religious purity » religious party (Expand Search), religious unity (Expand Search), religious plurality (Expand Search)
purity studies » security studies (Expand Search), policy studies (Expand Search), minority studies (Expand Search)
Purity and Holiness : The Heritage of Leviticus /
:
Purity has long been recognized as one of the essential drives which determines humankind's relationship with the holy. Codes of purity and impurity, dealing with such far-ranging topics as 'external stains' and 'inner remorse', represent the physical and 'bodily' side of religious experience and provide the key to the understanding of human orientation to nature, and the structure of society, including even relationships between the sexes. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, a number of articles study some rather neglected passages from both exegetical and cultural-anthropological standpoints. Next, it is shown that the concept of purity is far more central to the New Testament than previously thought. Luke is portrayed as a Jewish-oriented writer. The discussion of purity in Mark is compared with Rabbinical and Qumranic material. Patristic discussions of purity reflect both allegorical and literal interpretations, while rabbinical rulings display a fine sense for detail and realia. Biblical references to illness are interpreted both in Christian and Jewish traditions as a metaphor for immoral behavior. The present collection of studies proceeds far beyond other collections on purity, studying both the medieval and modern periods. Purity rules, in both Christian and Jewish society, do not disappear in the Middle Ages, but become increasingly stronger. Sometimes there appear unexpected and surprising similarities between both societies. Modern society sees a decline in the importance of purity, reflecting a growing ambiguous attitude to the relationship between the body and the holy. A feminist perspective is also provided, examining the intertwined relationship between religion, gender and power. Exegesis, archaeology, liturgy, anthropology and even architecture are all used to study the complex phenomena of purity in their religious and social dimensions from both Christian and Jewish perspectives.
:
1 online resource :
9789004421394
9789004114180
Purity and the forming of religious traditions in the ancient Mediterranean world and ancient Judaism /
:
Purity is a cultural construct that had a central role in the forming and the development of religious traditions in the ancient Mediterranean. This volume analyzes concepts, practices and images associated with purity in the main cultures of Antiquity, and discusses from a comparative perspective their parallel developments and transformations. The perspective adopted is both synchronic and diachronic; the comparative approach takes into account points of contact and mutual influences, but also includes major transcultural trends. A number of renowned specialists contribute a large variety of perspectives and approaches, combining archaeology, epigraphy and social history; in addition, particular attention is given to concepts of purity in ancient Israel and early Judaism as a 'test-case' of sorts. Through its extensive coverage, the volume contributes decisively to the present discussion about the forming of religious traditions in the ancient Mediterranean world.
:
1 online resource (601 pages) : illustrations, mappages. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004232297 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Virtues of the Flesh - Passion and Purity in Early Islamic Jurisprudence /
:
Robust sexuality, profound spirituality and elaborate legalism are, at first glance, strange bedfellows. The conventional Western wisdom has long conceived of these several modes as comprising an antagonistic trichotomy, in which each component is opposed to the others. Classical Islam, on the other hand, envisioned a unique system of cooperation between the sensual, the ethereal and the forensic. This study employs the vast and hitherto neglected literature of Islamic purity law as a looking glass through which to examine early Muslim attitudes to the romantic and erotic. Probing Qur'ān, Ḥadīth, Tafsīr and Fiqh, it opens a window on a world of unexpectedly explicit and unrestrainedly joyful sexual expression -- a world located squarely within the confines of God's sacred law and its elucidation.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047406235
9789004140707
Discourses of purity in transcultural perspective (300-1600) /
:
While comparative studies on purity and impurity presented in the last decades have mostly concentrated on the ancient world or on modern developments, this volume focusses the hitherto comparatively neglected period between circa 300 and 1600 c. E. The collection is innovative because it not only combines papers on both European and Asian cultures but also considers a wide variety of religions and confessions. The articles are written by leading experts in the field and are presented in six systematic sections. This analytical categorization facilitates understanding the functional spectrum that the binomial purity and impurity could cover in past societies. The volume thus presents an in-depth comparative analysis of a category of paramount importance for interfaith relations and processes of transfer.
:
1 online resource (vi, 372 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004289758 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Indigenous peoples and religious change /
:
This book explores a range of societies in and around the Pacific and southern Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that encountered religions introduced from elsewhere, or fashioned their own responses to already established religious traditions. These changes observed through the responses of the receiving societies indicate that religious change is a creative dynamic, rather than a passive acceptance of new ideas, beliefs and practices. While change is often triggered by the introduction of new understandings, it can only become entrenched within a community when it takes on meaning for individuals, and becomes embedded within the social and cultural life of the community.
:
1 online resource (x, 262 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-251) and index. :
9789047405559 :
0924-9389 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Pluralism and Identity, Studies in Ritual Behaviour.
:
The subject of this book is ritual behaviour, in particular of groups with a distinctive religious, ethnic or other identity which use rituals to pursue strategic ends ad intra and ad extra . Five essays offer theoretical perspectives on ritual in plural and pluralist societies, on similarity and demarcation, on the negative case of the Australian Aboriginals, on Brazilian religious pluralism, and on Ghanaian churches in the Netherlands. Three essays describe the ritualization of the encounter, or confrontation, between religions in India (between Buddhists and Hindus, and between Hindus and Muslims), and in Yemen between Muslims and Jews. Four essays study the responses to internal religious plurality, in early Israel, on Java, in Indonesia, and in Spain and North Africa. One essay explores responses to external religious plurality. In the epilogue, the social nature of pluralism and identity is highlighted.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004378896
La guerre et les rites de guerre dans le judaïsme du deuxième Temple /
:
This work deals with the Jewish warfare in the Hellenistic and Roman Antiquity from the point of view of the religious rites which, for the Ancients, were a necessary part of all social activity. The author rejects the traditional concept of "Holy War" and prefers to emphasise the diversity of representations of war in the Judaism of the Second Temple. The book deals with questions linked to the status of warriors and priests who were involved in war with regard to purity laws. It analyses the rituals specific to military operations. It deals with the Sabbath, with the war oracle of the ourim and toummim as well as the different types of sacrifices associated with war. The book presents a comprehensive but diverse and contrasted portrait of the Jewish practises and representations of war in Ancient times.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047405535
9789004138971
Annual review of the sociology of religion.
:
The purpose of the Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion (ARSR) is to investigate the "new" role of religion in the contemporary world, which is characterized by cultural pluralism and religious individualism. It is the aim of the ARSR to combine different methods within the social scientific study of religion. The ARSR employs an interdisciplinary and comparative approach at an international level, to describe and interpret the complexity of religious phenomena within different geopolitical situations, highlighting similarities and discontinuities. Dealing with a single theme in each volume, the ARSR intends to tackle the relationship between the practices and the dynamics of everyday life and the different religions and spiritualities, within the framework of the post-secular society. This volume presents the religious and spiritual life of the young: an ever new and complex world which highlights the changes that are happening in the field of religion in general. With an outlook which is opened to various international contexts, its chapters offer a picture of the current situation between religion and the young, suggesting possible future trends.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004193727 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A Description of the Character, Manners and Customs of the People of India and of their Institutions, Religious and Civil /
:
First published in 1879, A Description of the Character, Manners and Customs of the People of India and of their Institutions, Religious and Civil by the Abbé J.A. Dubois, and translated from French by Rev. G.U. Pope, is arranged into three parts, with each section devoted to various aspects and society of the Indian people who lived in south India of that time. The author, Abbé J.A. Dubois, who was a French missionary, states at the outset that his work is the result of a period of almost eighteen years when he lived amongst the Indian people just the way they did, adopting the indigenous forms of living and clothing - even their prejudices. Thus, he not only familiarized himself with their lifestyle, but also won their confidence which helped him in writing of this book. Thus, his study is based on first-hand experience. For convenience of the readers, the editor's footnotes that provide explanations as well as references and cross-references to Indian scriptures and other texts have contributed to the value of this work. Part I studies the caste system, with its divisions and subdivisions, its origins, and prayers, ceremonies, and beyond. Part II, devoted to Brahmins, examines in detail the four stages of life, the norms and practices that govern them, discussing defilements and remedies, rules governing Brahmin women, Hindu philosophers and many others. Part III focuses on religion and includes the Trimurti, festivals, animal worship, Jains, military system, etc.
:
1 online resource (460 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004752559
Bridging between sister religions : studies of Jewish and Christian scriptures offered in honor of Prof. John T. Townsend /
:
This volume is a collection of fresh essays in honor of Professor John T. Townsend. It focuses on the interpretation of the common Jewish and Christian Scripture (the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament) and on its two off-shoots (Rabbinic Judaism and the New Testament), as well as on Jewish-Christian relations. The contributors, who are prominent scholars in their fields, include James L. Crenshaw, Göran Eidevall, Anne E. Gardner, Lawrence M. Wills, Cecilia Wassen, Robert L. Brawley, Joseph B. Tyson, Eldon J. Epp, Yaakov Elman, Rivka Ulmer, Andreas Lehnardt, Reuven Kimelman, Bruce Chilton, and Michael W. Duggan.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004324541 :
1571-5000 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Health and ritual in Morocco : conceptions of the body and healing practices /
:
In Health and Ritual in Morocco , Josep Lluis Mateo Dieste analyzes the many notions of the body that appear in various Moroccan medical and religious systems. Viewing these issues from anthropological and historical perspectives to the development of Islamic medicine in Morocco, this study highlights the elements of power that define these representations and practices. Mateo Dieste shows that most of the healing rituals challenge the strict division between physical and mental afflictions. Health and Ritual in Morocco provides a valuable structure for understanding Moroccan conceptions of the person, rites of passage, gender differences, and reproductive practices. It offers insights into the weight of the notions of impurity and purification of the body in the daily life of the contemporary Moroccan population.
:
Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 7, 2012). :
1 online resource (vi, 366 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004234482 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Christ who Embraces : An Orthodox Theology of Margins /
:
Jacob Joseph's book, The Christ who Embraces: An Orthodox Theology of Margins , explores the intersection of Orthodox Christian mission and caste dynamics among St. Thomas/Syrian/Orthodox Christians in India. It defines a liturgical touch or embrace in the context of 'untouchability,' where people identify as equal without discrimination, reflecting the inseparable unity of Christ's transcendental (divine) and immanent (human) nature. See Less
:
1 online resource (231 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004703629
Judaism in late antiquity.
:
The authors have asked of the documents of the Dead Sea Library found at Qumran a simple question: how does each participate in a single Judaic religious system? They propose a reading of the Scrolls from the hypothesis that all of them, in one way or another, rest upon one, authoritative, Judaism. Their analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls describes how diverse writings hold together to make a single coherent statement, to stand for a religious system possessed of integrity and wisdom. This account of the world view of Judaism covers principal questions addressed to any Judaic religious system: the doctrine of God, the Torah, and matters of history, wisdom, and mysticism. When it comes to the way of life, they include the evidence of the material culture of the community as well as practical matters of religious conduct. How the community's world view comes to realization is suggested by its treatment of the calendar, by its provision of laws that concern women, by questions of cultic and secular purity, by its piety and forms of worship and views of Temple, sacrifice, and the like. Finally, with the community's definition of 'Israel' and of itself in relationship to 'Israel', inclusive of Israelites excluded from this 'Israel', an account is gained of the theory of who and what is Israel that animates the particular Judaism represented in these writings.
:
Pt. 3, volume 4 edited by Alan J. Avery-Peck and Jacob Neusner.
Pt. 5, volume 1-2 edited by Alan J. Avery-Peck, Jacob Neusner and Bruce D. Chilton. :
1 online resource (xii, 196 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004294189 :
0169-9423 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Tod und Ritual in den christlichen Gemeinden der Antike /
:
The development of Early Christian rituals in connection with death and burial has so far not sufficiently been explored. Volp's study focuses on the surviving literary sources-both pagan and Christian-, together with inscriptions and other archaeological remains while taking into account recent results from science and humanities. A summary of death and ritual in the ancient Mediterranean religions is followed by detailed analyses of the Christian sources from the 2nd to the 5th century. Thus, basic developments are being discovered which led to and accompanied the forming of Christian rituals, such as ritual purity or the social structure of family and society. Being the first such interdisciplinary approach, it also represents the first monographic work on the topic since 1941.
:
Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Universität Bonn, 2001. :
1 online resource (xii, 337 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-309) and indexes. :
9789004313309 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Theological and philosophical responses to syncretism : beyond the mirage of pure religion /
:
Theological and Philosophical Responses to Syncretism: Beyond the Mirage of Pure Religion by Patrik Fridlund and Mika Vähäkangas (editions.) starts from the observation that there is a substantial gap between religions' self-understanding and the empirical results of religious studies concerning religious blending. Even in theology of religion, one often portrays religions as if they were entities fundamentally separate from each other. The aims of this book are to elaborate theologically the consequences of syncretism to Christian faith and of syncretism to philosophy. By creating a critical interchange between theological, philosophical and empirical approaches to religion, this book challenges the conventional views of purity of religions prevailing in theology and philosophy as well as proposes theological and philosophical ways forward. Contributors are: Jonas Adelin, Stephen Bevans, Gavin d'Costa, Patrik Fridlund, Lotta Gammelin, Elizabeth Harris, Jerker Karlsson, Paul Linjamaa, Kang-San Tan, Mika Vähäkangas.
:
1 online resource (vii, 230 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004336599 :
2210-481X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Virtue, Piety and the Law : A Study of Birgivī Meḥmed Efendī's al-Ṭarīqa al-muḥammadiyya /
:
In Virtue, Piety and the Law Katharina Ivanyi examines Birgivī Meḥmed Efendī's (d. 981/1573) al-Ṭarīqa al-muḥammadiyya , a major work of pietist exhortation and advice, composed by the sixteenth-century Ottoman jurist, Ḥadīth scholar and grammarian, who would articulate a style of religiosity that had considerable reformist appeal into modern times. Linking the cultivation of individual virtue to questions of wider political, social and economic concern, Birgivī played a significant role in the negotiation and articulation of early modern Ottoman Ḥanafī piety. Birgivī's deep mistrust of the passions of the human soul led him to prescribe a regime of self-surveillance and control that was only matched in rigor by his likewise exacting interpretation of the law in matters of everyday life, as much as in state practices, such as the cash waqf, Ottoman land tenure and taxation.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004431843
9789004419865
Pentecostals and the body /
:
The intersection of religion, ritual, emotion, globalization, migration, sexuality, gender, race, and class, is especially insightful for researching Pentecostal notions of the body. Pentecostalism is well known for overt bodily expressions that includes kinesthetic worship with emotive music and sustained acts of prayer. Among Pentecostals there is considerable debate about bodies, the role of the Holy Spirit, possession of evil spirits, deliverance, exorcism, revival, and healing of bodies and emotions. Pentecostalism is identified as a religion on the move and so bodies are transformed in the context of globalization. Pentecostalism is also associated with notions of sexuality, gender, race and class where bodies are often liberated and limited. This volume evaluates these themes associated with contemporary research on the body.
:
1 online resource (350 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004344181 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Buddhist encounters and identities across East Asia /
:
Encounters, networks, identities and diversity are at the core of the history of Buddhism. They are also the focus of Buddhist Encounters and Identities across East Asia , edited by Ann Heirman, Carmen Meinert and Christoph Anderl. While long-distance networks allowed Buddhist ideas to travel to all parts of East Asia, it was through local and trans-local networks and encounters, and a diversity of people and societies, that identities were made and negotiated. This book undertakes a detailed examination of discrete Buddhist identities rooted in unique cultural practices, beliefs and indigenous socio-political conditions. Moreover, it presents a fascinating picture of the intricacies of the regional and cross-regional networks that connected South and East Asia.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004366152 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ancient worlds in film and television : gender and politics /
:
More than a century ago, filmmakers made their primary focus innovative and widely promulgated visions of antiquity, creating a profound effect on the critical, popular, and scholarly reception of antiquity. In this volume, scholars from a variety of countries and varying academic disciplines have addressed film's way of using the field of Classical Reception to investigate, contemplate, and develop hypotheses about present-day culture, society, and politics, with a particular emphasis on gender and gender roles, their relationship to one another, and how filmic constructions of masculinity and femininity shape and are shaped by interacting economic, political, and ideological practices.
:
1 online resource (vii, 332 pages) : illustrations (chiefly color) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004241923 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.