Changes in beliefs among former clergy, who have now left the ministry, may add an extra dimension to research on church decline. In fact, there are changes in belief among thirty former clergy interviewed for this study that show remarkable similarity to the beliefs of previously interviewed non-religious “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) persons in the author’s qualitative research, as reported in Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (Oxford University Press).
已经离开神职的前神职人员信仰的变化可能会为教会衰落的研究增添一个额外的维度。事实上，在本研究中受访的 30 位前神职人员的信仰变化，与作者之前定性研究中受访的 "属灵但不信教"（SBNR）的非宗教人士的信仰有着显著的相似性，作者在《信仰无国界》（Belief without Borders）一书中对此进行了报告：Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious》（牛津大学出版社）一书中的报告。
{"title":"Clergy Becoming Spiritual but not Religious","authors":"Linda Mercadante","doi":"10.1515/opth-2024-0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0007","url":null,"abstract":"Changes in beliefs among former clergy, who have now left the ministry, may add an extra dimension to research on church decline. In fact, there are changes in belief among thirty former clergy interviewed for this study that show remarkable similarity to the beliefs of previously interviewed non-religious “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) persons in the author’s qualitative research, as reported in <jats:italic>Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious</jats:italic> (Oxford University Press).","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141529296","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}
It has long been recognized that paratexts – those liminal features that accompany the main text in a book – perform a primary role in interpretation since they mediate the text to the readers. They function like a commentary, trying to influence and guide readers to a better comprehension of the text. At the same time, they are artifacts of reception because in the pre-modern period, paratexts are the product of scribes and reading communities. Thus, by studying paratexts, one can have access to how the text was received and how readers shape the reading practices of subsequent users. The study of paratexts in the field of biblical studies has been a booming area of research, while the study of these features in the so-called apocryphal literature is only in its dawn. This article intends to help to remedy the situation by studying the titles of the 1 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John. Since this text exerted a huge amount of influence in shaping the eschatological imagination of many Christians in Late Antiquity and given the scarce amount of information that we have on its reception, studying the paratexts of the manuscripts – titles, specifically – is the safest bet to recover its reception/interpretation and the reading practices of its readers. Based on the study of 1 Apocr. Apoc. John’s titles, this article concludes that (1) 1 Apocr. Apoc. John was read as an apocalypse; that is, readers thought that the text mediated hitherto unknown divine knowledge; (2) readers of 1 Apocr. Apoc. John believed that it was an authentic work of John the apostle and thus authoritative and true; (3) readers were guided to navigate 1 Apocr. Apoc. John as dealing primarily with classical eschatological topoi: the antichrist, the second coming, and the end of the world.
{"title":"Framing the Reading Experience of an Apocryphal Text: The Case of the 1 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John’s Titles","authors":"Cristian Daniel Cardozo Mindiola","doi":"10.1515/opth-2024-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0005","url":null,"abstract":"It has long been recognized that paratexts – those liminal features that accompany the main text in a book – perform a primary role in interpretation since they mediate the text to the readers. They function like a commentary, trying to influence and guide readers to a better comprehension of the text. At the same time, they are artifacts of reception because in the pre-modern period, paratexts are the product of scribes and reading communities. Thus, by studying paratexts, one can have access to how the text was received and how readers shape the reading practices of subsequent users. The study of paratexts in the field of biblical studies has been a booming area of research, while the study of these features in the so-called apocryphal literature is only in its dawn. This article intends to help to remedy the situation by studying the titles of the <jats:italic>1 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John</jats:italic>. Since this text exerted a huge amount of influence in shaping the eschatological imagination of many Christians in Late Antiquity and given the scarce amount of information that we have on its reception, studying the paratexts of the manuscripts – titles, specifically – is the safest bet to recover its reception/interpretation and the reading practices of its readers. Based on the study of <jats:italic>1 Apocr. Apoc. John’s</jats:italic> titles, this article concludes that (1) <jats:italic>1 Apocr. Apoc. John</jats:italic> was read as an apocalypse; that is, readers thought that the text mediated hitherto unknown divine knowledge; (2) readers of <jats:italic>1 Apocr. Apoc. John</jats:italic> believed that it was an authentic work of John the apostle and thus authoritative and true; (3) readers were guided to navigate <jats:italic>1 Apocr. Apoc. John</jats:italic> as dealing primarily with classical eschatological <jats:italic>topoi</jats:italic>: the antichrist, the second coming, and the end of the world.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141190109","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}
Urban theology is an enduring theme in scholarly literature, yet to our knowledge, no comprehensive reviews have been carried out on its recent developments. To answer this shortcoming, we present a systematic literature review on the following question: “How is urban theology understood in Western academic literature published in English in the twenty-first century?” We present the 29 research outputs yielded from our review and findings of a thematic content analysis. The findings propose three main themes: 1) Theological rootedness, 2) Societal rootedness, and 3) Reforming urban theology. Through these themes, urban theology emerges as an intertwining research of theology and society that includes both reflection and praxis. It aims to understand and diagnose the city as a place and space through theological reflection and doing theology, and vice versa; to transform the way and content of (doing) theology through the engaged analysis of urban society. Urban theology is done for, by, and within individuals and communities of the urbanized planet holistically, whereby it emerges as theology “from below.” It distinguishes itself from the urban theology of the last century, highlighting the critical need for inclusion and reflexivity in the emerging context and the positionality of the researcher.
{"title":"From Below, to Inclusion, Through Transformation: Urban Theology in the Twenty-First Century","authors":"Rosa Huotari, Henrietta Grönlund","doi":"10.1515/opth-2024-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Urban theology is an enduring theme in scholarly literature, yet to our knowledge, no comprehensive reviews have been carried out on its recent developments. To answer this shortcoming, we present a systematic literature review on the following question: “How is urban theology understood in Western academic literature published in English in the twenty-first century?” We present the 29 research outputs yielded from our review and findings of a thematic content analysis. The findings propose three main themes: 1) Theological rootedness, 2) Societal rootedness, and 3) Reforming urban theology. Through these themes, urban theology emerges as an intertwining research of theology and society that includes both reflection and praxis. It aims to understand and diagnose the city as a place and space through theological reflection and doing theology, and vice versa; to transform the way and content of (doing) theology through the engaged analysis of urban society. Urban theology is done for, by, and within individuals and communities of the urbanized planet holistically, whereby it emerges as theology “from below.” It distinguishes itself from the urban theology of the last century, highlighting the critical need for inclusion and reflexivity in the emerging context and the positionality of the researcher.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140629403","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}
The analytic method of theological inquiry has been around (in name) long enough to be identified by certain literary patterns. One such pattern appears in the liberal use of the term “worry.” More than some trivial terminological tic, in this article, I argue that “worry” names a methodological problem, which, left unaccounted for, increases the risk that analytic theologians will, as Westerholm suggests, “[drift] further and further into constructed abstraction.”
{"title":"Worry and Analytic Theology","authors":"S. Mark Hamilton","doi":"10.1515/opth-2024-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0004","url":null,"abstract":"The analytic method of theological inquiry has been around (in name) long enough to be identified by certain literary patterns. One such pattern appears in the liberal use of the term “worry.” More than some trivial terminological tic, in this article, I argue that “worry” names a methodological problem, which, left unaccounted for, increases the risk that analytic theologians will, as Westerholm suggests, “[drift] further and further into constructed abstraction.”","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140609757","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}
In 2019, right before arriving in Salvador, Brazil, to develop missionary activities, an international Protestant organization declared that this city – the center of the black culture in the country – was “known for its people’s belief in spirits and demons.” The statement soon triggered indignation from activists and devotees of Candomblé, the Afro-Brazilian religion that is a key element of the city’s history and identity. This article analyzes the transformation of this case into a public problem, which demanded different forms of reparation and affirmation of religious differences. The text debates the extension of Candomblé's semiotic community in Salvador and how the circulation of its symbols in different social contexts furthers the dissolution of boundaries between “religion” and “politics.” I pursue such ideas by describing a form of civil protest that moves liturgical forms from the Candomblé temples to public spaces. Such civil protest technology engages music, dance, and a set of materialities, presenting an instructive performance of the constitution of “religion” and the “public” in a post-colonial landscape.
{"title":"Candomblé in Public: How Religious Rites Become Civil Technologies in Salvador, Brazil","authors":"Leandro de Paula","doi":"10.1515/opth-2024-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2024-0001","url":null,"abstract":"In 2019, right before arriving in Salvador, Brazil, to develop missionary activities, an international Protestant organization declared that this city – the center of the black culture in the country – was “known for its people’s belief in spirits and demons.” The statement soon triggered indignation from activists and devotees of Candomblé, the Afro-Brazilian religion that is a key element of the city’s history and identity. This article analyzes the transformation of this case into a public problem, which demanded different forms of reparation and affirmation of religious differences. The text debates the extension of Candomblé's semiotic community in Salvador and how the circulation of its symbols in different social contexts furthers the dissolution of boundaries between “religion” and “politics.” I pursue such ideas by describing a form of civil protest that moves liturgical forms from the Candomblé temples to public spaces. Such civil protest technology engages music, dance, and a set of materialities, presenting an instructive performance of the constitution of “religion” and the “public” in a post-colonial landscape.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140301430","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}
Though a relatively quiet minority, some commentators since the eighth-century Bede have suggested that the notorious “666” of Revelation 13:18 alludes to the measurement of King Solomon’s excessive gold accumulation which immediately precedes his idolatrous downfall in the Biblical narrative. We now bolster that hypothesis with the observation that the letters of Solomon’s (New Testament Greek) name add up to 1,260, thereby linking this passage with the repeated references to “1,260 days” and related time durations in the preceding sections of the Apocalypse. We go on to adduce a diverse array of reasons to confirm Solomon as the intended solution over against competing candidates such as Nero Caesar and against other types of interpretations such as the purely symbolic. This approach to John’s “calculate the number” riddle – intertextuality feeding into forward gematria feeding into further intertextuality – has hermeneutical, exegetical, spiritual, canonical, geometrical, logical, and aesthetic advantages over popular reverse gematria attempts to search for a (generally extra-Biblical) name producing the value 666.
{"title":"Forward and Reverse Gematria are Very Different Beasts","authors":"Zachary Harris","doi":"10.1515/opth-2022-0245","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2022-0245","url":null,"abstract":"Though a relatively quiet minority, some commentators since the eighth-century Bede have suggested that the notorious “666” of Revelation 13:18 alludes to the measurement of King Solomon’s excessive gold accumulation which immediately precedes his idolatrous downfall in the Biblical narrative. We now bolster that hypothesis with the observation that the letters of Solomon’s (New Testament Greek) name add up to 1,260, thereby linking this passage with the repeated references to “1,260 days” and related time durations in the preceding sections of the Apocalypse. We go on to adduce a diverse array of reasons to confirm Solomon as the intended solution over against competing candidates such as Nero Caesar and against other types of interpretations such as the purely symbolic. This approach to John’s “calculate the number” riddle – <jats:italic>intertextuality</jats:italic> feeding into <jats:italic>forward gematria</jats:italic> feeding into further intertextuality – has hermeneutical, exegetical, spiritual, canonical, geometrical, logical, and aesthetic advantages over popular <jats:italic>reverse gematria</jats:italic> attempts to search for a (generally extra-Biblical) name producing the value 666.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140152238","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}
Studies of blasphemy in the book of Revelation are usually discussed in isolation from the book of Daniel, which provides an incomplete picture of this topic. This article investigates the meaning of blasphemy in the books of Daniel and Revelation. We argue that these apocalyptic books often describe the actions of the forces of evil in the Cosmic Conflict as blasphemy. The human dimension of blasphemy is expressed in the actions of kings and people (Dan. 1-6; Rev. 2:9; 16:9, 11; 21), while the eschatological dimension of blasphemy is expressed in the actions of the Antichrist (Dan. 7-12; Rev. 13:1, 5, 6; 17:3). We argue that the book of Revelation repeats and furthers the theme of blasphemy articulated in the book of Daniel.
{"title":"Daniel and Revelation: Blasphemy in the Cosmic Conflict","authors":"Bohdan Kuryliak, Ihor Kuryliak","doi":"10.1515/opth-2022-0242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2022-0242","url":null,"abstract":"Studies of blasphemy in the book of Revelation are usually discussed in isolation from the book of Daniel, which provides an incomplete picture of this topic. This article investigates the meaning of blasphemy in the books of Daniel and Revelation. We argue that these apocalyptic books often describe the actions of the forces of evil in the Cosmic Conflict as blasphemy. The human dimension of blasphemy is expressed in the actions of kings and people (Dan. 1-6; Rev. 2:9; 16:9, 11; 21), while the eschatological dimension of blasphemy is expressed in the actions of the Antichrist (Dan. 7-12; Rev. 13:1, 5, 6; 17:3). We argue that the book of Revelation repeats and furthers the theme of blasphemy articulated in the book of Daniel.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140152245","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}
This work argues that because Quantum Mechanics (QM) is superb at simulating natural, physical phenomena, so-called quantum-native phenomena, and that Quantum Natural Language Processing (QNLP), its child, is also quantum-native, God’s generative language of physical creation is native to a quantum world; therefore, it is now possible to postulate an argument for God’s creation of the world through language without requiring divine revelation. This argument is, in essence, an extension of the Augustinian argument – the baseline argument from mathematics and abstract objects – for the existence of God that accounts for contemporary advances in QM. Additionally, this work invites further research and investigation into applying category theory to model the theistic universe thereby allowing both modeling and simulations of the symbolic world.
{"title":"“… God Said”: Toward a Quantum Theology of Creation","authors":"Ryder Dale Walton","doi":"10.1515/opth-2022-0244","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2022-0244","url":null,"abstract":"This work argues that because Quantum Mechanics (QM) is superb at simulating natural, physical phenomena, so-called quantum-native phenomena, and that Quantum Natural Language Processing (QNLP), its child, is also quantum-native, God’s generative language of physical creation is native to a quantum world; therefore, it is now possible to postulate an argument for God’s creation of the world through language without requiring divine revelation. This argument is, in essence, an extension of the Augustinian argument – the baseline argument from mathematics and abstract objects – for the existence of God that accounts for contemporary advances in QM. Additionally, this work invites further research and investigation into applying category theory to model the theistic universe thereby allowing both modeling and simulations of the symbolic world.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139586329","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}
My goal here is to make use of Deleuzian philosophy as a springboard for cultivating “being a child of the moment,” which is a phrase stemming from Sufism. Being fully present and aware in each moment is associated with surrendering oneself to the divine will and accepting whatever comes in the present moment without resistance. Unlike approaches that translate Deleuzian insights into theological concepts, the way of proceeding here involves traversing his philosophy, similar to traversing the phantasy in Lacanian psychoanalysis. Consequently, it neither fully adopts nor rejects Deleuzian philosophy but offers a parallax view that aims at deepening one’s connection with transcendence. The underlying premise is that strengthening this connection can be enhanced by engaging with an immanent philosophy that acknowledges non-representable singularities, provided its limitations are clearly delineated to prevent absorption into the depths and intricacies of that philosophy. To this end, the contrasting perspectives of eternity as a realm of potentialities and eternity as a timeless dimension detached from worldly connections are emphasized. During the writing process, the publication of MM Knight’s book “Sufi Deleuze” added a tangible ally and opponent, thereby lending further justification to the article’s title in retrospective. At the end, I will also delve into the relationship between Deleuzian philosophy and Derridean ontology, the realms of mysticism, and the existential aspect of death, and elucidate why Deleuzian philosophy can serve as a pivot for character development.
{"title":"Becoming Child of the Moment through Deleuzian Philosophy and Sufism","authors":"Murat Sariyar","doi":"10.1515/opth-2022-0241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2022-0241","url":null,"abstract":"My goal here is to make use of Deleuzian philosophy as a springboard for cultivating “being a child of the moment,” which is a phrase stemming from Sufism. Being fully present and aware in each moment is associated with surrendering oneself to the divine will and accepting whatever comes in the present moment without resistance. Unlike approaches that translate Deleuzian insights into theological concepts, the way of proceeding here involves traversing his philosophy, similar to traversing the phantasy in Lacanian psychoanalysis. Consequently, it neither fully adopts nor rejects Deleuzian philosophy but offers a parallax view that aims at deepening one’s connection with transcendence. The underlying premise is that strengthening this connection can be enhanced by engaging with an immanent philosophy that acknowledges non-representable singularities, provided its limitations are clearly delineated to prevent absorption into the depths and intricacies of that philosophy. To this end, the contrasting perspectives of eternity as a realm of potentialities and eternity as a timeless dimension detached from worldly connections are emphasized. During the writing process, the publication of MM Knight’s book “Sufi Deleuze” added a tangible ally and opponent, thereby lending further justification to the article’s title in retrospective. At the end, I will also delve into the relationship between Deleuzian philosophy and Derridean ontology, the realms of mysticism, and the existential aspect of death, and elucidate why Deleuzian philosophy can serve as a pivot for character development.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139589883","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}
Gender equality and women’s rights are among the most discussed issues in the context of Islam. Any thorough analysis of the persistence of conservative patriarchal religious interpretations in Muslim communities should also consider social factors. The conservative appropriation of Islam is not only the result of theological factors but also a manifestation of a conservative and patriarchal habitus. This article draws attention to the vitality of empathy in establishing universal equal human dignity. It dwells on the idea of the universal innate nature of the child to offer some solutions to overcome the persistence of conservative religious interpretations and develop gender equality in the Muslim context. Also, the reformist views of the Jadids and Alash intellectuals, the Eurasian Muslim reformists of the early twentieth century, are analyzed as authentic historical and conceptual precedents to develop gender-egalitarian Islamic interpretations. Overall, this article establishes a connection between women’s rights in Islam, the universal innate nature of the child (and the universality of children’s right-friendly parenting and education that fosters empathy and critical thinking), and the intellectual legacy of the Jadids and Alash intellectuals, who wanted to transform the conservative and patriarchal habitus through educational reform, literary works, and a rationalistic, thematico-holistic approach to Islam.
{"title":"Interdisciplinary Approach to Overcoming the Persistence of Patriarchal Islamic Interpretations: Gender Equality, the Development of Empathy and Children’s Rights, and Insights from the Reformist Eurasian Scholars of Early Twentieth Century","authors":"Galym Zhussipbek, Assyltay Tasbolat, Zhanar Nagayeva","doi":"10.1515/opth-2022-0243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2022-0243","url":null,"abstract":"Gender equality and women’s rights are among the most discussed issues in the context of Islam. Any thorough analysis of the persistence of conservative patriarchal religious interpretations in Muslim communities should also consider social factors. The conservative appropriation of Islam is not only the result of theological factors but also a manifestation of a conservative and patriarchal habitus. This article draws attention to the vitality of empathy in establishing universal equal human dignity. It dwells on the idea of the universal innate nature of the child to offer some solutions to overcome the persistence of conservative religious interpretations and develop gender equality in the Muslim context. Also, the reformist views of the Jadids and Alash intellectuals, the Eurasian Muslim reformists of the early twentieth century, are analyzed as authentic historical and conceptual precedents to develop gender-egalitarian Islamic interpretations. Overall, this article establishes a connection between women’s rights in Islam, the universal innate nature of the child (and the universality of children’s right-friendly parenting and education that fosters empathy and critical thinking), and the intellectual legacy of the Jadids and Alash intellectuals, who wanted to transform the conservative and patriarchal habitus through educational reform, literary works, and a rationalistic, thematico-holistic approach to Islam.","PeriodicalId":42436,"journal":{"name":"Open Theology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139559803","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}
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