Journal for the Study of Religion最新文献

{"title":"'Sanctifying sex': exploring 'indecent' sexual imagery in pentecostal liturgical practices","authors":"Sarojini Nadar, Johnathan Jodamus","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2019/V32N1A5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2019/V32N1A5","url":null,"abstract":"Pentecostalism, like many other church traditions, is well known for its fixation with doctrinal dualisms which enforce a separation of body and spirit, and a Puritan sexual ethic. These conservative sexual norms have led to the policing of bodies and sexual practices. As a result, instead of encouraging safer sexual practices, the churches have been known to enforce abstinence outside of marriage, or sexual restrictions within it, thus marking sex in general as ‘inde-cent’. Some of the consequences of this repression of sexuality are young people being forced into early marriages to avoid ‘living in sin’, teenage pregnancies as a consequence of not wanting to disobey the church’s teaching on sex and contraceptives, as well as more serious consequences of unbridled sexual expressions resulting in sexually transmitted viruses. The consequences of a repressed sexuality are indeed serious. However, what if this ‘repressive hypothesis’ can be challenged within Pentecostal spaces? What if, like Foucault suggests, a deeper engagement with the subject matter would show, not sexual censorship, but rather a re-channeling of sexuality? Drawing on Foucault’s challenge to the repressive hypothesis, where he suggests that so-called repressed sexuality finds ‘appropriate’ outlets in spaces such as psychi-atry and prostitution, this essay suggests a third outlet, namely Pentecostalism. While particular sexual discourses may be constructed as indecent and conta-minated as ‘sin’, liturgical and deliverance practices ironically signify erotic relationships between the divine and the believer. Proceeding with an ‘in-decent’ theological lens, as proposed by Marcella Althaus-Reid, we argue that Pentecostalism’s liturgical practices ironically and unconsciously open up possibilities for more embodied, real, and sexed experiences of the divine. This consideration not only expands the interpretive possibilities for how we mark relationships with the divine, but also how sexual relationships between humans are shaped and possibly destigmatized. In taking a sneak peek ‘under God’s skirt’, in Althaus-Reid’s words, we reimagine the indecent as sacred. Through an analysis of how bodies and rituals are marked by discursive prac-tices within the songs and performances in these churches and an examination of a blasphemy case, this essay lays bare the critical spaces available for more embodied theologies – ‘sexual healing’ that perhaps even the worshipers them-selves have unconsciously ignored.Keywords: Pentecostalism, sexuality, indecent theologies, embodiment, Foucault","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489656","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":"Can the Rwandan Catholic Church Overcome its History of Politicization? A Reply to Philippe Denis","authors":"A. Court","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n2a2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n2a2","url":null,"abstract":"Scholarly interest in Rwanda ranges across all aspects of its history. A substantial body of influential research appeared particularly during the two decades following independence in 1962. These contributions together with earlier work constitute the bedrock of later research, including the intensive focus on the mass violence in Rwanda during the first half of the 1990s and its consequences for the Great Lakes region. One of the most controversial questions to emerge from the occurrences of the 1990s has been the role of the churches, and particularly the dominant Roman Catholic Church, in the violence manifesting in its most extreme form in the genocide of 1994. This article addresses the claim by the scholar Philippe Denis in his essay ‘Christian gacaca and official gacaca in post-genocide Rwanda’ (Denis 2019:1-27 of 27) that the Rwandan Catholic Church has played a leading role in the difficult process of post-genocide reconciliation. Denis provides us with an authoritative account of the emergence and functioning of the Christian gacaca and its relation to the official, state-sponsored gacaca. Moreover, he presents grounds for his claim that this pastoral initiative helped to alleviate the tension that arose between the church and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)-dominated state in the aftermath of the genocide when the institutional church was widely condemned for its silence during the genocide and even for its complicity in the genocide. The question that I wish to pose is whether, by not broadening the focus placed by the church on the problem of ethnic animosity or ‘ethnocentrism’ as the principal causal factor that ‘led’ to the genocide, Denis does not elide a range of trigger factors that should be taken into account in any assessment of both the genocide and the church’s role in it. I aim to show that, by not taking into account these important factors and their relevance for interpreting the historically close ties between church and state, Denis tends to endorse the church’s reductionist interpretation of the history of intergroup conflict and mass violence, which it attributes almost exclusively to ethnic animosity. Consequently, when in the aftermath of the genocide, the church declared that ‘ethnism’ lay at the heart of all social and political ills, moreover refusing to acknowledge its own role in propagating a state ideology of ethnic racism, it not only risked re-inscribing a binary-logic that guided its thinking and defined its role in the Rwandan politics throughout the 20th century, but also deflected attention away from its problematic assumption of moral authority to mediate between perpetrators and victims/survivors. Keywords: Christian gacaca, Rwandan Catholic Church, genocide, ethnicity, ethnocentrism, ethnism","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489776","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":"Christiane Kruse, Birgit Meyer, and Anne-Marie Korte (eds.) 2018. Taking offense: Religion, art and visual culture in plural configurations. Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. 383 pages. ISBN: 978-3-7705-6345-6","authors":"T. Wilks","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n1ar1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n1ar1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489759","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":"Open Space Worship: A Religious Identity of the Johane Masowe Chishanu Church in Zimbabwe","authors":"Phillip Musoni, P. Gundani","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n2a4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n2a4","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines ‘open space’ worship that has typified the religious identity of the Johane Masowe Chishanu Church (‘John of the wilderness’ Church that congregates on Fridays) in Zimbabwe. The Johane Masowe Chishanu Church (JMCC) is a Zimbabwean African indigenous church with branches in many countries. These congregations, being in Zimbabwe and other countries, are recognizable by their white garments and gatherings in open spaces for church services. The practice of congregating in open spaces has been condemned by city fathers, town planners, and government autho-rities guided by health policies and by-laws (Lubinda 2015; Ncube 2016). In spite of these condemnations, the JMCC has continued to use available open spaces for its services. Our understanding is that congregating in open spaces has become an integral part of the JMCC’s history and theological identity. In this article, we examine the veracity and provenance of this assumed identity by interrogating the church’s traditions, its relations with colonial authorities, and its theology of open spaces. Borrowing from the theory on identity formation (Dominelli 2002), our contention is that a combination of factors contributes to the JMCC’s continued practice of gathering for worship in open spaces. These factors include the sectarian influences on the JMCC, the African spiritual ethos within which it was founded, as well as the colonial ‘othering’ and subsequent marginalization. Keywords: Johane Masowe Chishanu Church (JMCC), African indigenous churches (AICs), colonial government, identity formation, ‘othering’, open spaces, sect, pseudo-religious movements","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489852","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":"Prozesky, M. 2019. Honest to Goodness: An Ethical and Spiritual Odyssey. Eugene: Resource Publications. 302 pages. Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-5326-6537-0","authors":"G. Mason","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n2ar1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2019/v32n2ar1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489908","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 ethical and spiritual project of Martin Prozesky: influences and interests","authors":"Maniraj Sukdaven","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A1","url":null,"abstract":"This article provides a cursory overview of the life and thought of Professor Martin Prozesky, and his contributions to academia via his ethical and spiritual project. There were many people of various personalities that influenced his life, including the path he chose in academia. Some of these were scholars, such as the internationally acclaimed Professors Alister Hardy, John Hick, Lloyd Geering, Ninian Smart, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, feminist Professors Mary Daly, Ursula King and Rosemary Radford Ruether, and various process theologians. Others were spiritual leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi, the Chief Rabbi of the orthodox United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth (1991 – 2013), Jonathan Sacks, and the Dalai Lama.From his base in Theology and Religious Studies to his move to Ethics and Spirituality it could be established that there are five main contributions in Martin Prozesky’s work which he had made to academia and of which cognizance should be taken. These are: (1) the religious philosophy of Friedrich Schleiermacher; (2) the development of a critical theology; (3) his values-based explanation of religion; (4) the debate about God; and (5) the need for a multi-cultural, even global, multi-disciplinary approach to applied ethics with special attention to African ethics. These contributions among other works are discussed in this article. (The article was made possible through an interview with Prof. Prozesky that was recorded and transcribed.)Keywords: religious philosophy, Friedrich Schleiermacher, critical theology, values-based explanation of religion, debate about God, multi-cultural approach, applied ethics, African Ethics","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"31 1","pages":"15-40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47553680","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":"A Faith that Does Justice: The Public Testimony of Oliver Tambo","authors":"J. Jansen","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N2A11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N2A11","url":null,"abstract":"CITATION: Jansen, J. D. 2019. A faith that does justice : the public testimony of Oliver Tambo. Journal for the Study of Religion, 31(2):232-258, dio:10.17159/2413-3027/2018/v31n2a11.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"31 1","pages":"232-258"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489230","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":"Gandhi: A Man for Our Times?","authors":"Judith. M. Brown","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A6","url":null,"abstract":"Following my earlier collaboration with Martin Prozesky, my essay links with three major concerns in Prozesky’s work as he has engaged with a radical critique of religious traditions and structures in the South African context of the end of apartheid: the involvement of dominant religious traditions in sustaining power structures and inequality; the nexus between religious beliefs and organizations and violence; and the failure of many ‘religions’ to meet the needs of serious seekers after meaning and truth. In this context, I examine the life and thought of M.K. Gandhi, particularly the way he addressed the nature of India and its problems as British imperial rule ended. It also focuses on Gandhi’s critique of Hindu tradition as a powerful buttress of profound social inequality particularly relating to caste and gender; his response to violence in the name of religion and community; and finally his underlying belief that true religion was the individual’s search for the divine and that all religious traditions by contrast have very partial visions of truth. Finally, in my view, Gandhi should be seen not just as an important historical figure but very much as a man for our times also. Keywords: Religious tradition, religious structures, apartheid, inequality, violence, truth, M.K. Gandhi, Hindu tradition, caste, gender","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"31 1","pages":"96-111"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489496","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":"Frontier Zones and the Study of Religion","authors":"B. Meyer","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N2A3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N2A3","url":null,"abstract":"This article focuses on the concept of the frontier zone as a central critical term in Chidester’s oeuvre. Understood as a site where difference is articulated, encountered, and governed, the frontier zone is a productive, insight-generating notion. Its usefulness pertains not only to the study of colonial settings in which scholarly knowledge aboutreligion in Africa took shape via the introduction of religion as a category, but also to the study of religious  plurality in contemporary European cities, which is here proposed to approach as new postcolonial frontier zones.Keywords: David Chidester, frontier zone, anthropology and religious studies, plurality, translation, materiality, surrealism","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"31 1","pages":"57-78"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489355","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":"Christian humanism, progressive Christianity and social transformation","authors":"J. Gruchy","doi":"10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3027/2018/V31N1A3","url":null,"abstract":"CITATION: De Gruchy, J. 2018. Christian humanism, progressive Christianity and social transformation. Journal for the Study of Religion, 31(1):54-69, doi:10.17159/2413-3027/2018/v31n1a3.","PeriodicalId":42808,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Religion","volume":"31 1","pages":"54-69"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67489390","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}