. Drawing on original empirical research (focus groups and interviews), the paper shows how CiM has adopted a general approach to the national healing and reconciliation Churches in Manicaland and Women’s Experiences of Political Violence 111 process, which has made women’s experiences of political violence invisible. It is envisaged that this is one way of informing the church to bring to the ‘centre’ women’s experiences of political violence.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67488864","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":"Holy Toledo: Muslim-Christian Relations and Catholic Nationalism in Vicente Blasco Ibánez's The Shadow of the Cathedral","authors":"F. Hale","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A12","url":null,"abstract":"Although the eminent Spanish novelist and anticlericalist Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (1867-1928) received little scholarly attention outside his homeland for several decades, he gained significantly greater international notice in the latter half of the twentieth century. His novel of 1903, La Catedral, published in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America six years later as The Shadow of the Cathedral, is a scathing indictment of the conservative Roman Catholic religious establishment in Spain. Blasco Ibáñez faulted its intolerant monopoly on national spiritual life for much of the country’s cultural, political, and economic backwardness. Relying heavily on the subsequently discredited nineteenth-century belief that Andalusian Spain had been a model of religious toleration under Islamic hegemony for many generations following the Moorish invasion in the eight century and that this had fostered a golden era of cultural flourishing, he argued for the dismantling of Catholic privilege in favour of secularism, toleration, and pluralistic religious freedom to spur the country out of its stagnancy. This article explores both the construction and recent dismantling of the myth of religious harmony in Moorish Spain and how that perception of the Middle Ages is used rhetorically in The Shadow of the Cathedral.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67488963","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":"Symbolic Dimensions of 19th Century Dutch Colonial Settlement at the Cape of Good Hope","authors":"F. Frescura","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2017/V30N2A13","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67488999","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}