{"title":"Decolonizing and Decoloniality in African Women Theology","authors":"M. Gunda","doi":"10.1111/erev.12821","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12821","url":null,"abstract":"Decolonization and decoloniality offer potential gains to African Women Theology (AWT) to address the intersections, continuities, and discontinuities between the pre‐colonial, colonial, and Christian gender ideologies that have disempowered African women. While African women theologians have, at different points, identified the patriarchal forces in these three spheres, an intentional intersectional approach has not always successfully challenged the colonial meta‐narratives of the construction of the African man. Decolonization and decoloniality offer a critical theoretical framework to not only deal with gender meta‐narratives but to deconstruct and dismantle these narratives to develop responses that are appropriate for their communities. These perspectives will also cement AWT as a major player in the renewed calls for decolonization and decoloniality in Africa. This article acknowledges an intersectionality of traditional, colonial, and post‐colonial patriarchies and the persistence of coloniality in the present spaces in which AWT operates, as well as discontinuities in the gender perspectives in these different periods.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"35 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140253414","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":"Knowledge Production in the Balkans","authors":"Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Jadranka Rebeka Anić","doi":"10.1111/erev.12826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12826","url":null,"abstract":"Until the 1990s, secular feminism prevailed in the socialist Balkan countries, while religious feminism appeared only as an exception in the works of certain Catholic theologians. After democratic changes, gender equality was reaffirmed, but there was no dialogue in feminist knowledge production between secular and religious feminists. This paper presents initiatives by religious scholars and activists aimed at overcoming the secular‐religious divide in achieving gender equality. It looks at two key regional initiatives: Believers and Citizens, and the Feminism and Religion online school. These initiatives established collaborations between feminist scholars from various academic disciplines, religions, and worldviews and connected activists from civil society organizations and religious communities. The interreligious and interdisciplinary nature of these initiatives is unique not only in the Balkan region but also in the world.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"12 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140260207","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":"Engaging with the Other","authors":"Hyuk Cho","doi":"10.1111/erev.12817","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12817","url":null,"abstract":"The World Council of Churches (WCC) has recently stated that we live in a “poly‐crisis” world. This context raises questions about finding common ground with people of other faiths or no faith for the common good. How do Christians practise ecumenical diakonia in the public sphere and offer transformative diaconal services in their contexts? To explore these questions, I reflect on the essence of faith in Korean Sŏn Buddhist monk Chinul (知訥, 1158–1210) and that of the contemporary Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall to identify implications for the practice of ecumenical diakonia and its commitment to interreligious dialogue. Chinul and Hall agree that faith encourages reaching out to others. Buddhists and Christians can be companions on the journey of working together across differences for the common good of the world.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"46 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140259228","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":"“He took her by the hand and told her to stand”","authors":"Bonnie Evans‐Hills","doi":"10.1111/erev.12828","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12828","url":null,"abstract":"This reflection highlights the importance of women's agency in response to crises and challenges today. The inclusion and participation of women improves the well‐being of all, be it in education, health care, the economy, or the government. There is a need to challenge interreligious dialogue settings that exclude or sideline women. Another critical area relates to the “freedom of religion or belief” agenda that sometimes concedes to misogynist perspectives in religious traditions. The text pleads strongly for full inclusion of women in the dialogue and human rights agenda.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"1 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140397338","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":"Interreligious Dialogue and Gender Justice in Brazil","authors":"Ana Gualberto, Renate Gierus","doi":"10.1111/erev.12830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12830","url":null,"abstract":"This article reflects on the context and experiences of the project Advocacy for Gender Justice in Facing Fundamentalism, which has been developed in the ACT Brazil Ecumenical Forum (Fórum Ecumênico ACT Brasil: FEACT Brazil) since 2021. The article discusses the reality of growing violence, feminicide, and religious fundamentalism in Brazil, underlining the importance of analyzing the root causes and effects of religious racism. Seeing through an intersectional lens, the article reflects on key dimensions of gender justice and proposes strategies to confront domestic violence as well as other forms of violence. Finally, it reflects on the history of five “Ecumenical and Interreligious Journeys” as an important space of dialogue, collaboration, and networking.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"14 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140080887","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":"Assessing the Role and Identity of Indigenous Women in Northeast India","authors":"Bendanglemla Longkumer","doi":"10.1111/erev.12827","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12827","url":null,"abstract":"How can a society be democratic when a section of its population is deprived or barred from participating in decision‐making platforms because of their gender? How can we talk about equality and freedom when the Naga society in Northeast India is marred by the fact that a few affluent sections of the population – those who are male – have the prerogative? Can egalitarianism be imagined while Indigenous customs and laws give freedom and authority to the people in decision‐making roles, are largely prohibitive, and fail to promote egalitarianism? The Naga society in Northeast India is fiercely patriarchal, where gender roles and responsibilities are defined according to norms that restrict women's roles in the social and political arena.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140081193","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":"Interreligious Engagement as an Enabler of Gender Justice through the Common Good","authors":"Azza M. Karam","doi":"10.1111/erev.12829","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12829","url":null,"abstract":"The article begins by explaining some of the terminology used and proceeds to share highlights of work undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations and at an international multireligious organization over the last 25 years. The key argument is that working to bring together different religious organizations in service to the common good, which also includes gender equality and women's empowerment, creates the space for genuine collaboration among and between people and organizations/institutions. It concludes with a few reflections on the love of the Divine and the imperative of the multireligious encounter as an enabler of this love, which itself is a prerequisite for gender justice.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"23 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140081079","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":"Women's Experiences in Interreligious Leadership","authors":"K. M. Lohre","doi":"10.1111/erev.12816","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12816","url":null,"abstract":"Women are providing significant leadership across the interfaith movement in the US context. While their leadership is increasingly acknowledged, this article will explore how women experience interreligious leadership. What are the challenges and opportunities they face? How do they view and engage their work and their networks? What is the vision they hold for transformed and transformative interreligious relations? How is women's interreligious leadership both an indicator of and a means for contributing to gender justice? This article will feature primary sources – leaders living in the United States and serving in local, national, and global positions with impact in all spheres – along with analysis from secondary sociological and theological sources. Thus, this article will contribute a rare first‐person assessment of women's interreligious leadership to a growing, much‐needed body of research on this topic.","PeriodicalId":517038,"journal":{"name":"The Ecumenical Review","volume":"45 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139896022","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}