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Europe was, from ancient times, the spaces were religion and culture interfered. It was also the space were religion was a culture creator. Now, the continent is the space were the dialog between the two is possible from more points of view. In this study, the author analyses the relation between religion and culture in the 21th century Europe
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The problem of religiosity influence on party construction in modern Russia is analyzed within three periods proposed by the author: 1. the nineties of the twentieth century - the period without restrictions on the use of religion; 2. The first decade of the twenty first century – the period of sufficiently strong principles of state secularism; 3. 2012 – present – the period of “primitive secularism” overcoming. Conclusions and generalizations are made within a broad empirical material, including the study of party’s public declaration. The basic trends and features of the religiosity influence on party construction have been determined. It has been analyzed in relation to religion and believers of the leading political parties. Particular attention is paid to political parties that have been using religious ideas in their programs and within party’s ideology construction.
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The paper deals with data on the perception of death among the student population of the University in Tuzla. The data were obtained by empirical research, based on a survey of a given population conducted during May 2010. The research was undertaken on 514 students who answered the question related to the outcome of death, and offered them three responses that were subsequently analyzed statistically. Based on the data obtained it was observed that most participants immediately wanted to know the truth, however a few respondents chose one of the other two possible answers, where fear and false hope are undoubtedly playing a significant role in this type of response, with a desire to avoid aporias. The importance of the work lies in the fact that it will show the awareness of the student population about the importance of correct information being provided by a physician in the event of a death. The majority of students who undertook the survey belong to the Islamic religious tradition, however other religious traditions such as Roman Catholic and Orthodox, as well as atheists and agnostics were also involved in discussions about the religious views on this issue, and about the relationship between religions regarding a given problem.
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The purpose of the following text is to examine, compare and contrast the idea of the „Oneness of being“ according to the Christian philosopher Meister Eckhart and the Sufi thinker – Ibn Arabi. Despite the critics addressed to both of them because of their apophatic method of articulation, Eckhart and Ibn Arabi deeply influenced the Christian and the Muslim mysticism.The doctrine of the „Unity of the existence“ is one of the most important problems discussed by these two authors and by the mystic thinkers in general. According to this theory every type of difference in the world is actually an illusion, the differences does not exist and behind them stands the absolute oneness, which envelops all that exists in its ostensible multiplicity. Of course here we are talking about a personal oneness, a holy unity, a unity before which the human being bows down – God. According to the mystics Oneness and God are synonyms.
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A detailed analysis of the Book of Numbers allows us to perceive it as a work which is diverse as far as the language, style, theology and legal traditions are concerned. On the one hand we can notice here traces of editorial work of priestly and non-priestly authors. On the other hand there is an attempt to synthesize both these theological currents. Legal material in the Book of Numbers has also a supplementary character when compare to solutions presented in other texts. Traces of later editorial work can be found in several pericopes of the Book of Numbers (e.g. Nu 11–12). On the one hand, the contents of the book prepares the reader to the events described in the Book of Joshua and on the other hand, it convinces him on the crucial role of Moses. All this allows a contemporary researcher to state the opinion that the book came under the last editorial work of Pentateuch which should be dated to the second half of the 4th century before Christ.
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Since the dawn of history, fire was given a mystical character. Fire was associated with strength, power, mystery and the supernatural. Fire is of particular importance in the Jewish tradition and culture. The main aim of the publication is to present the symbolism of fire in Judaic criminal law, which is understood as a law arising from the Torah and the Talmud. Authors describe the subject of the treatment of fire as a kind of punishment tool and as a murder weapon. In the first case, the publication focuses on permissible in Judaism form of capital punishment by burning. In the second case authors raise the question of the principles of criminal responsibility by the perpetrators of arson. Recalling the principle of Judaic criminal law the authors argue that arson, contrary to some opinions presented in literature, should be treated as a causative action of certain crimes, and not as a separate offense.
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In the introduction of his article, the author presents the basic information of Hinduism concerning its doctrine, literature and history. He emphasizes that traditional Hindu marriage has a deep religious meaning for Hindu believers. It seems to be the most important event in the life of each individual and of each family. The author continues presenting the different forms of marriage of the past and he states that there is no standard ritual for marriage in Hinduism, as the rituals change according to every region. Speaking about the contemporary ceremony of a Hindu marriage, he presents the most common elements of this ritual. The author concludes that traditional Hindu marriage is regarded as a religious institution founded on the sacral organisation of the joint family. The Hindu traditional marriage is a ritual event associated with a stage in life, that repays debts to the gods and to one’s ancestors, in order to purify the individual and progressively lead to the liberation of the deity that is within each human being according to Hindu religion. Traditional Hindu marriage into a joint family is not only culturally different from the Catholic sacrament, but differs in the very hermeneutics of life, reality and revelation.
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The present article aims at depicting the Lord’s Prayer as being rooted in the Jewish literature and theology. The article consists of three parts. In the first part, the text of „Our Father” prayer was analyzed for its connection to Judaism. The analysis encompassed two questions: firstly, a study of the prayer’s composition, which contains characteristics typical to Jewish texts; secondly - an analysis of the theological content, which also is strongly rooted in the theology of Judaism of Jesus’ times. The second part of the article contains a search for a theological basis for possible common worship for Christians and Jews. The starting point to that is an analysis of the Jewish and Christian understanding of God’s fatherhood. The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer of Jesus’ disciples, who in him receive a share of the special dignity of God’s children, which allows for them to call God Abba. The Jews also understand one’s relationship to God in terms of a Father-child relationship. Their understanding of divine filiation, however, differs from the Christian one. The third part of the article is a search for a common ground connecting the Jewish and Christian prayer. This may be found in the first petition of „Our Father”, the content of which is similar to that of the Jewish Kaddish. This petition - to hallow God’s name - is indeed a request for God that He gather all His children in one.
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The present study aims to present the main features of the Hebrewuniversalism, as they can be extracted from the Old Testament book of prophetIsaiah. Although in the modern and contemporary scholarship it is agreed thatIsaiah's book displays three different layers of redaction, set in pre-exilic, exilicand postexilic times, the universalist perspective is a common characteristic toall the constitutive parts. The main aspects of this perspective are theidentification of Yahweh with the God of all the earth and the understanding ofIsrael's role as a witness and preacher of God's revelation to the nations
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The aim of this Paper is to analyze the dogmatic differences between the two Christian churches - Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Religious differences have often burdened the interpersonal relations in the past in this region, with the members of both sides not knowing enough about the other. Consequently, through this work, we will try to argue arguments about the differences between these two great teachings. The first (shorter) part of the work will be dedicated to the great church split of 1054, after which there is a definite disagreement between Rome and Constantinople in terms of understanding the parts of Christ’s teachings. In the second part of the Paper, we will analyze the most important dogmatic differences between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Some of these differences occurred even before the Great Schism, some of them were the cause of schism, while many differences were only created later, thanks to reforms within Roman Catholicism. The final part of the Paper will be devoted to the explanation of today’s relations between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy, then the possibilities of overcoming some of the dogmatic differences, as well as the significance of the very topic of tolerance among believers belonging to these confessions and who interact with each other in everyday life, especially in multi-confessional communities such as the Republic of Serbia .
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This paper focuses on the ’asenduskristlus’ (a modification of the ’vicarious religion’ concept), a debate that has emerged in the Estonian study of religion recently. The article deals with the methodological and theoretical aspects of the debate, criticising certain presumptions and arguments made by one or another participant and highlighting a number of issues that need to be taken into account to address the methodologically focused questions that have been raised during this debate. These issues are analysed from three distinct perspectives: (1) method and theory in relation to the general research design, (2) the role and use of concepts in the study of religion, and (3) the study of ‘visible’ or ‘hidden’ aspects of religiosity.
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The paper indicates the diagnosis the Christian-Muslim dialogue conducted by the Catholic Church, especially taking into account the indications of the Second Vatican Council. The question arises whether the mutual discourse of the representatives of the two religions is currently giving rise to a perspective of peace, or rather fear for the future? There is no denying that militant Islam accentuates the escalation of violence. These behaviors can give rise to fear and questions about the possibility of coexistence in this world. These events build up the circumstances of our time, which theology must to explain. To examine the wider context, the teaching of Vatican II on dialogue with Islam was recalled, and the teaching and actions of the post-Conciliar popes were recalled. This effort clearly indicated the possibility of cooperation, but also delineated the limits, which the Church must not cross. Therefore, although there is a real opportunity to develop joint projects, there are also significant limitations. Moreover, as practice shows, the Church's benevolent gestures often fall on deaf ears, and it seems that this effort is inadequate to the expected fruits of dialogue. Therefore, the possibility of dialogue can be discovered in Catholic Mariology. The person of Mary can become the reason for Muslims to turn to Christianity, which is shown by certain indications of the piety of the followers of Islam towards Mary. It is also an important premise for the Church to rely less on human action and strategy lined with diplomacy and politics. It is necessary to pray much more for the conversion of Muslims, so that God Himself may do the work of changing the hearts of the followers of Islam.
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Debates on the Filioque - “The Apple of Discord” between Eastern and Western Traditions. The Filioque issue is still a major problem between East and West traditions on the path of ecumenism. Theologically speaking, the Filioque is the “iceberg” that rises in the rough seas of the Church of God – Εκκλησία του Θεού to slow down the initiatives for Christian unity. The Nicene-Constantinople Credo says: Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ κύριον, τὸ ζῳοποιόν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον, formula defended in the East, in its most rigorous sense, by Gregory of Palamas, while from the eleventh century are emerging in the Western Creed the expression: et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum and vivificantem: qui ex Patre Filioque procedit, formula defended especially by Thomas Aquinas. The theme of this paper will focus on the reception of a text of Athanasius of Alexandria (298/299-373), which allows us to argue both positions biblically and theologically.
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Ancient Israel; aniconism; symbol; litholatry; non-figural objects; sacred empty spaces; iconography; idolatry;
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