With roughly equal Christian and Muslim populations, Nigeria has experienced various degrees of Christian–Muslim conflict. However, numerous Nigerian Christians and Muslims coexist peacefully. With Scopus and Web of Science, this study finds that recent studies which explored concrete cases of peaceful Christian–Muslim relations in Nigeria are minimal. Previous research has examined the collaborative de‐escalation of tensions in violence‐prone communities; partnerships among the informally employed; positive interfaith encounters amid crises; peaceful relations in Yorubaland; and cooperation between Christian and Shia Muslim minorities in the north. The studies show that civilian agency, political power‐sharing, and inclusive governance have enabled peace.
尼日利亚的基督徒和穆斯林人口大体相当,基督徒和穆斯林曾发生过不同程度的冲突。不过,许多尼日利亚基督徒和穆斯林和平共处。本研究通过 Scopus 和 Web of Science 发现,近期探讨尼日利亚基督教与穆斯林和平关系具体案例的研究极少。以往的研究探讨了在暴力频发的社区通过合作缓和紧张局势;非正式就业者之间的伙伴关系;危机中不同信仰间的积极接触;约鲁巴兰的和平关系;以及北部基督教和什叶派穆斯林少数民族之间的合作。这些研究表明,民事机构、政治权力分享和包容性治理促成了和平。
{"title":"The Social Dynamics of Peaceful Christian–Muslim Relations in Nigeria","authors":"Emmanuel Chiwetalu Ossai","doi":"10.1111/rec3.70001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.70001","url":null,"abstract":"With roughly equal Christian and Muslim populations, Nigeria has experienced various degrees of Christian–Muslim conflict. However, numerous Nigerian Christians and Muslims coexist peacefully. With Scopus and Web of Science, this study finds that recent studies which explored concrete cases of peaceful Christian–Muslim relations in Nigeria are minimal. Previous research has examined the collaborative de‐escalation of tensions in violence‐prone communities; partnerships among the informally employed; positive interfaith encounters amid crises; peaceful relations in Yorubaland; and cooperation between Christian and Shia Muslim minorities in the north. The studies show that civilian agency, political power‐sharing, and inclusive governance have enabled peace.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215789","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}
Marriage equality is a nascent and fragile civil right in the United States. To protect this civil right we must articulate and preserve diverse religious, ethical, and legal positions from the marriage equality debates. Sadly, and incorrectly, both the popular and scholarly narratives of religions' public role and ethics on marriage equality have been told with a Christocentric and “God versus Gay” framing. Here I push the borders of that frame to include the crucially important story of Judaism and the Prop 8 marriage equality debates. Judaism made and still makes vital and unique contributions to the battle for marriage equality: the majority of Jewish congregations and organizations are in favor of marriage equality, as opposed to the majority of Christianities which are against it. Judaism models diversity within the tradition, for example how to be opposed to same‐sex marriage but not expect that it will be illegal. Jewish positions on marriage equality in the public sphere model how the civil rights of marriage equality and religious liberty can coexist and thrive.
{"title":"The Unique and Important Jewish Responses to Proposition 8 and Marriage Equality","authors":"Terry Hawley Reeder","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12513","url":null,"abstract":"Marriage equality is a nascent and fragile civil right in the United States. To protect this civil right we must articulate and preserve diverse religious, ethical, and legal positions from the marriage equality debates. Sadly, and incorrectly, both the popular and scholarly narratives of religions' public role and ethics on marriage equality have been told with a Christocentric and “God versus Gay” framing. Here I push the borders of that frame to include the crucially important story of Judaism and the Prop 8 marriage equality debates. Judaism made and still makes vital and unique contributions to the battle for marriage equality: the majority of Jewish congregations and organizations are in favor of marriage equality, as opposed to the majority of Christianities which are against it. Judaism models diversity within the tradition, for example how to be opposed to same‐sex marriage but not expect that it will be illegal. Jewish positions on marriage equality in the public sphere model how the civil rights of marriage equality and religious liberty can coexist and thrive.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215787","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 article surveys the state of research on Islamic chaplaincy in North America. These studies analyze the development of the profession in light of the unique spiritual, emotional, and socio‐political challenges faced by Muslims in the U.S. and Canada. Despite its novelty, this field of research spans multiple academic disciplines, including religious studies, sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, and theology. An examination of existing scholarship on Islamic chaplaincy highlights several recurrent topics of inquiry, including the roles and responsibilities of Muslim chaplains, professionalization of Islamic chaplaincy, the negotiation of Muslim women's authority, and Islamic spiritual care as a theology of engagement.
{"title":"Islamic Chaplaincy in North America: The State of the Field","authors":"Sajida Jalalzai","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12512","url":null,"abstract":"This article surveys the state of research on Islamic chaplaincy in North America. These studies analyze the development of the profession in light of the unique spiritual, emotional, and socio‐political challenges faced by Muslims in the U.S. and Canada. Despite its novelty, this field of research spans multiple academic disciplines, including religious studies, sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, and theology. An examination of existing scholarship on Islamic chaplaincy highlights several recurrent topics of inquiry, including the roles and responsibilities of Muslim chaplains, professionalization of Islamic chaplaincy, the negotiation of Muslim women's authority, and Islamic spiritual care as a theology of engagement.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142215790","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 burgeoning field of religion and development has continued to gain scholarly attention globally, especially recently. The article explores and reviews the study of religion and development in Africa by drawing on multiple literature and theoretical approaches. Structured around the history and survey of the current status of the study of religion and development in Africa, the article maps and projects its potential future. Religion, a significant tool for (de)development in Africa, holds immense potential to bring about positive social transformation for the common good. Being a complex process that focuses on improving both the material and immaterial aspects of human life, development can pivot on religion to create a better future for Africa. There is a need for robust and nuanced discourses on the academic study of religion and development that interrogate development theories and practice and their relevance to the African context. In the long run, this will address contemporary contentions and contestations on the role of religion and development, especially in Africa.
{"title":"Religion and Development in Africa: History, Status, and Future Prospects","authors":"Elias Kiptoo Ng'etich","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12511","url":null,"abstract":"The burgeoning field of religion and development has continued to gain scholarly attention globally, especially recently. The article explores and reviews the study of religion and development in Africa by drawing on multiple literature and theoretical approaches. Structured around the history and survey of the current status of the study of religion and development in Africa, the article maps and projects its potential future. Religion, a significant tool for (de)development in Africa, holds immense potential to bring about positive social transformation for the common good. Being a complex process that focuses on improving both the material and immaterial aspects of human life, development can pivot on religion to create a better future for Africa. There is a need for robust and nuanced discourses on the academic study of religion and development that interrogate development theories and practice and their relevance to the African context. In the long run, this will address contemporary contentions and contestations on the role of religion and development, especially in Africa.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141938363","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 study of Islamic esotericism, particularly the concept of al‐bāṭiniyya, remains fragmented. While often studied under various labels like “mysticism” and “occultism,” it is widely equated to Sufism. Scholars still hesitate to use the term al‐bāṭiniyya due to its historical pejorative connotations, linking it to extremist adherence to esotericism and sectarian views. Furthermore, al‐bāṭiniyya has faced marginalization because of its association with narratives of Islamic civilization's decline. Even when the decline narrative is challenged, esotericism is often depicted as an “intellectual defect.” This article examines the ways the “esoteric” and “esotericism” have been studied, particularly in relation to the study of Shīʿī esotericism and Sufism. It also highlights developments in the scholarship on Islam and esotericism, aiming to draw a picture of an emerging coherence in the study of “Islamic esotericism.” This is explored against the backdrop of twentieth‐century Islamic discourses that grappled with the place of esotericism within Islamic knowledge and pedagogy. Here, the focus is on the “Islamization of Knowledge” project and its key figures: Ismāʿīl al‐Fārūqī, Syed Naquib al‐Attas, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
{"title":"The past and future of the study of Islamic esotericism","authors":"Liana Saif","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12494","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12494","url":null,"abstract":"The study of Islamic esotericism, particularly the concept of <jats:italic>al‐bāṭiniyya</jats:italic>, remains fragmented. While often studied under various labels like “mysticism” and “occultism,” it is widely equated to Sufism. Scholars still hesitate to use the term <jats:italic>al‐bāṭiniyya</jats:italic> due to its historical pejorative connotations, linking it to extremist adherence to esotericism and sectarian views. Furthermore, <jats:italic>al‐bāṭiniyya</jats:italic> has faced marginalization because of its association with narratives of Islamic civilization's decline. Even when the decline narrative is challenged, esotericism is often depicted as an “intellectual defect.” This article examines the ways the “esoteric” and “esotericism” have been studied, particularly in relation to the study of Shīʿī esotericism and Sufism. It also highlights developments in the scholarship on Islam and esotericism, aiming to draw a picture of an emerging coherence in the study of “Islamic esotericism.” This is explored against the backdrop of twentieth‐century Islamic discourses that grappled with the place of esotericism within Islamic knowledge and pedagogy. Here, the focus is on the “Islamization of Knowledge” project and its key figures: Ismāʿīl al‐Fārūqī, Syed Naquib al‐Attas, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"2018 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141585189","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}
Employing the pentecostal paradox motif, this survey engages the literature on African Pentecostalism across a spectrum of disciplines in both humanities and social sciences. Utilising a thematic cluster as analytical approach, the study posits that African Pentecostalism represents a decolonial shift from an era of mere beliefs to the era of the dispensation of the Spirit. African Pentecostalism emphasises post‐indigenous and transrational appropriations of the gospel, situated within specific historical and cultural contexts. The study concludes by zooming in on the imperative for scholars on Pentecostal studies in Africa (PenteSA) to be mindful of 'the pentecostal paradox', urging them to recognise their roles as a prophetic vocation.
{"title":"‘Minding the pentecostal paradox’: Currents and cross‐currents in pentecostal studies in Africa (PenteSA)","authors":"Chammah J. Kaunda","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12509","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12509","url":null,"abstract":"Employing the pentecostal paradox motif, this survey engages the literature on African Pentecostalism across a spectrum of disciplines in both humanities and social sciences. Utilising a thematic cluster as analytical approach, the study posits that African Pentecostalism represents a decolonial shift from an era of mere beliefs to the era of the dispensation of the Spirit. African Pentecostalism emphasises post‐indigenous and transrational appropriations of the gospel, situated within specific historical and cultural contexts. The study concludes by zooming in on the imperative for scholars on Pentecostal studies in Africa (PenteSA) to be mindful of 'the pentecostal paradox', urging them to recognise their roles as a prophetic vocation.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141519213","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 Barelvi movement in South Asia—particularly in Pakistan—has long been regarded as the indigenous Islam of the region. It is equated with Sufism, and highlighted as the peaceful and moderate Islam of the majority of Muslims. In doing so, it is contrasted with competing Sunni traditions such as the Deobandis, as an explicit binary is created between the two. However, the narrative has seen a shift since 2011, with the rise of Mumtaz Qadri, who murdered a politician due to allegations of blasphemy. In this article, I trace these developments in the perceptions of, and discourses about, Barelvis in South Asia, especially over the last twenty years. In doing so I explore four key ways of being Barelvi, including love for the Prophet Muhammad, an affiliation with the founder of the movement, Sufi practices and shrines, and opposition to Deobandi Islam.
{"title":"The Barelvi movement in South Asian Islam","authors":"Mohammad Waqas Sajjad","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12492","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12492","url":null,"abstract":"The Barelvi movement in South Asia—particularly in Pakistan—has long been regarded as the indigenous Islam of the region. It is equated with Sufism, and highlighted as the peaceful and moderate Islam of the majority of Muslims. In doing so, it is contrasted with competing Sunni traditions such as the Deobandis, as an explicit binary is created between the two. However, the narrative has seen a shift since 2011, with the rise of Mumtaz Qadri, who murdered a politician due to allegations of blasphemy. In this article, I trace these developments in the perceptions of, and discourses about, Barelvis in South Asia, especially over the last twenty years. In doing so I explore four key ways of being Barelvi, including love for the Prophet Muhammad, an affiliation with the founder of the movement, Sufi practices and shrines, and opposition to Deobandi Islam.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"78 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140573130","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 article draws on Stefano Bigliardi's recent Cambridge University Press Element New Religious Movements and Science, which provides an historical and comparative examination of how science is conceptualized within five New Religious Movements. We analyze Bigliardi's methodology and results, and offer multiple suggestions on how scholarship on NRMs and science can be extended and deepened.
本文借鉴了斯特凡诺-比利亚尔迪(Stefano Bigliardi)最近在剑桥大学出版社出版的《新宗教运动与科学》(New Religious Movements and Science)一书,该书对五个新宗教运动如何将科学概念化进行了历史和比较研究。我们分析了比利亚尔迪的研究方法和结果,并就如何扩展和深化有关新宗教运动与科学的学术研究提出了多项建议。
{"title":"New religious movements and science: What now, what next, where to?","authors":"Stefano Bigliardi, Adam J. Chin","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12490","url":null,"abstract":"This article draws on Stefano Bigliardi's recent Cambridge University Press Element <jats:italic>New Religious Movements and Science</jats:italic>, which provides an historical and comparative examination of how science is conceptualized within five New Religious Movements. We analyze Bigliardi's methodology and results, and offer multiple suggestions on how scholarship on NRMs and science can be extended and deepened.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"57 Suppl 1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140573441","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 article briefly surveys the historical evidence of Byzantine deaconesses and trends in modern research on the order. By drawing attention to the detrimental effects of research bias, the value of an historical theology of deaconesses becomes clear. The diaconate, like all the major orders, evolved throughout the early Christian period reflecting an adaptation to changing circumstances. Historical deaconesses should be interpreted by the theology of their own time and place, rather than through the lens of the more limited liturgical role of the modern diaconate. Does theological continuity exist between the apostolic diakonia and the ordination and vesting of deaconesses in the eighth century? An historical theology of this enigmatic, yet canonical ministry will reveal the varied iterations of deaconesses extended the ministry of the apostles and bishops into women's spheres in a manner consistent with the Church's enduring theology and mission.
{"title":"The need for an historical theology of women deacons in the early church","authors":"Laura Wilson","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12488","url":null,"abstract":"This article briefly surveys the historical evidence of Byzantine deaconesses and trends in modern research on the order. By drawing attention to the detrimental effects of research bias, the value of an historical theology of deaconesses becomes clear. The diaconate, like all the major orders, evolved throughout the early Christian period reflecting an adaptation to changing circumstances. Historical deaconesses should be interpreted by the theology of their own time and place, rather than through the lens of the more limited liturgical role of the modern diaconate. Does theological continuity exist between the apostolic <jats:italic>diakonia</jats:italic> and the ordination and vesting of deaconesses in the eighth century? An historical theology of this enigmatic, yet canonical ministry will reveal the varied iterations of deaconesses extended the ministry of the apostles and bishops into women's spheres in a manner consistent with the Church's enduring theology and mission.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139980300","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}
Since the late 1960s, the American Jewish community has worked to find creative ways to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Queer+ (LGBTQ+) people in community practices and Jewish liturgy. The pioneering egalitarian denomination was and remains the Reform Jewish Movement, which promotes and supports gender equality and sexual diversity. This paper proposes a typology of queer Jewish liturgy based on classification into two categories: time and space. By exploring these specific categories, the texts expose a bipolar relationship between LGBTQ+s and divine individuals, LGBTQ+s and heterosexual/cisgender individuals, and LGBTQ+s and themselves. By analyzing particular queer prayers, I argue that this liturgy, created by American Jewish clergy, is characterized by inherent structural contradictions, which reflect tendencies and changes not only in non‐halachic Jewish communities but also in queer ideology and gay politics. Thus, the textual dimension is revealed as a vivid landscape that characterizes the dynamics of LGBTQ+ Jewish people between temporal, fragile, and safe spaces, painful memories and proud feelings, and victim consciousness and social agency.
{"title":"“Teach us to feel proud of all of our identities”: Time and space in an American queer Jewish liturgy","authors":"Elazar Ben‐Lulu","doi":"10.1111/rec3.12486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12486","url":null,"abstract":"Since the late 1960s, the American Jewish community has worked to find creative ways to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Queer+ (LGBTQ+) people in community practices and Jewish liturgy. The pioneering egalitarian denomination was and remains the Reform Jewish Movement, which promotes and supports gender equality and sexual diversity. This paper proposes a typology of queer Jewish liturgy based on classification into two categories: time and space. By exploring these specific categories, the texts expose a bipolar relationship between LGBTQ+s and divine individuals, LGBTQ+s and heterosexual/cisgender individuals, and LGBTQ+s and themselves. By analyzing particular queer prayers, I argue that this liturgy, created by American Jewish clergy, is characterized by inherent structural contradictions, which reflect tendencies and changes not only in non‐<jats:italic>halachic</jats:italic> Jewish communities but also in queer ideology and gay politics. Thus, the textual dimension is revealed as a vivid landscape that characterizes the dynamics of LGBTQ+ Jewish people between temporal, fragile, and safe spaces, painful memories and proud feelings, and victim consciousness and social agency.","PeriodicalId":44397,"journal":{"name":"Religion Compass","volume":"144 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139955766","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}