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The Pragmatics of Defining Religion : Contexts, Concepts and Contests /
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This volume promotes a pragmatic, anti-essentialist and anti-hegemonic approach to the problem of the definition of religion. It argues that definitions of religion are context-bound strategies for pursuing a variety of purposes, extra-academic as well as academic. Religions being immensely varied, complex and multi-functional phenomena, they need to be studied by several academic disciplines from many different perspectives. It is, therefore, legitimate and useful that many definitions of religions are developed. The volume has contributions from scholars in Philosophy of Religion, the Comparative Study of Religions, Anthropology of Religion, Sociology of Religion and Psychology of Religion. It has chapters on the polemics of defining religion in modern contexts, the history of the concept of religion, and the methodology of its definition; it includes several definition proposals.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004379091 :
0169-8834 ;
The concept of religion : defining and measuring contemporary beliefs and practices /
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In The Concept of Religion Hans Schilderman edits a volume on the definition and empirical study of religion within the changing landscape of modern society. Now that we can no longer assume a simple harmony between the scientific concept of religion, church doctrine and practiced belief, issues concerning the definition and measurement of religion are becoming crucial issues to academic institutions. The contributing authors present empirical studies studying issues of lifespan and socialisation at school settings; of vocation and profession at church and hospital settings; and culture and nation of society at large. The volume offers a beautiful sample of the empirical study of religion; a conceptual and illustrative overview of the academic field for students and scholars in religion.
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1 online resource (198 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004299320 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
What is Religion?, Origins, Definitions, and Explanations.
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What is Religion? consists of fourteen essays written by a selection of scholars who represent a wide spectrum of approaches to the acedamic study of religion. Each of the essays is an effort not only to take stock of the present controversy concerning appropriate methodologies for the study of religion, but also to take one giant step beyond that to formulate a precise definition of religion. Given the considerable confusion today about what it is exactly that religious studies scholars take to be their subject matter when they presume to professionally teachabout religion, this volume provides a much needed forum for leading scholars to debate and clarify what professors of religious studies understand as the central object or objects under their scrunity.
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1 online resource. :
9789004379046
Coping with Evil in Religion and Culture : Case Studies /
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The various Christian, Muslim, traditional (African), and secular (Western) ways of imagining and coping with evil collected in this volume have several things in common. The most crucial perhaps and certainly the most striking aspect is the problem of defining the nature or characteristics of evil as such. Some argue that evil has an essence that remains constant, whereas others say its interpretation depends on time and place. However much religious and secular interpretations of evil may have changed, the human search for sense and meaning never ends. Questions of whom to blame and whom to address-God, the devil, fate, bad luck, or humans-remain at the center of our explanations and our strategies to comprehend, define, counter, or process the evil we do and the evil done to us by people, God, nature, or accident. Using approaches from cultural anthropology, religious studies, theology, philosophy, psychology, and history, the contributors to this volume analyze how several religious and secular traditions imagine and cope with evil.
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"This volume is part of the project on The problem of evil in religious traditions: origins, forms and coping, organized in cooperation with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Royal Tropical Institute at Amsterdam on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Vrije Universiteit and the exhibition "Religion & evil" in the Tropenmuseum (Amsterdam Museum of Tropical Ethnology)"--Title page verso. :
1 online resource (266 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401205375 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Freedom of religion in the 21st century : a human rights perspective on the relation between politics and religion /
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Freedom of religion consists of the right to practice, to manifest and to change one's religion. The modern democratic state is neutral towards the variety of religions, but protects the right of citizens to practice their different religious beliefs. Recent history shows that a number of religious claims challenge the neutral state. This happens especially when secularity is rejected as the basis of the modern state. How can conflicting interpretations of the relation between religion and state be balanced in our world? This book reflects on conflicts that seem to be implied in the freedom of religion, on its causes and how they can be overcome. Contributors are: Katajun Armipur, Ernst Hirsch Ballin, Ian Cameron, Susanne Döhnert, Leslie Francis, Carsten Gennerich, Handi Hadiwitanto, Mandy Robbins, Prof. Hans Schilderman, Stefanie Schmahl, Carl Sterkens, Alexander Unser, Johannes A. van der Ven and Hans-Georg Ziebertz.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004304390 :
1877-881X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Religion inside and outside traditional institutions /
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Changes in the religious landscape present challenges to conceptualization, methodology and empirical research of religion. The volume, Religion inside and outside Traditional Institutions , which includes contributions to the 2nd conference of the International Society for Empirical Research in Theology (ISERT) in Bielefeld, Germany, responds to these contemporary challenges. While the concept of religious praxis is their common theme, they include a focus on deinstitutionalized religion. The contributions in the first part present and discuss a variety of innovative conceptual, paradigmatic and methodological approaches. Distinguished reports from quantitative and qualitative empirical research make up the second part of this volume. Taken together, they may inspire conceptual and methodological discussion and encourage further research in empirical theology. Contributors include: Johannes A. van der Ven, Leslie J. Francis, Hans-Günter Heimbrock, Tobias Kläden, Chris Hermans, Hans Schilderman, Kees de Groot, Don S. Browning, Stefan Huber, Ulrich Feeser-Lichterfeld, Anke Terörde, Angela Kaupp, Astrid Dinter, Carsten Gennerich.
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"This volume has grown out of and includes contributions to the second conference of the International Society for Empirical Research in Theology which took place in April 2004 in Bielefeld, Germany"--P. 3. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047419716 :
1389-1189 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Handbook of contemporary Japanese religions /
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Representing work by some of the leading scholars in the field, the chapters of this handbook survey the transformation and innovation of religious traditions and practices in contemporary Japan. Readers will find lively scholarly studies about changes in the traditional institutions of Buddhism and Shinto, vivid examples of social activism as well as the so-called "new religions," examination of the relationship between religion and the state, and analysis of the religiosity of individuals encompassed by "spirituality," pilgrimage and tourism, and the marketing of religions. This groundbreaking collection of scholarly papers helps to map out the fascinating complexity and dynamism of religion in contemporary Japanese society and culture.
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1 online resource (xxii, 652 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004234369 :
1874-6691 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Annual review of the sociology of religion.
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In contrast with the growing belief in society that traditional religious institutions are losing credibility, there has been renewed interest in monasteries going beyond what is strictly defined as religious. There are, for example, increasingly numerous requests for cooking and gardening courses as well as guided tours in monasteries, the appeal of monastic products and media interest in the subject. In parallel with a strong crisis in its recruitment, monasticism in the Western world is experiencing a period of innovation and experiments accompanied by unexpected popularity, as is evidenced by numerous films and publications. We hope that this book will deepen the understanding of the specificity of monastic life in the in the contemporary world, in a religious area, and from a sociological point of view.
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1 online resource (xviii, 322 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004283503 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Civil Society, Religion, and the Nation : Modernization in Intercultural Context: Russia, Japan, Turkey /
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Japan, Russia, and Turkey are major examples of countries with different ethnic, religious, and cultural background that embarked on the path of modernization without having been colonized by a Western country. In all three cases, national consciousness has played a significant role in this context. The project of Modernity is obviously of European origin, but is it essentially European? Does modernization imply loss of a country's cultural or national identity? If so, what is the "fate" of the modernization process in these cases? The presence of the idea and reality of civil society can be considered a real marker of Modernity in this respect, because it presupposes the development of liberalism, individualism and human rights. But are these compatible with nationalism and with the idea of a national religion? These questions are the more pressing, as Japan is considered part of the Western world in many respects, and Russia and Turkey are defining their relation to the European Union in different ways. An investigation of these three countries, set off against more general reflections, sheds light on the possibilities or limitations of modernization n a non-European context.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401201421
9789042016651
Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism : Myōshinji, a living religion /
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Zen Buddhist ideas and practices in many ways are unique within the study of religion, and artists, poets and Buddhists practitioners worldwide have found inspiration from this tradition. Until recent years, representations of Zen Buddhism have focussed almost entirely on philosophical, historical or "spiritual" aspects. This book investigates the contemporary living reality of the largest Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhist group, Myōshinji. Drawing on textual studies and ethnographic fieldwork, Jørn Borup analyses how its practitioners use and understand their religion, how they practice their religiosity and how different kinds of Zen Buddhists (monks, nuns, priest, lay people) interact and define themselves within the religious organization. Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism portrays a living Zen Buddhism being both uniquely interesting and interestingly typical for common Buddhist and Japanese religiosity.
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Includes bibliographical references (p. [299]-312) and index. :
1 online resource. :
9789047433095 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Italian Witchcraft and Shamanism : The Tradition of Segnature, Indigenous and Trans-cultural Shamanic Traditions in Italy /
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Shamanism is thriving as an exotic import and a hidden native tradition in Italy today. This ethnographical work uncovers two faces of Italian shamanism. The first is trans-cultural shamans who creatively adapt rituals and beliefs from indigenous cultures worldwide. Second, extensive fieldwork shows how regional folk magic practices of segnatori and segnatrici constitute a little-known but enduring form of native Italian shamanism. By documenting these parallel worlds, contemporary magic workers appear to be the heirs of ancient local healing traditions. Offering rare insights into vernacular religion, this book vividly portrays shamans' past and present on the Italian peninsula.
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1 online resource (220 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004694187
Religious categories and the construction of the indigenous /
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This volume significantly advances the academic debate surrounding the taxonomy and the categorisation of 'indigenous religion'. Developing approaches from leading scholars in the field, this edited volume provides the space for established and rising voices to discuss the highly problematic topic of how indigenous 'religion' can be defined and conceptualised. Constructing the Indigenous highlights the central issues in the debate between those supporting and refining current academic frameworks and those who would argue that present thinking remains too dependant on misunderstandings that arise from definitions of religion that are too inflexible, and from problems caused by the World Religion paradigm. This book will prove essential reading for those that wish to engage with contemporary discussions regarding the definitions of religion and their relations to the indigenous category.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004328983 :
2214-3270 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Corinth, the first city of Greece : an urban history of late antique cult and religion /
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This book addresses cult and religion in the city of Corinth from the 4th to 7th centuries of our era. The work incorporates and synthesizes all available evidence, literary, archaeological and other. The interaction and conflict between Christian and non-Christian activity is placed into its urban context and seen as simultaneously existing and overlapping cultural activity. Late antique religion is defined as cult-based rather than doctrinally-based, and thus this volume focuses not on what people believed, but rather what they did. An emphasis on cult activity reveals a variety of types of interaction between groups, ranging from confrontational events at dilapidated polytheist cult sites, to full polysemous and shared cult activity at the so-called \'Fountain of the Lamps\'. Non-Christian traditions are shown to have been recognized and viable through the sixth century. The tentative conclusion is drawn that a clear definition of \'pagan\' and \'Christian\' begins at an urban level with the Christian re-monumentalization of Corinth with basilicas. The disappearance of \'pagan\' cult is best attributed to the development of a new city socially and physically based in Christianity, rather than any purely \'religious\' development.
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1 online resource (x, 173 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-170) and index. :
9789004301498 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Everyday life and the sacred : re/configuring gender studies in religion /
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An interdisciplinary gender-sensitive approach toward perspectives on the everyday and the sacred are the hallmark of this volume. Looking beyond the dualistic status-quo, the authors probe the categories, textures, powers, and practices that define how we experience, embody, and understand religion and the sacred, their interconnection, but also disassociation with the secular. Contributions by an international group of feminist theologians and religious studies scholars aim to re-configure the study of both religion and gender: Angela Berlis, Anne-Marie Korte, Kune Biezeveld †, Helga Kuhlmann, Maaike de Haardt, Akke van der Kooi, Dorothea Erbele-Küster, Willien van Wieringen, Magda Misset-van de Weg, Gé Speelman, Mathilde van Dijk, Jacqueline Borsje, Hedwig Meyer-Wilmes, Goedroen Juchtmans, Alma Lanser and Riet Bons-Storm.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004353794 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ancient Readers and their Scriptures, Engaging the Hebrew Bible in Early Judaism and Christianity.
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explores the various ways that ancient Jewish and Christian writers engaged with and interpreted the Hebrew Bible in antiquity, focusing on physical mechanics of rewriting and reuse, modes of allusion and quotation, texts and text forms, text collecting, and the development of interpretative traditions. Contributions examine the use of the Hebrew Bible and its early versions in a variety of ancient corpora, including the Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, and Rabbinic works, analysing the vast array of textual permutations that define ancient engagement with Jewish scripture. This volume argues that the processes of reading and cognition, influenced by the physical and intellectual contexts of interpretation, are central aspects of ancient biblical interpretation that are underappreciated in current scholarship.
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1 online resource. :
9789004383371
Sins and sinners : perspectives from Asian religions /
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Asian religious traditions have always been deeply concerned with \'sins\' and what to do about them. As the essays in this volume illustrate, what Buddhists in Tibet, India, China or Japan, what Jains, Daoists, Hindus or Sikhs considered to be a \'sin\' was neither one thing, nor exactly what the Abrahamic traditions meant by the term. \'Sins\'could be both undesireable behavior and unacceptable thoughts. In different contexts, at different times and places, a sin might be a ritual infraction or a violation of a rule of law; it could be a moral failing or a wrong belief. However defined, sins were considered so grave a hindrance to spiritual perfection, so profound a threat to the social order, that the search for their remedies through rituals of expiation, pilgrimage, confession, recitation of spells, or philosophical reflection, was one of the central quests of the religions studied here.
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Proceedings of a conference held in the fall of 2010 at Yale University. :
1 online resource (vi, 387 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004232006 :
0169-8834 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Scripture and Knowledge, An Essay on Religious Epistemology.
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At the core of Scripture and Knowledge lies the problem of the nature of religious knowledge. The author argues that religion is a particular framework rather than a particular content or defined set of performances. He sees this framework as epistemological, that is, as one that furnishes believers with a conception of knowledge alternative to that of philosophical reasoning. The thesis on the epistemological nature of religion will be developed by the examination of the concept of scripture as a body of authoritative and even infallible texts. The concept of scripture is presented as one of the constitutive concepts of the epistemological framework of religion. The author argues that the various scriptures and their commentaries should be understood as the arena within which the epistemological process of religion takes place and the central epistemological means by which religious knowledge is made possible.
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1 online resource. :
9789004378919
Sonnengrüße: Die sumerischen Kiutu-Gebetsbeschwörungen /
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Dieses Buch ist eine umfassende Diskussion der mesopotamischen Kiutu-Gebetsbeschwörungen, das viele bisher nicht übersetzte Texte enthält und zum ersten Mal die literarische Typologie genau definiert und den rituellen Kontext beschreibt, in dem sie verwendet wurde.This book is a comprehensive discussion of the Mesopotamian Kiutu incantation-prayers, containing many previously untranslated texts as well as for the first time precisely defining the literary typology and describing the ritual context in which it was used.
Was sind die Kiutu-Gebetsbeschwörungen? Was sind ihre besonderen Merkmale im Vergleich zu anderen Arten von Gebetsbeschwörungen? Unter Verwendung vieler bisher unveröffentlichter Texte bietet dieses Buch die erste vollständige philologische Edition eines Korpus der sumerischen Literatur, der in der Wissenschaft oft unterrepräsentiert ist. Das Buch untersucht diese speziell an den Sonnengott gerichtete Texttypologie und ordnet sie in die breitere Geschichte der mesopotamischen Literatur und Religion ein. Einzigartig ist, dass diese Typologie von Gebetsbeschwörungen die Bewegung der Sonne am Himmel mit der Tageszeit verbindet, zu der sie vorgetragen wurde, was uns einen seltenen Einblick in die praktische Realität der mesopotamischen religiösen Praxis gewährt. What are the Kiutu incantation-prayers? What are their distinctive features in comparison to other types of incantation-prayers? Making use of many previously unpublished texts, this book offers the first complete philological edition of a corpus of Sumerian literature often underrepresented in scholarship. The book examines this textual typology specifically addressed to the Sun god finding its place within the broader history of Mesopotamian literature and religion. Uniquely, this typology of incantation-prayers connects the movement of the sun in the sky to the time of day when it was performed, giving us a rare glimpse into the practical realities of Mesopotamian religious practice.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004503724
9789004503717
A Discourse Analysis of First and Second Thessalonians : The Relationship between Two Authentic Pauline Letters /
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Applying discourse analysis within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), this study offers a fresh reexamination of the textual and contextual relationship between First and Second Thessalonians. Through register analysis, it uncovers a unified linguistic profile across both letters-marked by pastoral consistency, relational coherence, and structural clarity. Challenging traditional assumptions of textual and situational divergence, it provides a linguistically grounded reassessment of Pauline authorship. With a methodologically rigorous yet accessible approach, this study invites readers in New Testament studies, biblical linguistics, and early Christian discourse to revisit these foundational letters-textually, contextually, and with renewed insight.
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1 online resource (296 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004745841